In addition to hippies and radical social changes, one of the defining features of the 1960s was the “space race” between the United States and the Soviet Union. The space race was a competition between two superpowers to be the first to launch a human being into orbit, and possibly even onto the moon. In addition to a unifying sense of national pride that this project incited in Americans, it also brought major sources of government funding to scientific exploration projects, creating agencies such as NASA. Though much of the science developed at this time was geared towards military usage, these discoveries fueled the prosperity of the United States and had many civilian uses as well, which benefitted people’s day-to-day lives. The yearning to learn about the vast unknown quantity that is our universe inspired a generation of scientists—a generation whose members are, sadly, beginning to pass. That’s why the United States needs to start investing in a new area of scientific and technological discovery, one that is simultaneously extremely familiar and dauntingly mysterious: the ocean.

Contemporary science claims that we know more about some planets in the solar system than do we about our own oceans here on Earth; in fact, just 5% of the seafloor has been explored thus far.  Many exotic-sounding areas of the ocean like the Marianna Trench have the potential to become major sources of scientific enrichment. They allow us to learn more about the planet Earth than we could with other sources due to their relative isolation from outside influences. In fact, scientists postulate that with the new information obtained from studying the ocean, we could potentially find cures for incurable diseases, as well as learn more about how human activities affect biodiversity. In addition to the scientific benefits, ocean exploration may also reinvigorate STEM education in America, renewing interest in science through exciting discoveries on our home planet. In this essay, I will investigate what positive benefits exploring the unexplored ocean may bring for the advancement of mankind.

A plethora of diseases remain without a definitive cure: cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, to name a few examples. Due to the fact that none of them originate from a bacterial pathogen, finding the proper treatment has been difficult. In fact, the NOAA reports that, from only the approximately 5% of ocean explored thus far, there have been found “10 anti-cancer drugs, drugs to fight inflammation, fungus, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and dengue.” How is this possible? Well, there are many chemical compounds produced by species of ocean life that we have never before encountered. Even something as familiar as coral can contribute; a few years ago, “a Caribbean sponge [was] discovered to generate compounds used in AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir), which is used to fight the AIDS virus”(1). Somewhere out there, deep in places we could not even imagine, may exist some of our greatest future triumphs for medical science.

Yet, even the NOAA’s explanation of the ocean's benefits doesn’t truly represent the enormous potential impact of these new sources of treatment. The fact is that we are quickly approaching a public health crisis. The saturation and overuse of antibacterial products is accelerating our descent into the post-antibiotic age, where bacteria will have evolved to be completely resistant to drugs like penicillin. That is why we need to find new strategies, new sources of medicine to fight off illness in the future.

Perhaps the most important aspect of ocean exploration in regards to science is learning more about Earth’s oceanic biodiversity and understanding the impact that humans have had on the oceans. Beyond the oil spills from the likes of BP and Exxon, human activity has affected the oceans in a long-term, structural manner. Perhaps the most familiar of these effects in the social consciousness is global warming.

You might be wondering: how does global warming affect the oceans? Surely, a one or two degree change in ocean temperatures would have minor implications? One of the great beauties of nature is that ecosystems have developed major internal cohesion based upon their environmental conditions. More than 65 million years of relatively minimal disruption have allowed the organisms on Earth to evolve to the point where each interaction has been pre-determined by evolutionary law. However, the one weakness of this beauty is its susceptibility to even seemingly minor changes to environmental conditions. The corals of the Great Barrier Reef are a particularly prominent example of this, as “[u]nless the average global temperature is kept below the internationally agreed limit of 2C warming on pre-industrial levels, ‘it is highly unlikely that coral reefs will survive’, according to University of Queensland reef researcher Ove Hoegh-Guldberg” (2). These corals are so in tune with their surroundings and have become so integral to the reef biome that even slight changes are costly to their survival.

But warmer water isn’t the sole impact of global warming on the oceans; as a natural consequence of increased carbon dioxide in the air due to human activities, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the oceans has increased as well. Though the gas is harmless in its natural form, when it is dissolved in water, it tends to form a compound called carbonic acid. Thus, the dissolved carbon dioxide has increased the proportion of carbonic acid in the ocean, lowering the pH value by an ecologically impactful amount. This chemical side effect of warming is not reported much in the media, but it is extremely dangerous to ocean species. Specifically, the NOAA identifies major harm done to the biological processes in many shellfish and coral, stating that “[m]any marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells or skeletons are negatively impacted by increasing CO2 levels and decreasing pH in seawater” (3). The acid reacts with the calcium carbonate compounds that are part of the shells and basically dissolves them, exposing those organisms unprotected to the great ocean. It has also been reported that “larval oyster failures appear to be correlated with naturally occurring upwelling events that bring low pH waters” (3). The higher pH values interfere with the oyster’s reproductive processes, and inhibit them from growing properly. These population failures affect local economies in devastating ways; the oyster market alone is worth about 100 million dollars.

The problem with global warming is that it will take decades, if not centuries, to completely reverse. The increase in ocean temperature and ocean acidity will not disappear without first making permanent changes to the biosphere. However, all hope is not lost; the biggest thing scientists need is more information on how warming has taken its toll on specific parts of the ocean. Philippe Cousteau, a special correspondent for CNN and the co-founder of EarthEcho International, argues that “[i]n addition to new discoveries, we also have the opportunity to course correct when it comes to stewardship of our oceans [...] we’ve exploited and polluted our oceans at an alarming rate without dedicating the needed time or resources to truly understand the critical role they play in the future of the planet” (4). Now, more than ever, is the time to take a step back and thoroughly evaluate just how much the anthropogenic processes have affected our oceans. This is also why we need a government agency to sponsor ocean research; the scientific community has been broadcasting its message, but the general population remains unaware of the extensive and costly damage to our oceans. Only with more data and more factual information about the oceans can we truly begin to look for effective solutions to the ongoing ecological crisis.

Fortunately, once we have made new and amazing discoveries in the oceans, we can channel the resulting interest in marine science into forming the next great generation of scientific minds in America. Though America may not have a competitor in the international arena to generate nationalistic sentiment from, renewing an interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math can be a great boon to our nation’s prosperity. This is evident from my earlier discussion of the space race; America achieved immense technological advances, economic growth, and diplomatic prowess during that time. The same idea can be applied here, because the ocean also contains many unknown components with the potential to revolutionize life as we know it. We must seize the opportunity to launch serious exploration right now. Why? Jeffrey Marlow, a geobiologist at the California Institute of Technology, says that “oceanography has become a key geopolitical consideration, with marine conservation and the securing of resources new priorities for global powers” (5). A vast expanse of incredible resources and knowledge exists right in our backyards, and it’s time we took advantage of this enormous, ocean-sized opportunity