Even if you don’t live near the ocean, it impacts you. The ocean plays a role in everything from the air you breathe, the food you eat, and transportation of the goods you buy, to your daily weather and longer-term climate change.
Most of our knowledge of the ocean lies in shallower waters. However, deeper waters are growing in their importance to our nation. Many fisheries are based in deep waters, as are new sites for offshore energy production and deep-sea mining. The deep sea may also hold cures to crippling diseases.
How will we know what is out there if we aren’t even looking for it?