j-node: ocean

Sunday, February 22, 2009

who cares?

mood: more bewilderment and head-shaking
is the human brain big enough to save one of the most intelligent creatures? greenpeace asks cynically in an add, aiming at banning whaling amongst other ocean related concerns.

when i mention i'm vegetarian in restaurants, a frequent response is to point me in the direction of the fish...

greenpeace campaign

fact i: the ocean is humanities last frontier of ignorance

72% of earth's surface covered by sea
97% of the ocean is unexplored
with one yearly NASA budget, the exploration program of NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) could be funded for 1600 years
largest mountain range covering 23% of earth's surface area underwater (visited for the 1st time after the moon in 1973)
coral reefs still unexplored between 60 and 150 meters
there are better maps of mars than the 50% of total US territory which lies under the sea
most of the southern hemisphere's underwater terrain is unexplored (more exploration ships in that region during captain cook's times than today)
the seabed is harboring countless well preserved archaeological artifacts
underwater hot springs are basically commercial grade heavy metals deposits
underwater volcanoes are emitting methane

fact ii: the oceans are teeming with life

although most of the ocean does not get exposed to photons from the sun, and hence there is no photosynthesis, it is completely erroneous to not expect life
the antarctic sea is, unexpectedly and only recently discovered, teeming with marine life
hydrothermal vent systems are islands of life
bacteria replicating photosynthesis in the dark by chemosynthesis where accidental discovery as no one ever predicted their existence
resilient bacteria living in ph 11 environments
7 new species found per hour of deep reef exploration
2000 to 2500 estimated new species in the indo-pacific ocean alone (vs. 5000-6000 known species)
not only new species are still being discovered, but also new behavior and new ecology
amazing variety of bioluminescent animals

fact iii: the seas are being destroyed at breakneck speed

90% of all big fish have disappeared in the last 100 years
50% of all coral reefs are destroyed
for 1kg of fish ending up in a market, at least 10kg of bycatch was killed and thrown away
1.7% of the blue whale population is remaining
10% of the tuna fish population is remaining
commercial trawlers are forced to access ever deeper seabed due to the depletion of fisheries; this completely destroys potential habitats which are totally unexplored and eradicates possibly unknown species
throwaway plastic accumulating in the sea (half of the 100 billion pounds of plastic pellets a year are made into throwaway plastic produces of which a large fraction ends up in the sea)
100000 albatross chicks in remote habitats dying from stomachs filled with plastic trash
some ocean water samples contain more plastic than plankton
plastic debris concentrate pollutants and become "poison pills"
these are been eaten by many fish at the bottom of the food chain
gigantic garbage patches in the pacific and atlantic