Oceanic Blog-A-Thon!

Welcome to our OCEANIC BLOG-A-THON!

In honour of World Oceans Day we thought we'd all get together and share our thoughts, memories, adventures, photos, knowledge, passion for the seas and oceans to help raise awareness on the importance of the Seas and Oceans. After all, our planet may be called Earth, but there must be some reason it's known as "the BLUE planet"!



Life exists on this planet thanks to two things: an atmosphere and water! 3/4 of the Earth's surface is covered by seas and oceans. They provide food, natural resources, inspiration... They've impulsed commerce and exchanges between societies since the Phoenicians and Greeks set sail across the Mediterranean (and even earlier in some parts of the world). The world's oceans are all inter-connected, a reminder of how we're all part of the same larger ecosystem... and what happens in one region will inevitably affect others at some point.

And now, without further ado, we dive into the wonderful world of blogging to find out how people from different places, with different lives, view the seas and oceans and share their experiences:

• Over the weekend CrazyCris from Here and There and Everwhere (so, right here! lol!) reminded you to "Wear Blue, Tell Two" on World Oceans Day, and put together a list of funky fishy factoids (did you know that Nemo's dad should have changed sex and become his mum when she died?) that you can share with the people around you, as well as some simple things you can do to help the oceans.

• Ocean Mania illustrates where the ocean meets the shore. Pra from A Simple Story shares her love of the Ocean with photos from various coasts around India, including an astonishing image of coastal erosion by the power of the ocean's waves.

• In Aquatic Critters From Down South the Redheaded Shutterbug wants to introduce you to several inhabitants of the Southern Ocean whose lives depend on the presence of ice around the Antarctic and the high biological productivity in the coastal waters during the summer months.

• Rose, the APOGEE Poet, gives us some inspirational lines and a beautiful painting in World Ocean Day.

• Rain from Mountain Mamma shares a very personal connection she has with the Ocean and with water in general. I'll give you a clue, it involves a green Sea Horse! ;o)

• In World Oceans Day over at *Verily I Go* a fledgling diver finds just the right words to make her first three (eventful) expeditions into the ocean's depth as a SCUBA diver come alive for us.

• Brian at WayStationOne was fortunate to live on the Gulf Coast of Florida for a couple of years, a great way to find an oceanic connection! In World Oceans Day he shares a Saturday adventure with his 6 month-old son involving mysterious sea creatures. :o)

• In Me and the Sea MzzzLily from Essays & Utter Nonsense shows how you don't need to live near the Ocean to be have been touched by its majesty or concerned about it future.

• Lover of Life, from Life In The Second Half, brings us Dolphins! She shares her feelings for these bottle-nosed critters and gives some tips on things we can do to help them out (and the Oceans in general).

• At Life in Motion, Joseph brings us closer to God's Marvels: The Sea and The Ocean. With this he wants to remind us of all the Oceans do for us with images of beautiful seascapes in India, and of people whose livelihood is intrinsically linked to the seas. I was particularly impressed by those Chinese fishing nets!

• Are in you in the mood to learn more about the oceans through some educational and entertaining media? Well NeoLibrarium has gone out and found quite a bit of interesting material for you! A couple of good reads, some breath-taking films to rent and watch... if you want the names it's all a click away at World Oceans Day!

• O.k., it's time to get rid of the shoes and dig our toes into the sand! Head over to Shellbelle's Tiki Hut in Florida for a cool drink and dig into Happy World Oceans Day! where you'll meet the magnificent mangroves that are such an intrinsic part of life around the Gulf of Mexico and are the basis for a very unique (and fragile) ecosystem!

• Time for a scientist's point of view! With The Oceans: Returning to an Ancient Friend, Joshua over at Sci-Phi digs in to how the oceans have fascinated and impulsed man's development for millenia now, and how after turning our backs on the oceans for most of the 20th century we're finally recognising its importance and worrying that we be disturbing its delicate balance.

• At Here Under The Rainbow the sea is a source of inspiration for an author who shares a special connexion to the water in Ode To The Sea.

• Over at Your Mother Knows But Won't Tell You Holly shares her change of heart towards sharks and how they can be a source of inspiration in Be A Shark... Emotionally That Is. Some good laughs guaranteed!

• MKreider From The North Fork Long Island wants us to get a good look at what happens when the Atlantic Ocean meets a Long Island beach in June 8th Ocean Day. Makes me want to jump in! :o)

• From Ontario the Travel and Dive Girl at Journey and Adventure joins the World Oceans Day Blog-A-Thon with an amusing list of fun oceanic factoids related to science, geography, litterature and movies!

• At NickyHicks.com for World Ocean Day Nicky's invited us to tag along during a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico, round the Yucatan Peninsula, all the way down to Panama. Sunsets, seascapes, cruise ships... what time do we set sail?!

• CrazyCris has put her teacher's cap on over at Here and There and Everywhere and wants to give you all an intro Marine Biology lesson in Life In The Oceans. After some technical glitches it's finally up and available! ;o)

• In A Philosopher/Historian's Take on the Oceans, Brian, the philosophing half of Sci-Phi, has blended together history, philosophy and classical civilizations to talk about the importance of the oceans. He's put together a time machine to take us to meaningful historic moments of human-oceanic interactions!

• At Nurturing Wisdom we're asked to reflect on the importance of our oceans and how we've treated them. With World Oceans Day: One Ocean, One Climate, One Future we can also learn how to reduce some of that excess plastic we use and that inevitably finds its way back into the oceans.

• At The Road To Here the Squirrel Queen would like to share A Thought For World Oceans Day and a glimpse of the Ocean as seen in the Gulf of Alaska!

• Ever wondered what the world looks like Through Squirrel Eyes? Well now you do! Courtesy of the Squirrel Queen who shows how Flows the Water to the Sea in the great state of Washington.

• Want some more reading material? Angie from A Book A Day has selected something for you! She tells the tale of Pacific Lady: The First Woman to Sail Solo across the World's Largest Ocean.

So go, take some time and discover what all these people have to share with us. Leave them your comments so they'll know what you thought. And remember to "Wear Blue and Tell Two"!

Be sure to return throughout the day for updates! Links will be posted a.s.a.p.!