WHY STUDY OCEANOGRAPHY?

A Few Answers

Why Study Oceanography?• Oceans are still a frontier

– Much research needed– Compare to surface of Moon

• Major food source – Nova Scotia Fisheries: ~7 000 jobs,

~$400 M wages, ~$400 M product value

• Recreation (especially coastal regions)• Mineral sources

– Sand & gravel– Manganese nodules– Other minerals

• Energy source (ca. 30% of oil & gas – offshore drilling & production from manmade platforms) (+40% for USA)

Why Study Oceanography?

• Canadian Offshore Petroleum Resources– Scotian Shelf (gas & oil)

• Venture gas discovered 1979– Producing today, pipline system

• Cohasset oil production 1992– Grand Banks (oil)

• Hibernia giant oil field 1979• Production began in 1998!

– Beaufort Sea (oil)• Amauligak giant oil field 1986

– Labrador Shelf (gas known – severe iceberg/climate problems)– Baffin Island Shelf (reasonable hope for oil/gas)– Canadian Arctic islands (oil & gas known – climate factor)– British Columbia Shelf (hopes)

Why Study Oceanography?• Discovery of plate tectonics in ocean basins has

revolutionized our view of Planet Earth

• Oceans greatly influence our weather & climate because of high heat capacity of water• Transportation – still an important means of human travel

Why Study Oceanography? • About 90% of intercontinental trade is by marine shipping

– For example, chart below shows the major crude oil sea distribution routes

Oil Tanker

Why Study Oceanography?

• 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans• Pollution (waste disposal problems & abuse)• Communication (e. g., undersea cables)• Hazards (coastal, shelf, open ocean, deep-sea)• Military uses (e. g., national defense) • Coastal Zone

– Environmentally diverse

– Multiple use management

– Erosion and pollution control problems

– Overpopulated

• Salt source (evaporation)• Water source (desalination)

Why Study Oceanography?• Source of water for Earth’s water cycle

• Oceans are the destination of continental water (& sediment) runoff.

Why Study Oceanography?

• Destination of continental sediments– ca. 90% of all sediments are marine:

• Continental shelves = 15%

• Continental slopes = 40%

• Continental rises = 25%

– Sediment transport agents• Ice (glaciers), wind (dunes), water (rivers, marginal seas)

• Sea-level changes (due to ice ages)

Why Study Oceanography?

• Major role in geologic history of Earth– Continental drift, seafloor spreading, magmatic arcs

• Canada borders three oceans– Atlantic

– Pacific

– Arctic

• Canada Has the Longest Coastline – Atlantic:

• 45,000 km long 19% of Canadian coastline

– Pacific:• 26,000 km long 11% of Canadian coastline

– Arctic:• 173,000 km long 71% of Canadian coastline

19%

11%

71%

Why Study Oceanography?• Political and legal problems:

– NS & NF are in a dispute over their offshore boundary– Canada’s 200 nt mile fishing zone declared in 1977– Not all countries signed 1982 Law of the Sea Treaty – USA-Canada Eastern boundary dispute

• Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank

• Alaska-BC offshore boundary

• “NW passage”

– Smuggling along remote coasts– Arctic sovereignty (ownership?)– France-Canada

• Grand Banks dispute

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