This week's In the News section deals with the Year of the Ocean. The six sites discussed provide information of various types about, and related to this topic. The United Nations declared 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean to bring attention to the "importance of the marine environment."

This Web site is the online companion to the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). The Educational Resources section provides links to dozens of AMNH activities and articles, mainly geared toward elementary school students. Also, the online guide to the exhibit is itself a terrific educational resource. For example, the Dioramas section offers great graphics...

From the recently launched SmithsonianEducation.org Web site comes an excellent set of learning resources based on Exploring Marine Ecosystems, a permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The activities and lesson plans in Contrasts in Blue help students explore two distinctively different marine ecosystems: the Caribbean coral reef and the rocky coast of Maine....

Marine Census Shows Vast Diversity of Sea Life http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704847104575532031662747228.html Biggest Marine Census Complete http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101004-coml-complete-census-vin-video/ New Map Charts Troubled Status of Ocean Life http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2010/10/ocean_map.html Census of Marine...

In the December 16, 1999 issue of Nature, researchers from Australia and California used chemical tests to show that coral reef fish often spend their life cycle close to home, rather than drifting in the open ocean. These findings have important implications for global fisheries management. This site provides further information on Robert Warner, one of the lead researchers on the UC Santa...

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently completed this expedition of the largest coral reef system in the Atlantic Ocean and has provided an opportunity for Web users to share some of what they experienced. Visitors can view spectacular photos and videos to learn about the reef and the creatures that reside there, as well as read the daily reports of the expedition. The site offers much more in...

The Gulf of Maine Aquarium Web site is an abundant resource on marine ecosystems. From communication strategies of marine mammals to coral reefs in Belize, the site uses descriptive text and vivid photos to explore a variety of topics related to ocean life. With each menu expanding into a number of further selections, the site is a maze of topics that allows users to navigate through a vast amount...

Marine biology is the latest topic from the American Museum of Natural History's OLogy Web site, which offers younger kids a fun, interactive way to explore different "-ologies" and meet the researchers who study them. The module for Marine Biology: The Living Oceans provides loads of colorful and engaging features focused on ocean ecosystems, marine biodiversity, and related topics. The Web site...

From Monterey to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the United States has a coterie of marine sanctuaries and habitats that are quite rich in their diversity of marine life. Teachers will particularly appreciate the National Marine Sanctuaries Education site as it offers up a number of instructional materials for use in the classroom, including lesson plans and video clips. Much of this material...

Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) is "a user-friendly, web-based provider of global geo-referenced information on accurately identified marine species" developed by the international research program Census of Marine Life. OBIS can be used to integrate information from a host of stand-alone databases including biological, physical, and chemical oceanographic data on a selected species...