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Most oceanographers try to think of the world's
oceans as one giant system, collectively known as the global ocean. But
before space travel and the invention of satellites, it was very hard
to actually observe the oceans on such a large scale.
Pictures of the global ocean from space have given oceanographers
important information about ocean currents,
temperatures, and other properties. Satellites collect information
around the clock and feed it back to earth -- and individual
laboratories and classrooms -- in real time. This innovation has
revolutionized oceanography and given researchers important
information about weather and climate, circulation, and environmental
problems, such as global warming, global circulation,
the world's fisheries decline, and harmful algal blooms.
Perhaps more than any other group of
oceanographers, physical oceanographers have benefited from satellite technology.
Because they study the movement of the oceans and the forces that
cause motion, such as winds, waves, and tides, they
must look at the ocean from a "big picture" perspective.
Shipboard measurements and the development of instruments such
as computer programmable buoys that can be left at sea for long
periods of time were huge advances for the field of physical
oceanography and continue to be important tools, but satellites offer
perspectives that early oceanographers may never have
dreamed of.
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Physical oceanographers study the interaction between the
ocean and its boundaries - land, seafloor, and atmosphere - and
the relationship between the sea, weather, and climate. Questions
about how the oceans work in a physical sense include
investigations into water qualities such as temperature, salinity,
density, and influential factors such as wind speed, air
temperature, tides, and interaction with nearby land and underwater
formations.
Physical oceanographers seek to understand why,
where, and how water moves, on all space and time scales. They are
interested, too, in the consequences of these movements. Some physical
oceanographers are theoreticians and use
computer models to answer questions and form hypotheses about
oceanographic processes. Others use observations and,
increasingly, satellite observations. Understanding the global ocean
requires a close partnership between theory,
observations, and experiments.
Often, physical oceanographers work with their
biological, chemical, and geological colleagues. Understanding the way the
ocean works, physically, supplies oceanographers in the biological,
geological, chemical, or engineering disciplines with
important details they need to answer questions. The physical
properties of the ocean are intimately linked to the biology
and chemistry of the ocean, and vice-versa.
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