Global Ocean Challenges

The ocean influences nearly all activities on the planet, serving as a source of nutrition, energy and pathway for transport of resources while buffering the scale of variations in climate. It is also the portion of the planet that is perhaps in greatest need of data to address issues of the dramatic changes that are happening globally. Some of the changes are clearly the result of human inaction and lack of foresight Fisheries, on which one sixth of human protein nutrition is derived, are in a state of near collapse for some species in the near term, owing to oveyishing and mismanagement of a sustainable infrastructure. Lack of cautious application of new technologies and oversight has led to increasing levels of pollutants, sometimes catastrophically, as was evidenced in the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Global warming is influencing many aspects of the ocean system and will have collateral impacts beyond simply raising the temperature of the planet: Navigation and influence on transport are chief in our envisioning eventual impacts, and need to he anticipated, based on the hest of models and data. Sea level rise and the associated coastal erosion, modifying waterways and ports, call fir adaptive planning. Climate change could easily he seen to affect ocean circulation, wind dynamics, storm production and associated storm surges. Loss of sea ice in the Arctic will open new avenues which are economically and energetically more efficient for transport. With warming, and heightened destruction of ice sheets will likely come increased hazards from sea ice in shipping lanes. The rate of loss of the ice sheets such as that of Greenland is only beginning to he understood, and appears to be increasing. Sea ice coverage in the Arctic was the lowest on record in the summer of 2012, and the area, of surface melt on the Greenland Ice Sheet was recorded at the highest, at 97%, since satellite images have documented its status. Diminishing ice cover will also influence an increase of fishing efforts and exploration for fossil fuels in the high Arctic. Without precise data on the sizes offish stocks, the effects on commercial fisheries are complex, and beg for fundamental knowledge. Additionally with the loss of sea ice, diminishing ice-based productivity may lead to a loss of diversity and modification of sustainable trophic structure in Arctic food webs. As a consequence of increased fossil fuel exploration, extraction and transport, the risk of contamination is heightened and at present only minimal preparation for impact and cleanup exists for this eventuality in ragile Arctic environments. The addition of massive amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and oceans, has changed the ocean chemistry increasing the acidity or lowering the p11. Sound propagation in a more acid ocean may affect navigation as well as migration patterns of marine mammals and fish. Acidification influence on calcareous organisms at primal)) production levels could lead to catastrophic effects on the higher organisms of the food chains. The collateral impacts of the changing ocean in a period of global warming urgently require further study in order to enable adaptation and reduce vulnerability. Only through an appreciation for the past and a comprehensive understanding of the present, can we anticipate the future. The potential for that vision of the ocean lies with the cooperation among all nations.