Science is the discovery of knowledge about the natural world, and marine science is the general term for research conducted in oceans and coastal or inland waters connected to the sea.
Marine scientists work in a surprising variety of disciplines. Some examples of that includes planetology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, geology, physical oceanography, paleontology, and biology. Marine science also includes archaeology, anthropology, sociology, engineering and other studies of human relationships with the sea.
Marine scientists are employed by universities and colleges, international organizations, federal and state agencies, private companies, nonprofit laboratories and local governments, or they might be self-employed. Marine scientists get professional salaries, but hardly ever become wealthy.
Archaeology
Maritime archaeology is the scientific study of artefact assemblages, sites and structures which are associated with past human activity and now lie underwater, either beneath the sea or in inland waters.
Most maritime archaeologists working for museums are involved in research, excavation and display, while those employed by government agencies undertake surveys, assessments of the significance of archaeological sites or artefacts, and management of cultural resources.
A career in maritime archaeology normally requires a university degree, preferably in archaeology, history or a related discipline. However, postgraduate studies in maritime archaeology towards higher degrees (masters and doctorate awards) can potentially be undertaken in any university that has a department of archaeology.
Biochemistry
Biochemistry is the study of all chemical processes associated with living organisms. In the sea, chemical signals are transmitted within organisms, between organisms, and through the water column across a range of distances.
Marine biochemical research is mainly conducted in universities, federal government agencies, and in some state local government agencies.
Botany
Marine Botany involves the study of a broad range of organisms including flowering plants, algae and fungi. With the exception of fungi, these organisms are all photosynthetic and are therefore restricted to the well-lit upper ocean and inshore regions.
Another important focus in marine botany is the use of marine plant communities as a source of food and shelter for commercial fish and prawns.
Marine botanists are employed in research or management in universities, departments of agriculture and fisheries, museums, maritime services, water boards, sewerage and drainage boards, and environmental agencies.
Conservation
Collecting the information needed to establish and implement management of the marine environment and its resources often involves priorities and approaches which differ from those of land-based research programs.
Marine conservation research plays a special role in developing and refining approaches to management, methods for assessing the state of managed resources, and the effectiveness of management policies and practice. Marine conservation research acts as a link between researchers and managers.
Training for marine conservation research usually involves postgraduate studies in a relevant discipline or in a multidisciplinary research unit. However, there are some careers for research assistants that does not require postgraduate training.
Economics
Economics is concerned with the efficient allocation of resources between the competing demands of different users. Marine resources include stocks of fish, marine mammals, marine flora, mineral stocks, shipping lanes, areas for recreational activities, marine energy sources and the marine environment in general.
A research economist will normally have an honors degree in economics, or a higher degree such as a masters or doctorate. Preparation for an honors course is usually a three-year undergraduate university program in economics.
Research economists working on marine resources are employed in universities, international commissions, state departments such as fisheries departments.
Education
Careers in marine education fall into two main categories: education contributing to an academic award, such as a school grade, diploma or degree; and education of the general community for its intrinstic value.
Most marine educators are professional teachers with qualifications in fields such as science and outdoor education. Marine education in school is enhanced by the development of field study centers with partial or total emphasis on marine studies.
Those wishing to specialise in teaching marine science at secondary school or level will require both a primary science degree with significant marine component including field-based subjects, and a postgraduate award in teaching.
Geography
Geography is concerned with the nature, causes and spatial organization of physical and human phenomena on the earth's surface. It includes the study and interpretation of the natural environment, socioeconomic system and human environment interactions in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
Physical geographers are interested in interactions between physical, biological and chemical processes within coastal ecosystems, and the local and regional controls on variability and change in these systems. They study the dynamics of the coastal ocean and atmosphere using sensors to monitor waves, currents, salinity, temperature and wind. Environmental and human geographers are increasingly concerned with the nature and management of short and long-term human impacts on the coast.
Research geographers are employed mainly by government and universities.
