Careers in Marine Science (SlideShow)
Objectives:
It is the goal of the department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at ODU to educate students in the Hampton Roads area about the dynamic processes that occur in, on, and around Earth. The presentation is geared towards high-school level students and can be modified to suit the needs of individual teachers.
Materials needed:
- Ocean Activity Model (demonstrates convection currents, which can be used to explain atmospheric circulation, ocean current circulation, and lithospheric circulation of magma)
- Wave Demonstration Set (demonstrates the motion of energy and can be used to relate to water waves, sound waves, earthquake waves, etc.)
- Water Cycle Model
- Organism displays (Echinoderm set, Coral set, or any Biosmount)
- Ocean & Earth Sciences display board
- Binder, which includes: Power Point presentation (on disk and transparencies) and accompanying dialogue, reference handout for students, and department information
Presentation Introduction:
- Please introduce yourself along with your title and any research that you do at ODU.
- Please introduce the topic of the presentation by displaying the title slide of the power point presentation, by doing a demonstration using the materials listed below, and by engaging the students in a discussion involving the topic.
Presentation Information:
Please use the power point presentation to explain to your audience what ocean & earth sciences includes.
Title slide: Use this as an introduction to the topic. Ask the students questions about what they see in the picture, what kinds of things are studied that pertain to the Earth and its environments, and some things that they already know about the Earth.
The Earth Spheres: Relate to your audience the importance of linking scientific disciplines. Explain that when studying one particular discipline, it is usually necessary to understand others as well. Ask the students questions, like how does meteorology affect physics? What processes occur in the Earth that affects what happens on the surface of the Earth and in the oceans? Why is it important to understand chemistry if you're studying geology?
How are the spheres related?: Give your audience a quick lesson on the transfer of energy throughout the Earth and how it sustains the processes that occur n, on, and around the Earth. Use the "OCEAN ACTIVITY MODEL" to demonstrate energy transfer through convection. Ask the students questions like, what factors influence density? How does density form currents in air, water, and magma? What is the result of the currents?
What do scientists study?: This is just a list of the scientific disciplines that are covered in this presentation. Ask the students what they think a scientist would study if they were a meteorologist, physicist, geologist, chemist, or biologist.
Physics: Physics is the study of matter, energy, motion, and force. As a physics student you would be studying theory as well as practical applications. Ask the students in what applications they think physics is useful (water waves, sound waves, earthquake waves, radio waves, building construction, rollercoaster construction, etc.) Use the "WAVE
DEMONSTRATION SET" to display and discuss the motion of energy. If time allows for it, discuss the importance of gravity on all Earth processes: weathering and erosion, liquid water on Earth's surface, animal development and behaviors, etc.
Meteorology: All energy that reaches the Earth's surface originates from the Sun and is then distributed by different atmospheric processes. Explain that it is important to meteorologists to understand the processes in order to correctly forecast our weather and climate. Ask the students how they think weather systems affect other scientific disciplines. Ask the students
how humans have changed natural processes and what problems have been created by these actions. If time allows, use the "WATER CYCLE MODEL" to display the transfer of water throughout the Earth's environments.
Geology: Rocks and minerals are the foundation of our landforms and underwater features. Geologists study the processes that shape these features and the changes that take place over time to determine the Earth's history and future. Ask the students why understanding the Earth's processes in terms of geology are important? What occurs in different parts of the world that humans have to be aware of (earthquakes)? What other scientific disciplines does geology affect and how? Ask the students how humans have changed natural processes and what problems have been created by these actions.
Chemistry: It is important to understand the basic fundamentals of chemistry as any scientists, because it is molecules, atoms, ions, elements, compounds, and mixtures that provide the foundation for all things that we study about the Earth. Give examples of where chemistry plays a role, such as seawater chemistry, minerals and weathering rates, air particulates and global warming, etc. Ask the students how humans have changed natural
processes and what problems have been created by these actions.
Biology: The study of life originates from an understanding of how organisms live in their particular environments. Biologists cannot understand an organism's behavior and survival without understanding chemistry, geology, or meteorology. Ask the students how they think these other scientific disciplines affect where an organisms lives, or how it adapts and survives. Use the "ECHINODERM, CORAL, or BIOSMOUNT" sets to give examples of particular organisms' adaptations. Ask the students how humans have changed natural processes and what problems have been created by these actions. Ask the students how humans rely on the Earth and what things that we've caused are making it harder or more expensive to rely on those same things.
What can you do?: As a human that relies on the processes that take place on Earth, it is our ultimate duty to take care of it. The environmental slogan, "reduce, reuse, recycle" is one to heed, because we take for granted everything that the Earth provides for us. Get involved in a local clean-up, contribute time and money to non-profit organizations that stand for what you believe in, and let your representatives know (when you become a tax-paying, voting citizen) what is important to you. Educate other people about local environmental problems and how they can get involved.
Ocean & Earth Sciences
Informational Handout
As a student in an earth science and/or oceanography class, you may be studying one or more of the following scientific disciplines:
Physics
Meteorology
Geology
Chemistry
Biology
There are subjects within each discipline that help understand how much science is involved:
