Oceanography (ONR Science & Technology Focus) - With over 70% of the planet underwater, this site has lots to draw on. Surf from tsunamis to breakers, coral reef to kelp forest. Or ditch the board for veteran submersible ALVIN to explore hydrothermal vents. Part of the US Office for Naval Studies Focus on Science and Technology, aimed squarely at students and teachers, each section ends in a quiz (skip this). Those with suitable plug-ins can listen to the Minke Whale and engage in the battleship-strewn littoral zone interactive. Don't miss the current research feature complete with a video clip of scientific vessel FLIP living up to its name. Plus the site offers a 'porthole' (oh dear....) of links for those who want to dive deeper. (7 November 2000) JS
http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/default.htm

MI-Net - A number of marine topics for younger students provided by the Marine Institute at Memorial University in Newfoundland. The subjects range from navigation and shipbuilding to geology, archaeology and fish facts. Some topics (ie navigation) are produced by the Institute and are very useful teaching resources, with clearly defined sections and accompanying teaching activities. Others (ie geology) just link to related external sites, such as the US Geological Survey and the Earth Sciences Directorate. (20 October 2000) BA
http://www.ifmt.nf.ca/minet.htm

Dive and Discover - Forget outer space - and explore the seafloor. The Pacific mid-ocean ridge thousands of metres deep provides scientists with a fantastic submarine landscape of towers, 'blacksmokers', and bizarre creatures that handle the massive pressures and lack of sunlight at this depth with no problems. Follow the expeditions on a day to day basis, seeing what the scientists see as it happens (retrospectively, at this time). 12/4/01 - Update: The first expedition of 2001 for this website is a 40 day voyage to explore hydrothermal vents at the mid-ocean ridge in the central Indian Ocean. The voyage lasts until 5 May 2001. (20 October 2000) DB
http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/

MATE: Marine Advanced Technology Education - MATE is a national consortium of educational institutions and organisations seeking to improve marine technology education. The web site discusses the application of marine technology in helping us understand and use the marine environment. High School and College information is available for students thinking of a career in this sector, while a workplace section provides info and advice for those already in it as well as job opportunities. (22 February 2000) DB
http://www.marinetech.org/

OceanLink - Packed with information this site originates in Canada and is a good resource for anyone with an interest in the marine world. Sections include Ocean Info, Ask a Marine Scientist, Career Info, World Records and Ocean News. Dipping into a section on Sea Otters it's pretty comprehensive, with information on systematics, morphology, distribution, conservation etc. There's a great Food Web - just click on an organism to discover 'What it eats' and 'What eats it'. (30 November 1999) BA
http://oceanlink.island.net/

Canada's Aquatic Environments - With thousands of lakes, estuaries, rivers and bays, Canada has a tremendous diversity of aquatic life few of us appreciate. The University of Guelph's Aquatic Environments web site can help remedy the situation. See, hear, and read about dozens of aquatic reptiles, mammals, and amphibians. Visit their watery habitats and learn about the geological phenomena that made them. Let the Javascript helicopter guide you to one of Canada's many national parks. (22 July 1999) JK
http://www.aquatic.uoguelph.ca/

The Bridge - If you like oceanography but can't face surfing the 80,000 hits that keyword generates, why not let the Bridge point you in the right direction. Here you will find an extensive collection of links organised by useful keywords like "Chemistry", "Aquariums", and "Career Information". Pages are reviewed by school teachers for their didactic utility and by scientists for accuracy. (16 July 1999) JK
http://www.vims.edu/bridge/

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution - The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution on the Atlantic coast of Florida hosts research programs in everything from dolphin conservation to biomedical engineering. Their website is well worth a visit. Don't miss the still-growing Wavefront gallery, where you can tour the aquaculture lab, the inside of a data buoy, the harbour mouth, and the Institution's research ships with IPIX files that let you rotate your view 360 degrees, look up and down and zoom in and out. Also stop by the bioluminescence pages and find out why marine animals glow. (15 June 1999) JK
http://www.hboi.edu/

Oceans Canada - Any net surfer interested in ocean policy should catch the Oceans Canada wave. Get facts about the ocean, how it is used and abused, and read the relevant environmental and industrial acts in Canadian law. Although targeted to Canadians, the site has interesting information for everyone. (17 March 1999) JK
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceanscanada/

Into the Abyss - Another of the American television series Nova's mini-websites, this one dealing with the deep ocean and hydrothermal vents--a subject which seems to be very popular of late. Although the live mission reporting is well past, the site still holds much of interest, from information about different machines used for deep sea exploration to maps of the vents of the world and a deep sea bestiary (watch out for the fangtooth--quite possibly the ugliest fish we've ever seen). (26 January 1999) KN
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/