What do I know & what do I want to learn about Marine Biology?
What do I know?
While I have lived in Marin my whole life, I haven't spent much time at the ocean. I usually go a couple times a year. However, I do know some characteristics about oceans that will help me coming into this class. To a certain extent, I understand how integral oceans are to humans and other living things. They keep our planet cool and sequester massive amounts of carbon dioxide. Oceans also help give humans great resources. Some of these things include healthy fish and plants. Sadly, humans have degraded oceans and used them for things like oil drilling. When oil spills happen, it can destroy whole ecosystems. It also can lead to other issues like drinking water contamination and loss of beaches due to "red tides."
What do I want to learn about?
I want to learn about many things in the ocean. I would love to learn more information on ocean exploration. The whole process of creating a submarine to study the depths of an ocean that we know very little about is quite intriguing. It's not just the bottom of the ocean that should be explored. Many reefs and open water currents carry new organisms and geological patterns that researchers have never seen before. I also want to learn more about ocean topography. For example, large lakes and volcanoes in oceans have yet to be thoroughly explored. Another thing that I want to learn more about is our local species in the Pacific oceans. It would be interesting to read about invasive sea urchins or kelp forests.
