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How Science and Technology That Can Help Save The Ocean Environment
Reducing your carbon footprint is vital because it helps to lessen the effects of climate change, which benefits public health and animal and plant diversity. Furthermore, sci and tech benefit the global economy and contribute to more inventive, environmentally friendly solutions. A reduced carbon footprint can help you stay fit and healthy, with benefits including cleaner air and lower energy expenses.
Over 80% of the ocean floor remains impassible, despite the fact that comprehensive ocean maps will be critical for addressing the issues of overfishing, habitat degradation, pollution, and biodiversity loss. It's easy to say the already conventional, “save our oceans,” but a data-driven map drives individuals to see why the ocean needs rescuing, where to begin, and what needs to be done.
How might science aid in the preservation of our oceans?
The UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission will launch the Decade of Ocean Research for Sustainable Development in 2021, calling to save marine habitats. The oceans span 70% of the Earth's surface and are our lifeblood. We are not responsible custodians of these precious waters. Furthermore, approximately 8 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans each year, quickly transforming them into a "plastic soup".
Recent decades have led to a greater comprehension of the marine environment, leading to measures to mitigate or reduce pressures and their associated repercussions on the ocean. According to the study, our analysis of the consequences of pressures and their cumulative impact remains insufficient. Moreover, it results in a widespread failure to comprehend, safeguard, and implement integrated ocean and coastal management.
Organizations working to save our oceans worldwide
The Ocean Conservancy is dedicated to providing long-term remedies for healthy seas, animals, and coastal communities. Current conservancy projects include promoting sustainable fishing, combating ocean acidification, and recovering the Gulf of Mexico. The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technology to remove plastic from the oceans. Moreover, Oceana is the world's largest organization dedicated entirely to marine conservation.
The ocean is crucial in managing the Earth's temperature. The melting of inland glaciers and ice is creating rising sea levels, which have serious consequences for shorelines (coastal erosion, salinization, habitat degradation) and coastal human populations. At about the same time, weather patterns are shifting, and extreme occurrences are becoming often. Modifications in the geographical ranges of marine animals and seasonal changes.
The ocean and climate change
The growing carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as other greenhouse emissions (GHG) from human activities, are having a disproportionate influence on the ocean. Also, changes in the water temperature, acidity, and deoxygenation occur. Moreover, as a result, causing changes in oceanic movement and chemistry, increasing sea levels, increased storm severity, and changes in the diversity and quantity of marine animals and life.
5 Gyres is a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating and promoting solutions to plastic pollution in the world's oceans. We engage politicians, corporations, students, and communities all across the world in solutions-based education through our scientific research. Our goal is to use our firsthand experience to halt the flow of plastic garbage into our oceans. It is also to make a contribution.
Contribution of Sci and tech
Innovations in sensors and observation platforms have greatly improved — for example, since 2012, the technology allows researchers to find approximately 11,000 new marine benthic invertebrate species such as crabs and mollusks, and more than 200 species of fishes since 2015. Also, innovations have resulted in both beneficial and negative results, such as improved efficiency in energy generation and overcapacity in fisheries.
About WOA II
WOA II is a thorough review of the state of the ocean and the ocean-human relationship, covering environmental, social, and economic issues. It is the most recent result of the only global integrated assessments of the world's ocean along all three pillars of sustainability. The initial evaluation set a baseline for monitoring the state of the marine ecosystem, including scientific components.
High-tech tagging
Animal tagging research has expanded in the last few decades, with promising outcomes for marine life. Scientists have studied everything from six-gram salmon smolts to 150-ton whales and everything in between. The information gathered has enhanced our understanding of animal whereabouts and population figures, as well as how animals adapt to climate change and man-made disruptions like plastic pollution and more.
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) developed an artificially intelligent camera to track and monitor marine endangered species. When the submersible system detects a vocalization produced by a marine species, it collects video and generates pertinent data for biological monitoring. The SphereCam, which has six cameras oriented on the faces of a cube, provides a 360° view of its surroundings.
Ocean robots in sci and tech
For years, scientists have used robots to investigate the deepest parts of the ocean, where humans cannot go. They can now launch robots above the ocean with lights, sensors, and equipment to bring back samples, take images, and investigate the seabed and its animals often. The Wave Glider SV3, an autonomous, solar-powered robot created by startup Liquid Robotics, is one example.
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