Digital Pick: See the Sea

The National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative is working with the University of Washington, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, among others, to measure physical, chemical, geological, and biological elements in the oceans and on the seafloors. The initiative aims to collect data on our watery world for the next thirty years, but those wanting instant gratification can view (http://www.interactiveoceans.washington.edu/visions11/live) streamed live from the observatory. The initiative also tweets its progress regularly. In case all this fails to impart nature's majesty, there's an O.O.I. poetry site as well. A sample: Asleep in our beds/The ocean rolls us away/A sweet lullaby.