Curated OER
Ocean Layers
Students investigate how temperature and salinity causes ocean layering. In this ecology lesson, students observe and sketch their experimental result. They report their findings in class.
NOAA
Noaa: National Weather Service: Jetstream: The Ocean
Online school for weather presents a complete guide to the ocean and its effect on our weather such as El Nino, hurricanes, floods, and droughts. Explores layers of the ocean, sea water, waves, tides, rip currents, and more. A review...
National Geographic
National Geographic: Adapting Under Pressure
Students learn about James Cameron's Challenger Deep dive and about the marine animals that live in different layers of the ocean. They then study the characteristics of the hadalpelagic zone at the bottom of the ocean, and imagine and...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Ocean Planet
Detailed website that was a companion to a 1995 traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian. Links to lesson plans and other educational materials are at the bottom of the page. Enter the exhibition to explore the world of the ocean.
Idaho State University
Global Wind Systems [Pdf]
A great description of the global scale circulation and heat energy. Discusses a single-cell model, a three-cell model, jet streams and more.
Science Struck
Science Struck: The Differences Between Benthic and Pelagic Zones
Learn the characteristics of these two oceanic zones and of the plants and animals that live in them.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Facts About the Marine Biome
Describes the characteristics of the marine biome, the plants and animals that live in each of the four ocean zones, coral reefs and estuaries, the climate of the marine biome, and the marine food web.