Book 6, Question 114
Why Do Research Ships Drag Nets and Bottles?
You can't understand the sea just by looking from the deck of a ship. So scientists bring a little bit of the ocean aboard! Bottles collect water, nets catch tiny plankton, and corers lift up mud.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 6
More fun facts
- Collecting ocean water in sampling bottles and catching things in nets is the only way to measure what is happening deep down.
- Scientists catch tiny plankton in a net called a bongo net.
- Long ago, researchers and ship captains threw bottles into the sea to study currents and find better shipping routes.
- Robot floats called Argo floats are dropped into the sea from research ships, cargo ships and even racing sailboats.
- On one research trip, waves rose seven to fourteen feet as scientists struggled to lower nets and water samplers over the side.
Sources: NASA, NOAA, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
Why do scientists still go to sea in ships?
Taking water samples and using nets is the only way to measure what is happening deep down.