340 



OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



Over the next decade, the field will continue to provide excit- 

 ing discoveries that contribute to an understanding of Earth as an 

 integrated system and help unravel hov^^ humankind may be alter- 

 ing the system. It is nov^ essential and possible to study marine 

 processes on a global scale. Progress in oceanography over the 

 next decade v^ill occur both in the traditional marine science dis- 

 ciplines and, significantly, at the fringes and intersections of these 

 disciplines. Multidisciplinary approaches will lead to new discov- 

 eries regarding the ocean's role in climate change, the hydrody- 

 namics of mid-ocean ridges, and the dynamics of coastal processes. 

 Comprehensive study of these topics will require unprecedented 

 levels of cooperation among scientists from numerous disciplines. 



Oceanographic studies in the coming decade will focus on how 

 ecosystems affect global cycles of important elements and how 

 changes in the global environment affect marine ecosystems. Studies 

 of the planktonic food web in the sunlit surface waters will ad- 

 vance our understanding of such diverse issues as the role of the 

 ocean in the global carbon cycle and the sustainable yields of 

 commercial fisheries. Studies of ecosystems at deep-sea hydro- 

 thermal vents and hydrocarbon seeps will improve theories of the 

 conditions under which life is possible and of the origins of life. 

 More of the ocean will be explored to estimate the extent and 

 nature of deep-ocean vents and their importance in global cycles. 

 Continued study of the ocean's chemistry should bring new un- 

 derstanding of the past state of Earth, and of how marine pro- 

 cesses operate today. The study of deep-ocean sediment cores 

 will provide more information about past natural cycles of Earth's 

 climate, against which present climate fluctuations can be cali- 

 brated. A better understanding of variability of the circulation of 

 the world ocean, which transports water from near the ocean's 

 surface to deep oceans and back again, will improve our under- 

 standing of the variability of the transport of surface water to 

 depth and the interactions with climate. 



The foundation of oceanographic knowledge now used in making 

 policy decisions was gained largely through investments in basic 

 research over the past four decades. Oceanographers are privi- 

 leged to participate in a science that is intellectually compelling 

 and has immediate and long-term practical applications. Yet, the 

 pressure for quick answers to practical questions sometimes ob- 

 scures the need for investing in the improvement of basic science, 

 which remains the key to solving long-term practical problems. 

 Under pressure to provide immediate solutions, it is tempting for 

 agencies whose focus is on their responsibilities for regulation 



