DIMETHYL SULFIDE
Dimethyl Sulfide is (CH3)2S (notice there are 2 methylium cations, hence the dimethyl) and is referred to as DMS often. DMS is contained within the cytoplasm of phytoplankton and when phytoplankton grow old and leak (exudate) or when zooplankton eat them, exposing some cytoplasm through drooling (munchate), DMS is released into the ocean and then the atmosphere. DMS is important for maintaining cell wall pressure and for cloud formation. Read the following article for some great information on DMS: http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=45946
OYSTER SEASON
Whereas you can get oysters at restaurants year-round, there used to be a saying that you shouldn’t eat oysters in months containing an “r.” However, with electrical refrigeration, selling oysters year-round is possible. However, oysters spawn during the warm summer months. Spawning causes them to become fatty, watery, soft, and less flavorful instead of having the more desirable lean, firm texture and bright seafood flavor of those harvested in cooler, non-spawning months. So, it’s best to eat them 9 months out of the year.
LULU
Lulu was built from 1963-1964 in Woods Hole from two 96' Navy surplus mine sweeping pontoons by Dan Clark, Inc.
In March of 1965, Lulu headed to Florida, under tow, for the first test as the submersible Alvin’s tender. The vessel began making regular trips with Alvin aboard in May 1965. Lulu made 119 cruises in the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores area, the Caribbean Sea, and in the eastern Pacific. Lulu's last trip was in August of 1983. In September 1984, Lulu was transferred to San Diego for Navy use as tender to the submersibles Sea Cliff and Turtle, but was instead sold to private owners. Alvin is now aboard the Atlantis. Feel free to look at the history of Alvin: http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=10737
TYPES OF BUOYS
Apparently, there are NUMEROUS types of buoys and not one system they fall under. You can various buoys that categorized by shape: http://www.themaritimeguardians.com/coldfusion/buoy_types.cfm. Or you can have some categorized by use such as: http://www.boaterlicences.com/online_course_buoys.php or even the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoy.
RATFISH
These fish have smooth skin, large green eyes, a rabbitlike face and a mouth with plate-like grinding teeth. The tail is tiny and streamer-like, so for propulsion they flap their large, wing-like pectoral fins. Ratfish cruise just above the seafloor searching for crunchy food like crabs and clams. They are related to sharks and are considered the missing link between the bony and cartilainous fishes because they have the characteristics of both. They primarily live in the deep sea. These fish have a long venemous spine in front of the dorsal fin.
OCEAN DUMPING ACT
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act has two basic aims: to regulate intentional ocean disposal of materials, and to authorize related research. Permit and enforcement provisions of the law are often referred to as the Ocean Dumping Act. The basic provisions of the act have remained virtually unchanged since 1972, when it was enacted to establish a comprehensive waste management system to regulate disposal or dumping of all materials into marine waters that are within U.S. jurisdiction, although a number of new authorities have been added.
NIMBUS SATELLITES
The Nimbus satellites, first launched in 1964, carried a number of instruments: microwave radiometers, atmospheric sounders, ozone mappers, the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), infrared radiometers, etc. Nimbus-7, the last in the series, provided significant global data on sea-ice coverage, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric chemistry (i.e. ozone distribution), the Earth's radiation budget, and sea-surface temperature.
The Nimbus-7 satellite was the first global monitor of man-made and natural pollutants in the Earth's atmosphere. The objective of Nimbus-7 was to determine the physical characterization of the global atmosphere, the oceans, the ocean-atmosphere interface, and the Earth's heat balance. Experiment data was to be transmitted to Earth immediately. The spacecraft was designed and configured the same as all previous NIMBUS satellites. Launch Date: October 24, 1978
TALLEST ICEBERG
The largest known iceberg in the North Atlantic was 168 metres (551 ft) above sea level, reported by the USCG icebreaker East Wind in 1958, making it the height of a 55-story building. These icebergs originate from the glaciers of western Greenland, and may have an interior temperature of -15 to -20 °C (5 to -4 °F).
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