The ocean in action – question bank

Q. What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

• The Ocean in Action

Q. How does the ocean interact with other natural systems on the planet?

• The ocean and Earth’s systems and cycles

Q. Salt makes seawater taste salty, but does it do anything else?

• Ocean salinity

Q. What causes ocean currents?

• Ocean motion

Q. Data from Argo scientific floats is available on the internet, so can I use it?

• Argo project

Q. Argo floats automatically go up and down in the water – how do they do that?

• Buoyancy in water

Q. How can different people claim different conclusions from the same data?

• Using radiocarbon carbon dioxide data

Q. Is the concern about global warming just a recent thing?

• The ocean and climate change - timeline

Q. Is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere really increasing?

• Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Q. What part does the ocean play in the global carbon cycle?

• Carbon cycle
• The ocean and the carbon cycle

Q. Where is the most carbon stored naturally on Earth?

• Carbon cycle

Q. Isn’t the ocean too big and too deep for scientists to find out what’s going on in it?

• Argo project

Q. What does an oceanographer do?

• Dr Phil Sutton
• Dr Kim Currie