Wow, what an adventure! In this module, we began our journey by traveling 13.7 billion years back in time to witness the Big Bang, during which scientists theorize emerged everything in our known universe! Together, we watched as the early oceans formed on Earth billions of years ago.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. NOAA

We also learned about the four branches of oceanography — biological, chemical, geological, and physical. We discovered that oceanographers love their tools and technologies, from plankton nets to space satellites, and that these tools and technologies are vital to the exciting discoveries oceanographers make each year.

Finally, we learned that becoming an oceanographer requires much education and training, so we surveyed the available college and university programs, as well as some of the careers possible after graduation, including oil exploration, environmental consulting, teaching, and marine biology, just to name a few.