Have you ever been down at the Oceanfront and suddenly felt hyper-aware about what lies beneath the surface? For many Virginia Beach residents, it’s easy to feel small and almost intimidated thinking about how deep the ocean truly is. In fact, it seems we’re more comfortable looking up than down. While we’ve traveled past the moon, mapped Mars, and photographed black holes, nearly 80% of the ocean floor has been unexplored. But why is this?
It’s hard to believe that we’d rather send our explorers outside of our planet rather than the oceans we swim in, but it’s true. The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth, so why aren’t we prioritizing it? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “ .. only slightly more than a quarter of the ocean has been mapped … and just a fraction of that has been visually surveyed and explored.”
It’s easy to think that ocean exploration is simple because it’s so close, but the reality is a little more complicated. The ocean is incredibly large and complex, making it difficult for scientists to develop technology that can withstand the harsh pressures of the deep ocean. New technology is expensive, and eventually government funding was reduced for marine exploration. Because of this, the focus on ocean exploration has been shifted more towards something more accessible — space.
The year of 1957 marked the beginning of the Space Age, an era when humans moved their attention from one planet to another. The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite: Sputnik. Since then, researchers claim that the number of
orbital debris has increased significantly, slowing marine research further by disrupting space technology used to map the ocean floor and polluting marine ecosystems.
This issue may seem far away, but the truth is the ocean is just in our backyard. Many Tallwood students live near the coast, visit the beach, or work at the Oceanfront. Virginia Beach relies on tourism for the economy, and changes to the ocean can possibly affect jobs, homes, and the quality of life in our city. As the ocean becomes more unpredictable, residents worry that without ocean exploration we’ll miss opportunities to protect marine life and slow climate change.
Despite not knowing what goes on below the surface, Virginia Beach residents are willing to put in the work to protect our ocean. Living by the beach, this effort is crucial and valuable for our city. However, continuing to map our oceans, learning about marine habitats and life, and furthering our knowledge of the ocean is a sure way to protect our city.
So what can you do for ocean exploration? There’s no need to put on your scuba gear and goggles, because helping this cause can be simpler than you think. As a protest to the decline in marine exploration, you can start by attending beach cleanups, throwing away your trash, spreading awareness, or even writing to your representatives to bring attention to the issue.
Without continued research and commitment to ocean exploration, the depths and unfamiliarity of the ocean will remain undiscovered. While we’re focused on craters of the moon and the surface of Mars, our oceans remain unmapped and unexplored. Cutting funding and ignoring our oceans leaves issues such as marine habitat loss, natural disaster research, and environmental conservation, leaving not only marine life at risk, but also the humans who live near the ocean.
