About the ocean

The ocean is our planet’s life support system. It is the primary driver of Earth’s climate, weather, and water cycle; it feeds and sustains billions, including many of the world’s poorest people; and it makes life as we know it possible. Throughout human history, the ocean has fascinated and inspired, driven humanity’s urge to explore, and served as a wellspring of cultural and artistic expression.

The ocean affects everyone, every day—even those who live far from the coast. In the U.S., the marine sector supports more than 2 million jobs, and accounts for nearly $375 billion in goods and services and well over half a trillion dollars ($617 billion) in sales. Globally, the ocean serves as a key source of protein for three billion people and a foundation for the livelihoods of more than 10 percent of the population. 

Our entire planet depends on the ocean. Ocean temperatures and circulation patterns have dramatic effects on inland rainfall and crop yields. The oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the heat from human-caused climate change. And life in the ocean twilight zone—200 to 1,000 meters below the surface—sequesters two to six times the amount of carbon emitted by all automobiles worldwide. In addition, with the world population expected to balloon by another two billion people between now and 2050, sustainable farming of the ocean could meet the nutritional needs of this growing population in an area just two percent the size of what would be required with land-based agriculture.  

This is a critical time for the ocean. Polar ice melt is now outpacing all but the most pessimistic forecasts of a decade ago. Sea-level rise is threatening coastal communities around the globe. And commercial interests are extending their reach deeper into the ocean, moving to mine the seafloor and exploit twilight zone ecosystems that form the basis of ocean food webs and provide carbon sequestration services worth an estimated $300 and $900 billion annually. 

With these and other threats continuing to mount, there is an urgent need to accelerate ocean discovery, exploration, and education to inform public policy and conservation efforts, and to sustain precious ocean ecosystems for the benefit of humanity and the health of our planet as a whole.