Skip to main content
Smithsonian Institution
Language Search Smithsonian Ocean
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Tumbr
Donate

Smithsonian Ocean

Main Menu

  • Ocean Life
    • Marine Mammals
    • Sharks & Rays
    • Reptiles
    • Seabirds
    • Fish
    • Invertebrates
    • Plankton
    • Plants & Algae
    • Microbes
  • Ecosystems
    • Coral Reefs
    • Deep Sea
    • Coasts & Shallow Water
    • Poles
    • Census of Marine Life
  • Planet Ocean
    • Tides & Currents
    • Waves, Storms & Tsunamis
    • The Seafloor
    • Temperature & Chemistry
  • Through Time
    • Ancient Seas
    • Extinctions
    • Evolution
    • The Anthropocene
  • Conservation
    • Fishing
    • Pollution
    • Habitat Destruction
    • Invasive Species
    • Acidification
    • Climate Change
    • Gulf Oil Spill
    • Solutions & Success Stories
    • Get Involved
  • Human Connections
    • Books, Film & The Arts
    • Recreation
    • Seafood
    • Exploration
    • History & Cultures
    • Careers
  • At The Museum
  • Educators
Menu

Search

Showing results for "All"
Filter

Content type

  • (-) Photo (31)
  • (-) Lesson Plan (3)
  • Article (32)
  • Video (11)
  • Slideshow (2)
  • Overview (1)

Article Type

Topics

  • Acidification (2)
  • Ancient Seas (6)
  • At The Museum (16)
  • Bays & Marshes (1)
  • Beaches (3)
  • Books, Film & The Arts (2)
  • Careers (5)
  • Census of Marine Life (1)
  • Climate Change (1)
  • Conservation (1)
  • Coral Reefs (9)
  • Deep Sea (14)
  • Evolution (1)
  • Exploration (20)
  • Extinctions (18)
  • Fish (12)
  • Genetics (3)
  • Gulf Oil Spill (12)
  • Habitat Destruction (1)
  • History & Cultures (7)
  • Holding Tank (1)
  • Human Connections (7)
  • Images to Hide (7)
  • Invasive Species (1)
  • Invertebrates (26)
  • Mangroves (16)
  • Marine Mammals (9)
  • Microbes (2)
  • Planet Ocean (4)
  • Plankton (1)
  • Plants & Algae (3)
  • Poles (1)
  • Pollution (37)
  • Reptiles (2)
  • Seabirds (7)
  • Sharks & Rays (2)
  • Shifting Baselines (1)
  • Technology (31)
  • Temperature & Chemistry (3)
  • The Seafloor (12)
  • (-) Get Involved (2)
  • (-) Ocean Life (10)
  • (-) Through Time (2)
  • (-) Tides & Currents (17)
  • (-) Vents & Volcanoes (4)

Tags

  • (-) Currents (14)
  • (-) Geology (3)
  • (-) Oil spills (8)
  • (-) ROVs (2)
  • (-) Smithsonian scientists (7)
  • Antarctic (2)
  • Art (4)
  • Biodiversity (3)
  • Corals (8)
  • Crabs, Shrimp & Relatives (2)
  • Deepwater Horizon (5)
  • Education (8)
  • Endangered species (3)
  • Feeding (2)
  • Fisheries (3)
  • Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (7)
  • Maps (9)
  • Maritime history (2)
  • Migration (2)
  • Naturalist (2)
  • New discoveries (2)
  • NOAA (9)
  • Oceanography (2)
  • Paleobiology (4)
  • Photography (5)
  • Research vessels (2)
  • Restoring Habitats (4)
  • Scientific illustrations (2)
  • Scientists at work (7)
  • Scuba diving (3)
  • Sea level (2)
  • Sea turtles (2)
  • Smithsonian collections (4)
  • Smithsonian exhibits (2)
  • Under the microscope (2)
  • Vents & Volcanoes (10)
  • Weather (2)
  • Whales (3)
Two nurse sharks hover over a baited cage
Lesson Plan

What Drives Ocean Currents?

Students will gain an understanding of how water density and salinity affect ocean...
Wed, 11/11/2020 - 10:14
/themes/custom/a_clean_ocean
a rip current along a beach with a pier
Photo

A Rip Current On the Shore

Not all currents occur at such a large scale. Individual beaches may have rip...
shallow pans carved out of the sea coast create many pools with a seascape in the background
Photo

The Salt Pans

The Mediterranean is super salty due to intense evaporation. Here, locals in...
arrows represent water movement
Photo

The Ekman Spiral

As wind blows over the surface layer of water, friction between the two pulls the...
an older map shows ocean surface currents using arrows
Photo

Surface Currents

This is a map ocean surface currents from 1877. ...
a ribbon on the globe represents oceanic currents
Photo

Thermohaline Circulation Map

Differences in temperature and salinity drive deep ocean currents. ...
a map of the globe that includes major wind patterns
Photo

Wind Patterns Drive Currents

The major wind patterns drive oceanic currents. ...
a map of North America with the swirling tides
Photo

Visualizing Currents

Currents on the ocean surface are driven by wind, temperature, gravity, and the...
A boat full of SCOPE drifters waits to release small, biodegradable buoys that will travel throughout the Gulf of Mexico and send GPS coordinates to researchers.
Photo

SCOPE Buoys Help Track Oil

A boat full of SCOPE drifters waits to release small, biodegradable buoys that will...
Drifters deployed into the Gulf of Mexico sent location information back to scientists through a GPS satellite. Some of the 5.7 million data points about the drifters locations are seen in this map of the Gulf.
Photo

Tracking CARTHE Drifters

Drifters deployed into the Gulf of Mexico sent location information back to...
Red hot magma and ash erupt from an underwater volcano.
Photo

An Underwater Volcanic Eruption

A volcanic eruption of superheated magma (some 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit) from the...
Superheated magma slowly leaks from a crack in the seafloor.
Photo

Superheated Magma Underwater

Superheated magma, about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, glows orange as it slowly leaks...

Pagination

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Next page Next
  • Last page Last
  • Sort By Relevance
  • A-Z
  • Z-A
  • Newest
  • Oldest

Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Ocean
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Tumbr
Contact Us

Explore

  • Ocean Life
  • Ecosystems
  • Planet Ocean
  • Through Time
  • Conservation
  • Human Connections
  • At The Museum
  • About
  • Media Archive
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Donate
  • Ocean Life
    • Marine Mammals
    • Sharks & Rays
    • Reptiles
    • Seabirds
    • Fish
    • Invertebrates
    • Plankton
    • Plants & Algae
    • Microbes
  • Ecosystems
    • Coral Reefs
    • Deep Sea
    • Coasts & Shallow Water
    • Poles
    • Census of Marine Life
  • Planet Ocean
    • Tides & Currents
    • Waves, Storms & Tsunamis
    • The Seafloor
    • Temperature & Chemistry
  • Through Time
    • Ancient Seas
    • Extinctions
    • Evolution
    • The Anthropocene
  • Conservation
    • Fishing
    • Pollution
    • Habitat Destruction
    • Invasive Species
    • Acidification
    • Climate Change
    • Gulf Oil Spill
    • Solutions & Success Stories
    • Get Involved
  • Human Connections
    • Books, Film & The Arts
    • Recreation
    • Seafood
    • Exploration
    • History & Cultures
    • Careers
  • At The Museum
  • Educators

Search Smithsonian Ocean