In honor of World Oceans Day, we have a special “multi-media” post for you. There are several bloggers posting about this, thanks to Cris over at the Here and There and Everywhere blog. The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day is: “One Ocean, One Climate, One Future” and that made me realize how little I actually knew about the world’s oceans. Partly this is because I’ve lived in a landlocked area for most of my life. The first time I ever saw the ocean was when I was 17 and my high school orchestra took a trip to South Padre Island, Texas. I was fascinated, but beyond the fact that it seemed to go on forever, I never pondered much beyond  fear of jellyfish, undertow, and the creepy seaweed that wrapped around my legs.

So, if you want to know more I have a few suggestions!

First, for the true novice is Science 101: Ocean Science, by Jennifer Hoffman. It sells for about $15.95 (USD), but the good news is that I found that my public library carried several copies at various branches. With any luck, this will be the case for you as well! It is written in a way that is suitable for both teen and adult readers, and it attempts to cover a little bit of everything! It’s a great primer and it reminded me of days gone by when I spent most of my time fascinated by whales, dolphins, and coral reefs. There’s also a section that covers some aspects of how the ocean relates to climate.

Next is a book entitled To Follow the Water, by Dallas Murphy. This book is a nonfiction account that discusses the ocean and climate in context. The book is friendly even to those who have no expertise in either field, and the beginning gives an interesting history of how pieces of the puzzle, such as the Gulf Stream and Trade Winds were discovered by sailors, scientists, and other curious parties. If you have more than a passing interest, then this book would be a good investment. I also found this in the local public library, which seemed rather fortunate because this work was published in 2007 and it often takes more than two years for a good book to make it into circulation in the libraries. Also, don’t be too concerned at finding yourself bored by the book. The tone is neither condescending to general readers nor too dry to appreciate.

For you people out there who are more visual learners, or just don’t think either book is right for you then  I suggest checking out the Blue Planet DVDs by the BBC/Discovery Channel. Again, these may be found at the local library so don’t think you’ll have to dish out a bunch of money to learn! Now, I couldn’t find the whole collection there, but I did check out one of the three two-feature DVD sets available which contained film for Seasonal Seas and Coral Seas. I thoroughly enjoyed watching both shows, and as usual the BBC/Discovery Channel managed to get some astounding film for both features. I especially enjoyed the Coral Reefs section, since that has always interested me most. To top things off, the special features section had pictures that were taken during filming with labels that tell you which fish/crustacean/etc is pictured and where the picture was taken.

If you don’t want to take a trip, then you can watch this video of Planet Earth: Ocean Deep, from Google Videos:

If you want more information, I would recommend first visiting Here and There and Everywhere not only for the cool posts that are up on that site but also for the list of blogs who are doing similar posts to this one for World Oceans Day. Also try checking your local libarary, browsing the bookstore, or visiting sites like National Geographic, Ocean.com, or if you live in Texas learn more about the Gulf of Mexico at the Gulf of Mexico Alliance webpage. Any other suggestions you may have are more than welcome! It may only be World Oceans Day for one day, but interest extends beyond that timeline so tell us what you think.

Tags: Climate, Climate awareness, coral reefs, fish, Frozen Seas, global climate, global warming, nonfiction, ocean awareness, Ocean World, Open Ocean, Planet Earth, public library, Science 101, seas, seasonal seas, sharks, The Blue Planet, The Deep, To Follow the Water, water, whales, World Oceans Day