Beluga whale

Common name : Beluga Whale
Scientific Name : Delphinapterus leucas
Adaptations :
Swimming- Beluga whales are adapted to highly maneuverable rather than high-speed swimmers. They can swim forward and backward and they tend to swim at depths which barely cover their bodies.
Diving- Beluga whales can stay submerged up to fifteen minutes.
Respiration- Beluga whales breath out of a single blowhole, a modified nasal opening.
Thermoregulation- Beluga whales go threw the process of countercurrent heat exchange.
Sleep- Deep sleep only occurs in one hemisphere of the beluga whales brain at a time.
Habitat : Beluga whales are found among icebergs and ice floes in the icy waters of the artic and subartic. Shallow coastal waters are a place to normally see these whales.
Beluga whales are an endangered species. Their population is said to be about 60,000 to 80,000.
I chose this organism because the Beluga whale is my favorite animal. It is super cute and adorable.

Oceanographers & Instruments

• Biological Oceanographers study both plants and animals. They can study varieties of animals such as plankton and large animals. To study small animals like plankton they use microscopes. Microscopes help by magnifying the animal several hundred times. It gives the oceanographer the ability to analyze the animal more in depth. 

• Chemical Oceanographers study the chemical composition of the water. To collect water samples they use a Nansen bottle. The Nansen bottle helps scientists to collect water at various depths of the sea. 

• Physical Oceanographers study the winds, waves, tides and currents. They also study the changes and motions of seawater, hurricanes, tsunamis and typhoons. With the use of a current meter oceanographers can successfully measure the water velocity or current in a river. 

• Geological Oceanographers study physical features on the ocean floor. Volcanoes and vents are often studied and analyzed. Sonar is a system using transmitted and reflected underwater sound waves to detect and locate submerged objects to measure the distance to the floor of a body of water. 

• Geophysical Oceanographers study beneath and below the ocean floor. They analyze fossil fuels, oil and gas deposits. Oil rigs, structures with equipment for drilling and servicing an oil well, help oceanographers to obtain oil deposits. 

• Oceanographic Engineers study the development of oceanographic equipment, oil rigs, submersibles, current meters, ROV's, and underwater habitats. FLIP gives the oceanographers a great place to study these aspects in depth. FLIP is designed to study wave height, acoustic signals, water temperature and density, and for the collection of meteorological data. 

Bob Ballard

Bob Ballard is a unique oceanographer who explores the ocean for unknown artifacts. Ballard has participated in about 120 expeditions in his life. His first when he was only seventeen years old. Bob Ballard has created robotic technology to send down into the ocean to make the discoveries more possible. Lots of time and effort are put into the NOAA program in order to explore the depths of the ocean. Ballard believes that exploring the ocean leads to discoveries that could positively affect our world. Many volcanoes have been uncovered as well as different sea creatures and plants. Although many discoveries are made, NOAA has a difficult time with expenses. I believe that NOAA deserves more money in order to pursue further involvement in the exploration of the ocean.