The Waters : Oceans Offer A Ray Of Hope

The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The well-being of the ocean is constantly being threatened and needs to stop. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems suffer and become endangered along with the lives of people and marine life. The importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world 's coasts must be recognized because they are truly irreplaceable. If humans are not educated , and become careless about what is thrown on the ground or sprayed on lawns, disastrous effects follow when it comes to the condition of the ocean’s ecosystems, which can endanger life itself, leading to a problem only we can correct. There is historical evidence of ocean pollution, although the problem still shadows us today.

Oceans cover approximately 75% of Earth 's surface and are vital to this planet and the people who inhabit it. Oceans provide food, natural resources, and recreation for nearly everyone in this world. Unfortunately Oceans have been receiving mass amount of pollutants including oil spills, toxic waste dumping, and industrial dumping. These pollutants will have negative impacts on the wildlife in the ocean, as we are seeing already with the Coral Reefs, and soon enough it will begin to affect our lives as well.

An entire new world, different from our own exists beneath the surface of our oceans. This life is full of color, shapes, sizes, wonder, and even darkness. Much of this life has yet to be explored but we still know that beneath the waves exist the most beautiful creatures and the most bizarre. Magical areas such as the coral reef and mysterious areas such as the depths of the ocean are homes to over 700,000 species that live in the ocean. This includes the eighty percent of the ocean that has yet to be explored. Even though there may be separate oceans on this planet, they are still interconnected by a body of salt water. No area of the ocean is the same, which brings us to the wonderful fact that so many different species are able to flourish

However, with the same inner drive to discover space should come the intention of wanting to explore the ocean. Humans have laid eyes on only about 5% of the oceans in entirety, and the necessary increase in funding would allow for the other 95% to be seen and known. All the water on our Blue Planet covers roughly 71% of the earth’s surface. Luckily, NOAA researchers have used their inner curiosity and taken action, finding out more and more about the five oceans that span the earth, and all the life that lives in them.

95% of the ocean has not been explored. With all the species and environments within the ocean that we have discovered, it is mind blowing to think that we have only seen 5% of what the ocean has to offer. The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s are One explores our long standing relationship with the ocean. This book is penned by oceanographer, explorer, and lecturer, Sylvia Earle. She earned her B.S degree from Florida State University, M.S and PhD from Duke University, and has accumulated 22 honorary degrees. She has worked as a director for multiple corporate and nonprofit organizations and as chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [1]. Earle’s research concerns marine ecosystems with an emphasis on conservation, which is the focal point of her novel. It is woven with stories compiled from decades of work and exploration, and with facts and arguments concerning our changing ocean. Sylvia’s novel is about the relationship between humans and the ocean, whether it be through the extinction of species, climate change, or even exploration and aquaculture, we ultimately affect the ocean and it affects us.

We rely on oxygen to breathe which comes from the ocean. The oceans primary producers use photosynthesis to produce oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide. “There is a growing recognition that some of the most important discoveries and opportunities for innovation may lie beneath what covers more than 70 percent of our planet—the ocean.” Philippe Cousteau, page 194.More and more scientists and ocean explorers are realizing the ocean is critical to our survival and we know very little about it. Since we have only explored 5% of the ocean, we still have so much to explore and learn, but it won’t be

The ocean is a very beautiful place. It consist of various different types of creatures and plants. 70% of the earth is made up of the ocean, with an average depth of 12, 400 ft. We have only explored less than 5% of the ocean. The ocean has a 17 °C (62.6* F) temperature, and has a latitude of 14.5994 °s and longitude of 28.6731 °w. The deepest part of the ocean is the Mariana Trench, which is about 36,000 ft. Photons (light) can’t go more than 330 ft below the water’s surface. 94% of life on Earth is aquatic, one living in a pond or aquarium. All the creatures of the sea must survive harsh conditions, predators, lack of oxygen, too much pressure, scares food, lack of sunlight, and extremely cold parts of the ocean. Certain types of plants,

