Science Debate 2012: Ocean Health

The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.

For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at this ScienceDebate question on Ocean Health:

Scientists estimate that 75 percent of the world’s fisheries are in serious decline, habitats like coral reefs are threatened, and large areas of ocean and coastlines are polluted. What role should the federal government play domestically and through foreign policy to protect the environmental health and economic vitality of the oceans?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Ocean Acidification: Starting with the Science20 pages | Paperback | Price: $0.90Over recent years, human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels have increased the amount of carbon dioxide gas emitted to the atmosphere–and the amount that dissolves into the ocean. Now, so much carbon dioxide has been absorbed by the ocean that… [more]

Assessing Requirements for Sustained Ocean Color Research and Operations126 pages | Paperback | Price: $36.90The ocean is a fundamental component of the earth’s biosphere. It covers roughly 70 percent of Earth’s surface and plays a pivotal role in the cycling of life’s building blocks, such as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur. The ocean also contributes to… [more]

Critical Infrastructure for Ocean Research and Societal Needs in 203098 pages | Paperback | Price: $29.02The United States has jurisdiction over 3.4 million square miles of ocean in its exclusive economic zone, a size exceeding the combined land area of the 50 states. This expansive marine area represents a prime national domain for activities such as maritime… [more]

Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean230 pages | Paperback | Price: $45.00Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean remains one of the world’s last frontiers. Covering nearly 14 million km² (an area approximately 1.4 times the size of the United States), Antarctica is the coldest, driest, highest, and windiest continent on… [more]

Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals204 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30For the 119 species of marine mammals, as well as for some other aquatic animals, sound is the primary means of learning about the environment and of communicating, navigating, and foraging. The possibility that human-generated noise could harm marine mammals or… [more]