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Education: Webinar Clips and Resources by Scientist/Educator

Stephen Riser

Professor
University of Washington

Dr. Riser's primary interests include the ocean's role in climate; circulation of the ocean and ocean/atmosphere/ice interactions through direct observations; and the interactions between physical aspects of circulation and the biogeochemical properties of the ocean.
Artist

Sea surface salinity research has come a long way, initially being measured from ships and more recently with autonomous floats such as wave gliders and Argo. Beginning in the mid 1970s, satellites were launched into space to measure various oceanographic processes.
Advanced Argo float

In order to better compare Aquarius satellite data (measuring global ocean salinity) to autonomous float data, the scientists involved with the Argo program engineered an "Advanced Argo Float".
Schematic of ARGO profile operation

Dr. Stephen Riser explains what an Argo float is and how it has increased scientists' knowledge of global ocean salinity since its implementation.
SPURS float data

Learn how (and why) sea surface temperature and salinity might be varying at the SPURS site in the Atlantic Ocean.
Graph of a freshening event in the SPURS region

Dr. Stephen Riser explains the importance of advancing oceanographic research equipment and why a rain event over the ocean can tell us a lot about how the ocean works to move water from place to place.
Trends in global salinity

Observing changes in global ocean salinity and identifying trends involves the work of many scientists to process multiple types of data.
Map of annual mean seawater salinity at 1km depth

Dr. Stephen Riser explains that sea surface salinity can vary not only throughout the global ocean, but also from surface to deep.
The global water cycle

Why Care About Ocean Salinity? (00:04:37)  Asking Questions and Defining Problems Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information 
In this clip, Dr. Stephen Riser explains that ocean salinity is a way to better understand the global water cycle. Salinity plays a role in determining seawater density, which can determine where water travels throughout the oceans.