Review: The opportunity and endeavor of exploring the Earth’s oceans can reap great rewards for mankind and unravel many of the mysteries that the Earth has left to

Ocean is the largest water body that covers 70% of the Earth’s surface. In this giant pool, thousands of known and unknown species thrive and create massive food web and environment. For several centuries ocean had and still is providing us with seafood, salt, minerals, transportation, and even leisure. However, in return, humans had leaked toxic chemicals, dumped trash, over-captured fishes and sea organisms, and destroyed environment and geography. Also, due to humans’ ever growing carbon usage from burning fossil fuel had made Earth and ocean temperature unnaturally hot. Today, as the result, the ocean had become a rotten pot of seafood and toxin. Although regret is always too late, if people realize this danger as an imminent threat and change, it is possible to revive the ocean.

Ocean pollution is one of the most urgent issues in our world today. The ocean is crucial to our ecosystem and it is being severely damaged at an alarmingly increasing rate. In this paper I will educate about the role the ocean plays in our beautiful Earth, why it is being so widely ignored and dismissed, the causes of pollution, and its effects on animals and humans alike.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that we exhale in our daily lives. Plants use carbon dioxide to create oxygen that all mammals use. However, carbon dioxide can also change the chemistry of the ocean, this is often referred to as ocean acidification. The excess carbon dissolves into oxygen in the water, producing a chemical called carbonic acid. This acid causes the ocean to become more acidic. In the eighteenth century, the pH was 8.07 which was slightly basic. Currently, the pH is around 8.01 this is about a twenty-five percent increase in acidity. (National geographic) While this slight change may not seem outrageous, it is causing multiple marine life struggles. The acid melts the shells of pteropods causing a low supply of food that would support larger fish.

The ocean plays a critical role in removing carbon from the atmosphere and providing oxygen. It regulates Earth's climate. The ocean is an increasingly important source of biomedical organisms with enormous potential for fighting disease. These are just a few examples of the importance of the ocean to life on land.

The main factors in this climate change are observed to be the increase in temperatures and the resulting acidification of the oceans. The previously mentioned changes and others in the report are readily observable, such as the uptake of anthropogenic carbon since 1750 that has led to the ocean becoming more acidic, with an average decrease in pH of 0.1 units and in some instances blatantly obvious, even to the average layperson. It is difficult to conclude what the rate of change in the future will be and the effects of observed ocean acidification on the marine biosphere.

For many years humans have struggled to discover the deepest parts of the ocean and have also struggled with discovering space. We could not go really deep into the ocean, because humans can not withstand the pressure that the ocean produces. But now there is a robot that can reach the ocean floor called “The Benthic Rover”. With that new robot, scientist will be able to record how changes on the surface of the ocean will impact the marine animals below. “What is special about the rover is that we will be able to stay in the deep parts of the ocean for a really long time collecting seasonal changes data” (Engineer Alana Sherman). With Benthic Rover,

The ocean is an extraordinary working machine. It benefits from itself as we benefit from it. This machine controls the earth’s climate, offers food for oceanic species and humans, trade, commercial and industrial transport, natural medicines and of course recreation (Ocean and Human Health, seaweed.com). Consequently, we need to be aware on how we use the ocean due to its rich, and yet scarce, resources and convenience. This massive body of water is an ecosystem that houses many organisms that are effected by people’s wrong doings. Humans are specimens of habitat and cannot seem to understand whatever we do has a severe ripple effect on ourselves and living organisms, we are all a part of the earth’s hierarchy and we need to preserve its balance. Various studies have proven that humans are the ultimate cause of the oceans ecosystem matters. This results in the ocean failing to sustain itself, so we need to take action. The clock is ticking and the ocean is suffering from pollution, overfishing, habitat alteration, bycatching, invasive species and coastal development (Saier, 2007). Nonetheless, this raises the question to how are these issues having an effect on the ocean’s ecosystem?