Cosmos
Cosmos is a quarterly science magazine. We aim to inspire curiosity in ‘The Science of Everything’ and make the world of science accessible to everyone.
By Cosmos
Subscribe to our monthly Ultramarine newsletter to take a deep dive into the best science news about our oceans and marine environment.
Nearly three-quarters of Earth’s surface is covered by water, and the oceans hold nearly 97% of it. Why don’t we think about them more?
Earth’s oceans are drivers of the weather and the extremes of climate change that we’re now seeing manifested. Oceans are the heatsink that have been absorbing the excess energy trapped because of unconstrained human activity adding carbon – and other greenhouse gases – to the atmosphere.
The oceans are also a global farm, supplying large parts of the world with their sustenance. And they have a deep cultural connection for, and are central to the lives, of much of the world’s population.
And there’s so much we need to learn about oceans. They’re primarily unmapped and uncatalogued; we’re still learning how they work. They are a dynamic system of incredible complexity, forever changing. Significantly, in these times of changing climate, they are rising and moving to claim more of our habitat.
At the Royal Institution of Australia, we’ve decided to shine a light on the oceans and on marine science with our Ultramarine newsletter.
RiAus is grateful to the Minderoo Foundation for its support of this project.
The Ultramarine project – focussing on research and innovation in our marine environments – is supported by Minderoo Foundation.