Lesson 3: Protecting Ocean Hotspots - Oikonos · Many marine birds and mammals come together to feed in productive areas of the ocean. Areas of the ocean with abundant phytoplankton
Imagining the Seafloor Identifying Seafloor Features Upwelling and Phytoplankton Marine Sanctuaries Seafloor Features and Upwelling
Engage
Imagining the Seafloor
The ocean looks similar everywhere …
because we can’t see through the water
Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean
But the seafloor is full of features
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Explain to students that these images are of the seafloor, with the water removed. What features can they observe? Are they surprised?
Explore
Identifying Seafloor Features
Measuring the Seafloor
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Several tools and methods have been used to measure the depth and topography of the bottom of the ocean (such as ship-board sonar and orbiting satellites carrying specialized sensors).
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Explain to students that these images are of the seafloor, with the water removed.
Mariana trench
Trenches are very deep areas of the ocean. The Mariana trench is the deepest known trench, with a depth of 10,910 m
Japan trench
Aleutian trench
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Seafloor Features - Trenches are very deep areas of the ocean. The Mariana trench is the deepest known trench, with a depth of 10,910 m
Exploring the Seafloor ROV – Remotely Operated Vehicle
Alaskan shelf
Continental shelves are shallow (0 – 200 m deep) areas on the edges of continents and islands
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Seafloor Features - Continental shelves are shallow (0 – 200 m deep) areas on the edges of continents and islands
Continental slopes are the steep “drop offs” between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. The water depth ranges from 200 and 2,000 m
Bering Sea slope
Gulf of Alaska slope
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Seafloor Features - Continental slopes are the steep “drop offs” between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain. The water depth ranges from 200 and 2,000 m.
Continental Slope
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Seafloor Features – Example of the steep continental slope off San Francisco Bay. The colors represent deep (blue) to shallow (orange) depths.
The abyssal plain is the deep (2,000 m and deeper) and relatively flat seafloor making up most of the world’s oceans
Abyssal plain
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Seafloor Features - The abyssal plain is the deep (2,000 m and deeper) and relatively flat seafloor making up most of the world’s oceans. �
Cortes – Tanner Bank
Banks are undersea hills, sitting on the continental shelf. They often reach very close to the surface
Cordell Bank
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Seafloor Features - Banks are undersea hills, sitting on the continental shelf. They often reach very close to the surface
Cordell Bank
Image USGS
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Cordell Bank off San Francisco where researchers tagged Black-footed Albatross that were attracted to waters above this productive ocean feature. The colors represent deep (blue) to shallow (orange) depths.
Emperor Seamount Chain
Seamounts are volcanic mountains rising over 1,000 m above the seafloor, but always remaining under the waves. Sometimes they reach to 100 m from the surface
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Seafloor Features - Seamounts are volcanic mountains rising over 1,000 m above the seafloor, but always remaining under the waves. Sometimes they reach to 100 m from the surface.
Volcanic Underwater Seamount
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Example: Colorized sonar image of Ely Seamount.
The stars and labels mark the three study sites, where albatross were tagged with transmitters.
• Grey shading indicates seafloor depth (m)
Shaded Contour Map of the North Pacific Seafloor
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A shaded contour map the students will be interpreting. The darker the shading, the deeper the water. Certain depths are shown with different shades of grey to identify four bathymetric habitats: continental shelves, continental slopes, seamounts, and the abyssal plain.
Albatross Nesting Colony
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Scientists went to two colonies where albatross nest to attach satellite tags to adults and study where the forage – Kure Atoll and Tern Island, both in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. A nesting colony of Laysan Albatross on Midway Atoll. Midway is located between Kure and Tern also in the Monument.
Kure Atoll Seabird Sanctuary
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Students will learn about birds tracked from the Kure Atoll breeding colony, the most northwesterly Hawaiian atoll above sea level. It is a Seabird Sanctuary managed by the State of Hawai‘i in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Tern Island, National Wildlife Refuge
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Students will learn about birds tracked from Tern Island breeding colony, part of French Frigate Shoals, a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge managed by US Fish and Wildlife Service in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Black-footed Albatross, kaʻupu, at Sea
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Scientists wanted to learn about albatross migrations from one of their known “hotspots” off California, Cordell Bank. The albatross do not go to land or raise young here, rather they come here for predictable food. Scientists traveled offshore on fishing and research vessels to search for Black-footed Albatross at sea. While albatross spend much of their life in flight, they land on the water to rest, socialize, feed, and wait for the wind to increase for more efficient traveling.
Tagging Albatross over Cordell Bank
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The slide shows scientists tagging albatross over Cordell Bank, a feeding hotspot for Black-footed Albatross. These birds do not nest off California but many travel there to feed throughout the year, particularly in the late summer after their chicks have grown.
• Look at the map legend to find out what ocean depths this albatross flew over.
One albatross tagged over Cordell Bank, off California (see close-up)
• Black circles indicate where a bird was located at noon. Arrows show their path.
