The Science of Changing Oceans

"The ocean is a dynamic and rapidly evolving environment, a long-appreciated truth which becomes increasingly apparent as we observe it ever more carefully."

Last month, Science magazine ran a special issue on ocean science and ocean conservation. We especially liked the updates on new technologies for studying the ocean. Two such examples are buoys and fiber-optic cables.

• Buoys: There are now over 4000 science buoys in the world's oceans, gathering temperatures, wave heights, wind speeds, water conductivity profiles, and helping scientists understand ocean dynamics better than ever before.
• Fiber-Optic Cables: Strung from shore and across the ocean floor, fiber-optic cables are gathering data on crustal dynamics and deep-sea ecosystems.

We were also interested in the piece on ocean garbage patches:

Chances are you've heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the vast mass of floating debris midway between Hawaii and California that is twice the size of Texas. Although many media stories conjure up a chunky soup of bottles and tires, it is mostly an unstrained consommé of small bits of floating plastic. And it isn't the only one. A similar accumulation of plastic particles—which include weathered fishing line, Styrofoam, wrappers, and raw resin pellets—has shown up in the North Atlantic Ocean. But the potential harm to marine life is far from clear.

Most of the floating debris is small enough that it's difficult to determine what happens to it. It's also small enough to be ingested by marine life low on the food chain. Further study is necessary to understand what is happening to plastic particulate and how much of its chemicals are absorbed into animal tissue.