Kuantan River - 16 Dec 2009

Oceanography

What?

Oceanography is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries.

Many people associate careers in oceanography as consisting of swimming with marine animals at a marine life park or snorkeling in crystal-clear tropical waters studying coral reefs. In reality, these kinds of jobs are extremely rare and there is intense competition for the few jobs that do exist. Most oceanographers work in fields that use science to solve a particular problem in the ocean. Some examples include:

What is the role of the ocean in limiting climate change?
What kinds of pharmaceuticals can be found naturally in marine organisms?
How does sea-floor spreading relate to the movement of tectonic plates?
What economic deposits are there on the sea floor?
Can rogue waves be predicted?
What is the role of longshore transport in the distribution of sand on the beach?
How does a particular pollutant affect organisms in the marine environment?

Job Duties of Oceanographers

• Geological oceanographers and geophysicists
• Physical oceanographers
• Chemical oceanographers and marine geochemists
• Biological oceanographers, marine biologists, and fisheries scientists
• Marine and ocean engineers
• Marine archaeologists
  

"Blup2 Conservation: Towards Better Ocean for Tomorrow"

no class lah this week..:-)

as usual, there'll be no classes in the first week
it's a boring fact...

this semester, i begin my years as 'org laut' with 4 core subject:

• Marine Pollution
• Marine Microbiology
• Marine biological Diversity
• Marine Oceanography

my seniors told me that this semester will be a busy one.

cool..:-)

"Blup2 Conservation: Towards Better Ocean for Tomorrow"

Coral bleaching

What?

"Coral bleaching is the whitening of corals, due to stress-induced expulsion or death of symbiotic unicellular algae or due to the loss of pigmentation within the algae[1]. The corals that form the structure of the great reef ecosystems of tropical seas depend on a symbiotic relationship with photosynthesizing unicellular algae called zooxanthellae that live within their tissues. Zooxanthellae give coral its coloration, depending on the particular clade. Under stress, corals may expel their zooxantheallae, which leads to a lighter or completely white appearance, hence the term "bleached"."[wikipedia.org]

"Corals rely on algae that live inside each coral polyp to provide nutrients and supplemental oxygen. Bleaching occurs when these colorful algae die out or leave the polyps, often in response to overly warm conditions. Without their brightly colored algae, the coral's skeleton becomes visible through its transparent tissue, making it appear white. Although the tissue remains intact and can recover over time, this stressful condition can cause corals to stop growing and reproducing." (Sciencedaily.com)

"Bleaching has destoyed almost 30% of the world's coral reef." (Sciencedaily.com)

Causes:

• increased in water temperature
• increased solar irradiance
• pathogen infection

"One known culprit is an ocean-dwelling bacterium, Vibrio coralliilyticus, which chokes off corals' energy supply and kills these shell-clad marine animals. At lower temperatures, the bacteria are harmless to coral. But at warmer temperatures (above 75 degrees Fahrenheit) the bacteria become virulent and can kill coral." (ScienceDaily)

Conservation action in Malaysia
Realising the incredible value of coral reefs, Department of Fisheries Malaysia have established marine parks under a government directive in 1983 to conserve and protect coral reefs for sustainable fisheries, tourism, and research. There are currently 136 marine protected areas, containing 7% of the country's coral reefs. These national parks are situated around 40 islands in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, which are grouped together for better management.

"Blup2 Conservation: Towards Better Ocean for Tomorrow"

embarking a marine life

this is it...
this is the moment I've been waiting for


yeah....
right from the beginning
i always dared to do something different
somehow it went against what i am capable of

long time ago
i used to love to be an inventor
invent cool stuff, ease people's life
i did had quality in physics, maths and chemistry
biology was my least favorite subject
i know i am strong in those area

yet i opt to defy all of them
yet i opt to choose biological science
(ok r dari amik medicine..:-p)
i believe i had to venture into new area
whereby it would be difficult to survive
alhamdulillah, i did survive

in biological science
i was doing well in understanding human body
i love it..
yet i opt to defy it
yet i opt to choose biotechnology
i believe i had to venture into new area
whereby it would be difficult to survive
hahahahaha..

in biotechnology
i did pretty well in organic chemistry, bioprocess
i did pretty well in understanding environment
i was doing bioremediation for my EAP
yet i opt to defy all of them
yet i opt to choose marine biotechnology
i believe i had to venture into new area
whereby it would be difficult to survive
another laugh
hahahahaha..

reason?
life only once
if we don't embark new fresh challenge
we don't know what other quality we might have
we may end up in the safe mode all the time

in the years to come,
perhaps i will make such decision again..
:-)