Many of the most common pieces of equipment, used by oceanographers all over the world, are pictured in this lab. Study the image of each piece and read about it. Become familiar with its name and what it samples or measures. We will be using much of this equipment in subsequent labs where you will learn to operate it first-hand and gather data. By the end of the course you will be very familiar with these standard pieces of oceanographic equipment, what they sample or measure, what the sample looks like or what an average measurement is, and what oceanographers do with the sample and/or data that is obtained. This is the crux of oceanography.

This online lab exercise provides an overview and introduction to oceanographic equipment. The overview, when combined with the rest of the “hands on” labs, during the semester, will give you a comprehensive introduction to actually being an oceanographer in the field.