Oceanography ›  Unit 3

Unit 3 Seawater Properties & Circulation

Salinity and temperature set water's density. Density sets how it layers and moves. This unit follows that chain all the way from a glass of seawater to a route across the entire Pacific.

📅 Weeks 4–6🏷️ 7 Activities🏷️ 2 Projects🏷️ 1 Problem
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The Path Through Unit 3

A container ship burns fuel every mile and every knot of headwind. A shipping company has run the same trans-Pacific route for years \u2014 nobody's ever checked it against what the ocean is actually doing. Read the full brief →
Activity — builds the skill
Project — applies it, target known
Problem — open-ended route analysis (do last)
AActivity5 days total
3-1-1Salinity — What's Dissolved in Seawater, and Why
1 day→
3-1-2Density, Temperature & the Layered Water Column
2 days→
3-1-3Lab — Measuring Salinity, Density & Temperature
2 days→
PProject🕑 2 class days

3-1-4  Build the Water Column

Construct a density-column model that shows why cold, salty water sinks and warm, fresh water floats — the same layering that drives circulation at ocean scale.

Turn in: Physical or digital density-column model + a labeled diagram explaining each layerOpen →
AActivity7 days total
3-2-1Surface Currents & the Coriolis Effect
2 days→
3-2-2The Global Conveyor Belt — Thermohaline Circulation
2 days→
3-2-3Waves and Tides
1 day→
3-2-4El Niño / La Niña and Global Weather Impacts
2 days→
PProject🕑 3 class days

3-2-5  Track the Drift

Using real current and sea-surface-temperature data, forecast where a simulated ocean event — a debris field, a research buoy, a marine heatwave — will end up next.

Turn in: Predicted drift path/map + written justification citing the specific current data usedOpen →
BProblem🕑 4 class days

3-3-1  Beat the Standard Route

A shipping company runs the same fixed trans-Pacific route every trip. Using current, wind, and circulation data, you find a route that actually burns less fuel — and prove it against their baseline.

Turn in: Route recommendation memo with map, fuel/distance comparison, and risk assessmentOpen →