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48 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



than directly on energy from the Sun. Study of the combined 

 ocean-atmosphere system has provided sufficient knowledge of 

 interannual climate variations that scientists are now able to forecast 

 El Nino climate disturbances months in advance. 



Over the next decade, oceanography will continue to provide 

 exciting discoveries by contributing new understanding of Earth 

 as a system and by helping us understand how humankind is 

 altering the system. It is now essential (and possible) to study 

 ocean processes on a global scale. The oceanography of the next 

 decade will take place in the traditional marine science disci- 

 plines and at the boundaries of these disciplines. New partner- 

 ships among oceanographers working in different disciplines should 

 lead to new discoveries about the ocean's role in climate change, 

 the function of mid-ocean ridges, and coastal ocean processes. 



Additional oceanographic studies in the coming decade will 

 focus on how ecosystems affect global cycles of important chemi- 

 cals and, conversely, how changes in the global environment af- 

 fect marine ecosystems. Studies of ecosystems at hydrothermal 

 vents and hydrocarbon seeps will refine our ideas about the condi- 

 tions under which life is possible and about the origins of life. 

 More of the ocean floor must be explored to determine the extent 

 and nature of deep-ocean vents, their ability to support novel or- 

 ganisms, and their importance in global chemical cycles. Contin- 

 ued study of the ocean's chemistry should bring new understand- 

 ing of the past state of Earth, how ocean processes operate today, 

 and the contribution of sources and sinks of various chemicals. 

 The study of deep-ocean sediment cores will provide more infor- 

 mation about past natural cycles of Earth's climate, with which 

 present climate fluctuations can be compared. Oceanographers 

 will achieve a better understanding of the variability of the circu- 

 lation of the world ocean. The interaction of climate with this 

 circulation is only poorly known, but there is evidence that the 

 transport of surface water to depth can vary greatly even over as 

 short a time as one decade. 



Unlike many other sciences driven by scientific curiosity, as- 

 pects of marine science have immediate and obvious practical 

 applications. These include, but are not limited to, the control of 

 climate by ocean circulation, chemical and biological reactions to 

 climate change, understanding fisheries productivity, movement 

 of pollutants, and the problem of coastal development in the face 

 of rising sea level. Oceanographers are fortunate to take part in a 

 science that is fascinating, compelling, and intellectually chal- 

 lenging. Oceanography is also a science whose outcome is of 