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Handout example: The Black-footed Albatross tracks are superimposed on the bathymetric map, to illustrate the birds’ use of the different bathymetric features. The black dots show the location of the bird around noon each day the tag was transmitting. So the black dots are approximately equal distance apart in time. How important would you say Cordell Bank is as an albatross hotspot?
Explain
Upwelling and Phytoplankton
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Not only is it important to protect albatross nesting sites, but it's equally important to protect their feeding sites, or ʻhotspots.ʻ Let's find out what causes a place to be a feeding hotspot.
Microbes - microscopic organisms made up of a single cell (unicellular) or a cell cluster
Diatoms Cyanobacteria
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Phytoplankton, including these diatoms and cyanobacteria, convert the sun’s energy into sugars through the process of photosynthesis. This energy is transferred through the food chain.
Microbes Are the Most Abundant Organisms in the Ocean and form the Base of the Marine Food Webs
•These diatoms and other phytoplankton are tiny plant-like organisms. • They produce sugar by photosynthesis using sunlight, carbon dioxide and nutrients.
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Image: Richard A. Ingebrigtsen, Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø The diatom Odontella aurita
The Wind Drives Coastal Upwelling
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Upwelling is an incredibly important process supporting ocean productivity by bringing nutrient-rich deep water up to the ocean’s surface. In this slide, note that when wind moves water offshore. Deeper water is pulled up to replace it.
Coastal Upwelling Fertilizes the Ocean Central California
• Top-down view from a satellite shows the sea surface temperature off central California. • Plumes of colder water (blue, 9 C or 42 F) upwell along the coast and mix with the warmer water offshore (red, 16 C or 60 F ).
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Upwelling influences water temperature far from the coast, as the cold and nutrient-rich upwelled water is transported offshore.
Productive Water Looks Green
Green in the ocean indicates productive regions with abundant chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton.
Image Credit NASA
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Areas of the ocean with abundant phytoplankton are colored green in this satellite image. Areas with low phytoplankton are depicted in a dark blue color. This is not a true photograph. From space, a sensor on a satellite measured the actual frequencies of light in the ocean to calculate productivity. Scientists create colored maps to represent the data.
Albatross Food Chain
Image credits: Phytoplankton: NOAA MESA Project, Zooplankton: NOAA/D.Forcucci; NOAA Central Library/Charleston Bump Expedition 2003. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration; Dr. George Sedberry, South Carolina DNR, Principal Investigator, Fish: NOAA, NEFSC, Squid: NOAA/MBARI 2006, Albatross: NOAA Corps/Lieutenant Elizabeth Crapo
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This is a sample food chain (a simplified food “web”) for albatross.
Many marine birds and mammals come together to feed in productive areas of the ocean.
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Areas of the ocean with abundant phytoplankton also support many other organisms that feed on those tiny plants, like zooplankton, as well as those organisms that feed on them and so on… all the way to the top predators, like the marine mammals and birds. This is a painting by Sophie Webb of the abundant wildlife in a hotspot in the Bering Sea.
Elaborate
Marine Sanctuaries
Visit them online at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov
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This map shows existing U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments – two different types of Marine Protected Areas (MPA). There are other MPAs throughout the world. Look for protected areas closest to you. Which of these sanctuaries/monuments are nesting areas for albatrosses and which are feeding hotspots?
Designing Marine Sanctuaries Several marine sanctuaries protect seafloor features and the productive waters surrounding them, where many marine animals aggregate and thrive.
Cordell Bank
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Cordell Bank is a shallow seafloor feature on the central California shelf, home to diverse fish and invertebrate communities and visited by many migratory seabirds and marine mammals.
Sanctuaries Can Protect Seafloor Features
This map shows existing sanctuaries off central California and the location of seamounts and banks (pink shading)
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Sanctuaries can protect seafloor features from activities such as drilling and pollution, depending on their regulations. However, many other seafloor features are not currently included in existing marine sanctuaries boundaries.
Where would you create an Albatross Sanctuary?
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Students may use the Black-footed albatross tracking data to propose a Marine Protected Area to protect the birds they investigated.
Map Hand-Outs for Printing The following slides interpret the “Albatross Tracking and Bathymetry Maps” and provide material to stimulate discussion.
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Consider discussing the following 4 slides with students after their own explorations in Lesson 3.
Commuting from the colony to a seamount
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This albatross, tagged at Kure Atoll, travelled to Kummu Guyot, a distant seamount evident as a light-color shallower (200 – 2000 m) areas surrounded by dark-color deeper (> 4000 m) ocean, and returned to the colony to feed its chick. Can you calculate the distance from the colony to the seamount using the scale? Places where albatross spent most of their time during foraging trips are considered “hotspots”. How many hotspots are there? Can you calculate the size (width and length) of these albatross hotspots using the scale?
