Oceans Of Wonder: Exploring Marine Biology And Oceanography
Oceans occupy approximately 70% of the earth’s surface and play a significant role in the evolution of marine life. They are home to many creatures, regulate the earth's climate, produce oxygen, act as a means for economic development, and provide livelihood for many people. On the other hand, oceanographers and marine biologists are more interested in understanding the ocean through a scientific lens. They are very keen on unraveling the mysteries of the ocean and providing valuable insights to safeguard the ocean from varied natural and man-made hazards. Let’s delve into the concepts of oceanographers, and marine biologists to gain a comprehensive understanding of the oceans.
Oceanography: For many people, the ocean symbolizes tranquility, a recreational place to rejoice but for the oceanographers, it’s a mysterious place. They are engrossed in understanding the intricate details of the ocean such as the waves, currents, sediment movements, dynamical interactions, fluxes, marine life, seabed geology, and many more. They view the ocean as more than a place for enjoyment and serenity. They try to understand the four main aspects of oceanography which are as follows:
Geological Oceanography : It includes understanding the features, and structures of the ocean basins.
Physical Oceanography : This includes studying the movements (tides, waves, and currents) and properties (density, temperature, etc) of the oceans.
Chemical Oceanography : This involves studying the properties of seawater and the biogeochemical cycles that would affect the sea.
Biological Oceanography : It involves the study of the various biological organisms that are present in the sea such as zooplankton, bacteria, and many more.
There are other aspects of oceanography such as marine archaeology, pale oceanography, maritime education, and ocean engineering.
By studying all these various categories oceanographers try to understand the climatic changes and predict the natural hazards that would disrupt the environment. They will also try to understand the impact that natural and man-made hazards would have on the ocean and the varied mammals residing in the ocean. Altogether they could lessen the damage to the ocean, environment, people, and marine organisms with their scientific knowledge and preventive strategies.
Marine biology: Marine biology is a very vast concept thereby marine biologists choose a particular field and do a specialization in that field. They study the varied marine organisms such as from the microscopic plankton to the large whales. They try to understand the characteristics of marine habitats, their interaction with the environment, and the impact of human activities on marine organisms. They think about ways to preserve marine resources and protect marine life from unprecedented natural or man-made hazards.
Significance of marine biologists and oceanographers: The oceanographers delve deeper into understanding all the varied chemical, biological, geological, and physical aspects of the ocean. On the other hand, marine biologists are more interested in understanding marine organisms. However, both marine biologists and oceanographers strive to understand the ocean's ecosystem and protect it from calamities.
Due to overfishing, climatic change, pollution, and human activities ocean ecosystems are being affected but with the help of oceanographers and marine biologists these issues can be resolved. Oceanographers and marine biologists try to understand the intricacies of the ocean ecosystems and come up with strategies that would protect the marine organisms and preserve ocean resources.
Conclusion: Oceans play a pivotal role in our lives by regulating the earth's climate, they provide shelter to a wide range of marine organisms, produce oxygen, support economic growth, and provide food resources. On the other hand, due to the varied natural and manmade hazards, these oceans are getting affected thereby preserving and protecting the ocean will help in the overall development of the earth's surface and the marine organisms. Many oceanographers and marine biologists play a significant role in understanding all aspects of ocean ecosystems and protecting them from calamities.
Beneath the blue horizon there reside beautiful creatures and those creatures are getting depleted due to the natural and man-made hazards. Understanding them and their sanctuary will be helpful in protecting the earth's surface as well as the ocean's resources.