A future in our hands
Posted By hvrc.net_admin
The talk given by Professor Ed Hill, chief executive of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), was enlightening.
He spoke not of the five named oceans but of the single ocean, constantly snaking its way through five basins with climes from hot to cold, covering 71% of our planet’s surface and circulating 97% of its water.
The ocean is the largest reservoir of CO2 while half the oxygen we breath is produced by marine plankton. 91% of world trade travels by water. Evidence enough of the ocean’s importance to life and livelihoods.
With mankind and global warming putting pressure on the ocean we need organisations like the NOC, using the latest technology – like the deep-water AI explorer pictured here – to assess the threats and hopefully find solutions.
Professor Hill was far from despondent. He saw the international action now being taken as crucial: it should ensure there was enough time in which to understand the problems and manage the ocean’s future.