At this site, users can read and view pictures and videos that explain the mechanisms that trigger tsunamis, how they travel across great distances of the ocean, and what damage they cause. Full description.

This illustration of Earth's sea surface temperature was obtained from two weeks of infrared observations by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), an instrument on board NOAA-7, during July 1984. Temperatures are color coded with red being warmest and decreasing through oranges, yellows, greens, and blues. The caption provides a brief description of the features seen in the image. Full description.

Users can view a selection of animations of ocean surface temperature and dynamic height derived from data from the TAO/TRITON buoy array moored in the Pacific Ocean. The animations show temperature and surface topography variations consistent with the development of El Nino and La Nina events. Full description.

This site provides general information on hurricanes, including how they form, where and when conditions favorable to hurricane formation exist, how wind speeds are classified, and what conditions cause hurricanes to diminish and decay. It features text, scientific illusrations, and links to related topics in other parts of the Earth Observatory website. Full description.

This site explains how temperature, pressure, and salinity work together to determine the density of ocean water. The three density layers of the ocean are described by means of text description and a graphic illustration. Full description.

Until now, studies that involve the ocean floor have been at a disadvantage due to an almost complete lack of accurate marine base maps. Materials presented here serve to introduce the Pacific Seafloor Mapping Project, an endeavour by the United States Geological Survey to produce high-resolution base maps of the sea floor. These maps are intended for use in identifying areas of erosion and deposition ... Full description.

This is the homepage of the SeaWiFS Project. Users can access remote imagery, datasets, information on the spacecraft and receiving stations, and data processing applications. Educational materials include a tutorial and presentation on ocean color, a teachers' guide with activities, imagery, and a teachers' workshop. Full description.

This article explains how the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite has been used to measure changes in sea level due to heat storage in the ocean. The satellite is able to measure and compensate for the effects of solar and lunar tides so that the data can be used for the study of ocean circulation. Full description.

The friction produced by winds blowing towards the equator on the ocean's surface, together with the effect of the earth's rotation, cause water in the surface layer to move away from the western coast of continental land masses. This offshore moving water is replaced by water which upwells, or flows toward the surface from depths of 50 to 100 meters and more. Users can view an illustration and read ... Full description.

The ocean and atmosphere each react to changes in the other. These reactions and counter-reactions can snowball until the system builds to a point where potentially disastrous effects occur, such as the El Nino events of 1982-83 and 1997-98. This site describes how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's TOPEX-Poseidon satellite was used to monitor the amount of sea level rise in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, ... Full description.