Oceanography ›  Unit 1

Unit 1 Foundations of Oceanography

Before you can study the ocean's chemistry, currents, or life, you need the tools to find and describe it in the first place. This unit builds that toolkit, then hands you the same call NOAA scientists make every year: where do we go next?

📅 Weeks 1–2🏷️ 6 Activities🏷️ 2 Projects🏷️ 1 Problem
Oceanography Home

The Path Through Unit 1

NOAA has one research vessel, a fixed budget, and a shortlist of unexplored ocean regions. Somebody has to decide where it goes next. Read the full briefing →
Activity — builds the skill
Project — applies it, target known
Problem — open-ended mission briefing (do last)
AActivity5 days total
1-1-1Charting the Unknown — A History of Ocean Exploration
2 days→
1-1-2How We See the Seafloor — Sonar, Satellites & ROVs
2 days→
1-1-3Reading a Bathymetric Map
1 day→
PProject🕑 3 class days

1-1-4  Build the Map

You're handed real NOAA depth soundings for an unmapped stretch of seafloor. Turn raw numbers into a contour map that could brief a research crew before they ever leave port.

Turn in: Completed bathymetric map + a short written read of what the seafloor is doing thereOpen →
AActivity4 days total
1-2-1One Ocean, Many Basins
1 day→
1-2-2Basin Features — Trenches, Ridges & Rift Valleys
2 days→
1-2-3What Makes Seawater “Seawater”
1 day→
PProject🕑 3 class days

1-2-4  Pitch the Mission

Every research cruise starts as a pitch. Pick an unexplored ocean feature and build the case for why NOAA should send a ship there — the tools, the route, and the cost.

Turn in: One-page mission pitch + budget breakdownOpen →
BProblem🕑 4 class days

1-3-1  Where Do We Send the Ship?

NOAA has one research vessel, a fixed budget, and a shortlist of unexplored regions. Using everything from this unit, you decide where it goes next — and defend that call in a mission briefing memo.

Turn in: Mission recommendation memo with route map, tool justification, and budget defenseOpen →