Use of the California shelf / slope and a visit to seamounts offshore
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This albatross, tagged within the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (see insert), spent most of its time within the central California shelf and slope (shallower than 2000 m depth), despite going out into the deeper ocean. Along its path, this albatross visited two seamounts, evident as two light-color shallower (2000 – 4000 m) areas surrounded by dark-color deeper (> 4000 m) ocean. Can you find them on the map? This albatross did not have a chick waiting at Cordell Bank, but returned to the place where it was tagged. Why? Places that albatross revisit are considered foraging “hotspots”. Can you calculate the size (width and length) of this albatross hotspot using the scale?
Foraging along the shelf / slope of the Aleutian Islands
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This albatross, tagged at Kure Atoll, travelled to the Aleutian Islands, where it spent time foraging over the shelf and slope (shallower than 2000 m depth), evident by the light-color shading (see insert). Can you calculate the size (width and length) of this albatross foraging area using the scale? Places like this, where albatross spent most of their time after breeding are considered “hotspots”. How many hotspots did this albatross use?
Foraging along the shelf / slope of Japan
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This albatross, tagged at Kure Atoll, travelled to Japan, where it spent time foraging over the shelf and slope (shallower than 2000 m depth), evident by the light-color shading (see insert). Can you calculate the size (width and length) of this albatross foraging area using the scale? Places like this, where albatross spent most of their time after breeding are considered “hotspots”. How many hotspots did this albatross use?
Use Agreement This presentation was developed for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by Meghan Marrero of Mercy College and Oikonos - Ecosystem Knowledge. Teachers, educators, researchers and students may incorporate these materials into their lesson plans, presentations, and worksheets in hard copy and digital format for internal educational use only, not into any publication for external distribution. All photos, art, video and data have been contributed free of charge to create this product for educational use. Content may be copyrighted and/or owned by individuals and entities other than, and in addition to, NOAA and Oikonos. Credits for all the media are embedded or included, please retain credits when reproducing. No organization or person (whether an educational body or not) may incorporate this material into any media for promotional or commercial purpose whatsoever. Please contact Oikonos or NOAA to request further use of any images, art, video, data or text included in this presentation – we will contact contributing authors.
All resources for this curriculum are available at :
www.cordellbank.noaa/gov/education/teachers.html
www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/wa.html
www.oikonos.org/education
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Presentation Notes
Use Agreement This presentation was developed for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument by Meghan Marrero of Mercy College and Oikonos - Ecosystem Knowledge. �Teachers, educators, researchers and students may incorporate these materials into their lesson plans, presentations, and worksheets in hard copy and digital format for internal educational use only, not into any publication for external distribution. ��All photos, art, video and data have been contributed free of charge to create this product for educational use. Content may be copyrighted and/or owned by individuals and entities other than, and in addition to, NOAA and Oikonos. Credits for all the media are embedded or included, please retain credits when reproducing.��No organization or person (whether an educational body or not) may incorporate this material into any media for promotional or commercial purpose whatsoever. ��Please contact Oikonos or NOAA to request further use of any images, art, video, data or text included in this presentation – we will contact contributing authors. Contact: [email protected] �All resources for this curriculum are available at : www.cordellbank.noaa/gov/education/teachers.html www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/wa.html� www.oikonos.org/education
Engage – Imagining the Seafloor 1. The ocean surface looks the same everywhere 2. But the seafloor is full of features: Google Maps of
the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
Explore – Identifying Seafloor Features 1. Measuring the Seafloor 2. Google Map of the Pacific Ocean 3. Google Map of Trenches 4. ROV Submersible 5. Google Map of Continental Shelves 6. Google Map of Continental Slopes 7. 3D graphic of Continental Slope 8. Google Map of Abyssal Plains 9. Google Map of Banks 10. 3D graphic of Cordell Bank 11. Google Map of Seamounts 12. 3D graphic of a volcanic seamount 13. B&W Contour Map of Pacific Ocean Bathymetry 14. Albatross Nesting Colony 15. Photos of Kure Atoll and Tern Island where birds
were tagged 16. Albatross At-Sea 17. Photos of Tagging over Cordell Bank 18. Handout Example: Cordell Bank Loop
Explain – Upwelling and Phytoplankton 1. Microbes are microscopic organisms 2. Phytoplankton microbes photosynthesize 3. The wind drives coastal upwelling 4. Coastal upwelling fertilizes the ocean 5. Productive water looks green 6. Albatross Food Chain 7. Whales and birds feed in productive areas
Elaborate – Marine Sanctuaries 1. Map of existing U.S. Marine Sanctuaries 2. Designing Marine Sanctuaries 3. Sanctuaries Can protect Seafloor Features 4. Where Would You Create an Albatross Sanctuary? 5. Information for Map Discussions 6. Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll Loop 7. Map of Albatross Track: Cordell Bank Loop 8. Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll to Alaska 9. Map of Albatross Track: Kure Atoll to Japan