Geoscience
Marine geoscience is the study of sea-bed materials and the processes that have formed them. Marine geoscientists investigate a broad range of topics ranging from the origin and permanence of ocean to the assessment of resources on and beneath the sea floor.
Organization employing marine geoscientists are vary including state government departments.
Dr. Phil Kramer is a geoscientist, he is an expert on the coral reefs. Dr. Kramer has done many studies before. Studies ranging from going under the ocean and investigating the ocean floor, the ocean sea-bed materials, and geological history.
Dr. Kramer came to the Miami Museum of Science to speak to the UniTY program students. He first told us about his job descripition, and then he started showing us slides of the type of thing he does when goes on his investigation trips. The students found Dr. Kramer very interesting. And it was a great pleasure for us the future marine scientists to meet him.
Marine Biology
Marine biology is the study of the living resources of the world's oceans and coastal seas. In tropical regions, shallow water environments support rich and diverse biological communities. These include coral reefs, mangrove and seagrass habitats.
The education and skills needed to become a biologist is vary. You should have as much high school science and mathematics as possible, preferably four years of each. For college, you should have at least a bachelors degree. Professional jobs in biological research are difficult for a bachelors graduate to find. With only a bachelors degree, you would have limited possibilities for advancement in research and development or other professional tracks. You can maximize your employability however, by taking lots of english, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, as well as statistics and computer sciences.
As a marine biologists you would work in teaching and research at colleges and universities. Others work in private industry, chemicals, food processing, and especially in pharmaceuticals. The third largest segment of biologists is government agencies and in the Department of Agriculture and Interior.
Microbiology
Marine microbiology is the study of marine life forms that cannot be seen with the naked eye, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and microscopic algae. Microbes occur in the water column and sediments, on the surfaces of marine plants, animals and inanimate objects, in the intestinal tracts of fishes and invertebrates, and even within the tissues of other living things.
Microbiologists investigate the ways in which microbes change chemical from one form to another, and the importance of this to the health of the oceans. Maintenance of this cycle is essential for life in the oceans.
Marine microbiologists are employed by universities, state and federal departments and by private industries.
Oceanography
Dr. Christopher Mooersspeaking to students of the UniTY Program
Chemical oceanographers study the dissolved and particle bound materials in marine organisms and the marine environment (chemical oceanographers study the chemical reactions in sea water).
Chemical oceanographers spends most their time in laboratories conducting chemical analyses and interpreting results. Career opportunities exist mainly in public funded research and management organizations, although there are some opportunites for applied careers in private enterpise.
Physical oceanographers study waves, tides, currents and the atmosphere. Physical oceanography involves the study of the physical processes which occur in the ocean and their effect on climate and the transport of pollutants and nurients.
A strong background in mathematics, physics or engineering is required for oceanography. An undergraduate degree can lead to employment as a scientist or research assistant in universities, government laboratories, or environmental agencies or other private industry. Postgraduate study provides opportunities to become leaders in reasearch.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the study of the classification and identication of animals and plants. The determination of taxonomic relationships is critical to an understanding of evolutionary history, comparative biology and community ecology.
Taxonomists also work in the field and many have active research programs in coastal and offshore environments investigating the compostion and diversity of biotic communities.
Not all universities offer specific cources in taxonomy, but courses in evolutionary biology may cover the principles, if not the practice, of the field. A student typically becomes involved in taxonmic research by undertaking a masters or doctoral degree in the discipline.
Marine taxonomists are employed by state museums. State and federal national parks or fisheries agencies employ people with understanding of taxonomy to identify and manage representative marine and habitats.
Zoology
Zoologists study animals life in all its diversity, including the interactions of animals with other organisms and with the physical and components of the environment.
Marine zoologists are employed in a great diversity of areas at all levels of government, by universities and museums, and private industry, such as environmental consulting and pharmaceutical research.
Conservation
Marine conservation involves applying scientific understanding to manage the human of use of, and impacts on, marine environments and resources.
Marine conservation involves many disciplines, including the biological, chemical, earth, physical and social sciences, economics, engineering, geography, law, planning and public administration.
