We know more about the moon than the seas…
I truly appreciate the pragmatism of scientists. If an issue needs global attention they will lobby hard and collaborate to make the research happen. International Polar Year (IPY) research is underway and now Marine scientists of Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) want to develop a
a better network of satellites, tsunami monitors, drifting robotic probes or electronic tags on fish within a decade could also help lessen the impact of natural disasters, pollution or damaging algal blooms, they said.
POGO wants the 72-nation Group on Earth Observations (GEO), meeting in Cape Town from Nov. 28-30, to consider its appeal as part of a wider effort to improve understanding of the planet by 2015.
GEO is seeking to link up scientific observations of the planet to find benefits for society in areas including energy, climate, agriculture, biodiversity, water supplies and weather.
They know exactly what they want, how much they need and how to do it. Then there will be all that data!
Among ocean projects, POGO wants to raise the number of drifting robotic probes – known as "Argos," and which measure conditions driving climate change – to 30,000 from 3,000 now.
"By my estimates for $50-$60-million a year, the world could have a global system, an ocean tracking network that could follow sharks from Cape Town to Perth or follow tuna from Miami to Southampton, Mr. Ausubel said.
We no longer need to think small regional projects. Networks and organizational structures are in place for truly global projects
a further $2-billion to $3-billion would roughly match amounts already invested in ocean research, excluding more costly satellites. New technologies were cheaper and meant worldwide monitoring could now be possible.
Now that seems to be a reasonable way to spend money!
