Contained in the immensity and depths of the Earth’s oceans, many of the planet’s species and resources thrive far away from the reaches of human civilization. With expanses that have yet to be discovered and enormous reservoirs of untapped potential, oceans provide fodder for all manners of research. This informative volume describes the features and properties of the bodies of water that make up 70 percent of the world’s surface as well as the various branches of oceanography dedicated to studying all aspects of the ocean and its life forms.

Be ahead of your peers by studying curriculum-based lessons even before they are discussed in school. Study the Earth’s oceans through this interactive science book. Learn of their composition and underwater features. Also study the differences and similarities of the two types of ocean currents: the surface and the deep ocean. Start reading today.

Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.

This book is a resource manual and guide that will help students learn about the oceans, explore some of the major phenomena that occur on our planet, and appreciate the way that scientific investigation of the Earth proceeds. The book is divided into two parts. The first part contains a series of short investigations that are designed to help students learn about a particular topic. Thirty-seven short exercises deal with the many aspects of oceanography and have been put into a laboratory format and can easily be torn out and handed in for homework. The second part of the text provides a concise overview of major concepts of oceanography, which can serve as an additional resource to help students interpret the workings of the oceanic system.

Explores oceans and discusses how they affect the climate.

This work provides a wide perspective of the oceans by examining their places in the earth sciences, drawing together all the key strands of ocean study and presenting a holistic view of ocean processes, ancient and modern.