The oceans, covering 71% of our planet, play a crucial role in sustaining life and regulating climate, yet remain largely unexplored and misunderstood. As we navigate the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the urgency to deepen our understanding and conservation efforts becomes paramount.
The oceans cover most of our planet yet remain largely unexplored. The United Nations has declared 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science to address this knowledge gap.
- UN Decade of Ocean Science: 2021-2030 declared as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
- Global Ocean Coverage: Oceans cover 71% of the planet.
- Exploration History: Dates back to 5000 BC with coastal communities using oceans for food; significant exploration continued from 600 BC to the colonial era and into the 19th century.
- Current Mapping: As of June 2024, only 26% of the seafloor has been mapped.
- Ongoing Research: Ocean’s impact on climate and civilization is still being studied; only 5% of the ocean is understood.
- Deep Sea Exploration: Recent focus on deep sea exploration and mining; India launched the Deep Ocean Mission in 2023 to utilize resources within its economic zones.
The Known and Unknown of Our Oceans
Our understanding of the oceans reveals their crucial role in supporting life and maintaining a habitable planet.
- Importance: Oceans are vital for food sources, navigational routes, and sustaining a habitable planet.
- Gulf Stream: Essential for maintaining survivable temperatures in Europe during winter.
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC): Keeps Antarctica’s temperatures as low as -40°C.
- Global Conveyor Belt: Recycles nutrients and gases between surface and abyssal layers.
- Oxygen Contribution: Oceans produce about 50% of the planet’s oxygen, a fact discovered in the 1980s.
- Impact of Industrialization: Colonization and industrialization have destroyed vast ocean areas.
- Commercial Fishing: Treated as an endless food source, leading to a significant decline in fish populations.
Ocean Pollution: A Problem No One Talks About
The oceans have become a dumping ground for various types of waste, posing significant threats to marine life and ecosystems.
- Trash Dumping: Includes the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and garbage patches in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Types of Waste: Consists of chemical waste, medical waste (used bandages, needles, chemicals, Covid masks), and toxic waste like Fukushima nuclear plant cooling waters.
- Plastic Waste: Constitutes 80% of the waste dumped in oceans; 8-10 million metric tonnes of plastic are dumped annually according to UNESCO.
- Microplastics: Ocean currents, turbulence, and sunlight break down plastic into microplastics, found in drinking water, soil, air, snow, and the human body.
- Deep Sea Plastic: Recent studies show the deep sea is a permanent reservoir of plastic.
- Impact on Marine Life: Ghost nets from commercial fishing choke marine life; marine mammals die from stomach blockages due to plastic ingestion.
- Threatened Species: 17% of species affected by marine plastic are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Oil Spills: Leach toxins into the ocean, posing additional threats to marine ecosystems.
- Human Ingestion: Studies from 2019 report that humans regularly ingest plastic.
Ocean and Climate Change
Ocean warming adds significant stress to our fragile ecosystem, with far-reaching impacts.
- Industrial Revolution Impact: Human activities since the 1800s have increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, enhancing the greenhouse effect.
- CO2 Levels: As of May 2024, carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, were 426.90 ppm.
- Carbon Absorption: Oceans absorb about 25% of atmospheric CO2 and 90% of heat, leading to ocean acidification.
- Ocean Acidification: Increased CO2 absorption causes acidification, leading to coral reef bleaching worldwide.
- Rising Ocean Temperatures: Steadily increasing temperatures impact global ocean currents, marine flora, and fauna, reducing CO2 absorption efficiency.
- Extreme Weather Events: Warmer oceans increase the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and marine heatwaves.
- Tropical Cyclones: Cyclones, driven by warm oceans, have intensified; Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and Cyclone Remal in the Bay of Bengal are recent examples.
- Marine Heatwaves: Increased by 50% over the last decade, causing die-offs of marine species and disrupting the marine food chain.
- Sea Level Rise: Extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels lead to coastal erosion, loss of livelihood, and existential threats to vulnerable islands.
- Impact on India: Rising sea levels and natural disasters make the Indian subcontinent highly vulnerable to climate change effects.
Addressing the Ocean Crisis
The oceans, a largely unexplored frontier, require urgent and multifaceted efforts to address the ongoing environmental crisis.
- Understanding Challenges: Oceans remain mysterious and difficult to understand, with knowledge changing rapidly.
- Climate Mitigation: Current efforts focus on technological solutions like ocean carbon capture and removal technology.
- Sustainable Practices: Emphasise sustainable mitigation, conservation policies, and environmental efforts to preserve marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
- Unchecked Consumption: Relying solely on technology ignores the fundamental issue of unchecked consumption driving climate disruption.
- High Seas Treaty: The UN Global Ocean treaty, signed by 91 countries after a decade of negotiations, marks a significant win for ocean conservation.
- Advocacy Efforts: Advocacy groups push for legislation banning destructive fishing practices and promoting ocean cleanup initiatives like 4ocean.
- Individual Actions: Reduce single-use plastics and consume ocean resources more responsibly.
- Conservation Focus: Increased focus on conservation is crucial to protecting life on our “Pale Blue Dot.”
Source: The Forgotten 70 Per Cent: Oceans, Climate Change, And Our Lives (Outlook)
An international agreement to protect marine life in areas beyond any country’s jurisdiction. It establishes a framework for creating marine protected areas, conducting environmental impact assessments, and regulating activities like deep-sea mining.
The gradual increase in global ocean levels, primarily caused by melting glaciers and thermal expansion of water due to climate change. This rise threatens coastal communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure.
Intense rotating storm systems that form over warm ocean waters. They bring strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surges, causing significant damage to coastal areas.
The warming of ocean waters due to increased greenhouse gas concentrations. This disrupts marine ecosystems, harms coral reefs, and alters weather patterns.
The decrease in ocean pH caused by absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This creates a more acidic environment, harming shellfish, coral reefs, and other marine life dependent on calcium carbonate for shells and skeletons.
The expulsion of algae living symbiotically within coral reefs, often caused by rising ocean temperatures. Bleached corals become white and struggle to survive without the algae’s nutrients.
Plastic pollution that has accumulated in the deepest parts of the ocean. Microplastics from various sources contaminate marine life throughout the water column.
The illegal disposal of waste materials in the ocean. This includes everything from plastic to abandoned fishing gear, harming marine life and ecosystems.
A powerful current that circles Antarctica, isolating the continent’s cold waters and playing a crucial role in global ocean circulation. Changes in the ACC’s strength and path can significantly impact global climate patterns.
The scientific study of the ocean’s deepest regions, which are largely unexplored and home to unique ecosystems and potentially valuable resources. Advancements in technology are enabling more in-depth exploration of the deep sea.
A UN-led initiative to galvanise international cooperation in ocean research and innovation to support a sustainable future.