Importance of Oceans
Determining the Quality of Life on Earth
Oceans are central to global, regional, and local human habitats and ecological systems. Indeed, processes within the world’s ocean basins are a critical determinant for the quality of life on Earth. The oceans modulate short- and long-term climate, influence food production on continents, and generate hazards such as storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
Economic Contribution
The US benefits tremendously because of its access to the oceans. Within the US, contributions from ocean- and coastal-related activities and coastal watershed counties amount to “>$4.5 trillion annually, fully half of the nations’ gross domestic product, accounting for some 60 million jobs”*.
Detect, Understand, and Forecast Changes
Because of the importance of our oceans world wide, as the world’s human population continues to increase, one key to our survival will be improvement of our ability to detect, understand, and forecast changes in the complex and extensive interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, and the underlying seafloor.
Meeting the Challenges
New technologies,such as cabled ocean observatories, reliable data, and powerful new modeling and visualization techniques that allow integration and interpretation of vast and diverse data sets will help us meet the global challenges soon to be faced within the oceans.
NEPTUNE research and education will use the new chemical, biological, physical and geological information to improve understanding of how the oceans work in four dimensions.
Participating in the Journey
Perhaps one of the most far-reaching effects of NEPTUNE, however, may be a significant shift in public attitudes toward the oceans and the scientific process. Abundant power, real-time data flow, and high-speed communications inherent in remote observing systems will open entirely new avenues for the public to interact with the natural world. Public access to science will be transformed by enabling cyber-participation in the journey of scientific exploration and discovery, promoting a strong sense of stewardship for our planet.
*An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
