Scientists Use Big Data to Understand Earth's Marine Ecosystems

Although the Earth’s oceans cover 71% of the planet’s surface, 95% of the underwater world remains unknown according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Earth’s oceans are an integral component for the planet’s climate, food supply, marine ecosystems, and weather.

Scientists are now using big data to better understand the world’s oceans and marine ecosystems. Forbes.com contributor Lisa Wirthman writes about emerging oceanographic research in a recent article titled: “A Wired Ocean? How Big Data Is Saving Marine Predators.” In the article, Wirthman interviewed Stanford University marine biologist Barbara Block.
There are several reasons for having a better understanding of the world’s oceans. Our ability to breathe oxygen is derived from the ocean — which shields CO2 from the atmosphere, Block explains. “What will help us better understand the planet’s condition is to better understand what’s underneath two-thirds of it, which is covered by water,” Block says.
In 2000, the International Census of Marine Life began a 10-year initiative to identify and explain the diversity and abundance of marine life forms. The Census, which concluded in 2010, included 80 countries and a total of 17 projects. One project, Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP), collected underwater data by tagging sea creatures with monitors, deploying smart buoys, and using mobile wave gliders. The TOPP project tagged more than 5,000 marine animals. “The ability to census and track marine life is critical to answering some of the most basic questions about life under the sea,” writes Wirthman.
Block credits the creation of mobile chips that are used to tag marine creatures as one of the main ways that scientists have been able to learn more about the planet’s oceans. “The same technologies that power over one billion smartphones on land are now used in tags that ride on marine animals to collect ocean data such as depth, temperature and light,” writes Wirthman.
The Earth’s five oceans contain 97% of the planet’s water. In the United States 1/6th of all jobs are marine-related and over 1/3rd of the U.S. Gross National Product is derived from coastal areas, according to NOAA. By utilizing big data scientists can develop a better understanding of marine ecosystems and climate change. Since marine-related jobs employ millions of people internationally, big data has the potential to impact the next frontier of the global economy.

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