• The Underwater Problem:
    Physical Oceanography Data or Lack Thereof

    Our generation dreams of going into space, the final frontier. However, how can we do this, if we know close to nothing about 66% of our own planet, the oceans? Especially in Hawaii, being surrounded by water, our lack of knowledge is dangerous. This is a major issue in the world and locally. Though there are programs dedicated to learning more about our oceans, the challenges of research are not easily fixed and the dangers of our ignorance continue.
    There are projects currently recording data from around the world. One of these programs is Argo, named because it aids the Jason satellite altimeter mission which photographs the ocean surface. Argo literally goes deeper, using a current count of 3,500 floats to document deep sea conditions. Each float goes through the same cycle of recording. This pattern is six to twelve hours at the surface before taking dropping to 1,000 meters, then drifting for nine days. The floats then drop to 2,000 meters to prepare for a 6 hour ascent. The entire time, the floats are recording salinity, density, velocity, and temperature. The data is used to predict ocean climate changes around the world. Another program is the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project, or TAO. TAO records data using buoys, called the TAO/TRITON Array. The data is sent to Argo satellites and documented. The data is used to predict trends in El Nino and La Nina, yearly changes in the Pacific which alter air and water currents and air pressure systems. These weather conditions can cause floods, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, and tornados. Completed in 1994, it took ten years to build. The data can benefit weather forecasting, research, agriculture, the fishing industry, marine ecology energy and water resources, finance, education, health, and recreation. Thus, it affects all our lives in a very big way. The last is Ocean Observatories Initiative, a long term program designed to transition our way of researching the ocean from temporary ships and buoys to more permanent and automated sensor arrays. These nodes, sensors and automated robots record data in varying densities and locations around the world. Planning for the project began ten years ago, and some of the arrays are being built and used. These permanent structures would help solve one of the biggest problems of deep sea research.
    Even with these programs, two major hindrances to research exist: a lack of historical data and a lack of proper funding and recognition. The programs mentioned herein have only been around for a few decades at the most. Therefore, the data we have is only twenty years old at the most. It is near impossible to make any accurate predictions with the data we have. An analogy would be if a teacher gave a student’s grade for the year, based off the first two days of school. This data deficiency is not only caused by the infancy of our programs. Where some sciences benefit, ocean research lacks: ice core samples. In the case of atmosphere research, there are samples of air from many years ago. This allows researchers to compare current air to ancient air, allowing for much better predictions. These samples do not exist for the ocean, so ocean researchers must rely on much more recent data to make predictions. Another problem is the lack of recognition from our government. Many believe that in the face of social and economic issues, research is not a major problem. However, our ignorance is an issue that must be addressed immediately and thoroughly. We put ourselves in danger of being caught off guard not by radicals or terrorists, but by natural disasters and rapid climate change.
    Some believe that we should focus not on research, but on national security. Their example: the September 11 attack on New York City, which claimed the lives of 1,527 people positively identified and 1,225 missing. This horrible tragedy and loss of human lives without provocation or warning will forever be embedded in the American mind. However, in the same year Typhoon Washi hit the Philippines, causing more than 1,000 deaths and another 1,000 missing. Entire villages disappeared and the actual number of dead is likely much higher, as many are still missing. Both are extremely devastating disasters, and one cannot be put higher than the other. It is for that reason we cannot ignore the possibility of another disaster on the scale of 9/11 and Typhoon Washi for the sake of preventing disaster from purely one source. If we defend ourselves from only one direction, we leave ourselves vulnerable in all other places.
    We have developed the technology to greatly improve our ability to track, predict and react to changes in ocean conditions, but we have erroneously decided to ignore our lack of knowledge in a path of self-destruction. Planet Earth is two-thirds water and we have left that 66% alone for far too long. Why should we wait any longer? In the face of international disasters and poor policy decisions because of a dearth of information, we simply don’t care. Without an understanding of our oceans, we condemn ourselves to extinction.