Opportunities and Uses of the Ocean PDF
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Opportunities and Uses of the Ocean David A. Ross Opportunities and Uses of the Ocean Spri nger-Verlag New York Heidelberg Berlin David A. Ross Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USA With 144 figures. Cover photograph courtesy of Dr. Robert Ballard, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The picture was taken in the Galapagos Rift, a zone of active seafloor spreading, at a water depth of 2525 meters. The width of the crack is about I meter. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ross, David A 1936- Opportun'ities and uses of the ocean. Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. Marine resources. I. Title. GCI015.2.R67 333.9'1 79-12694 The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc. in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not be taken as a sign that such names, as under stood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by any one. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form without written permission of copyright holder. © 1978 by David A. Ross Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1978 Published 1980 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 9R7654321 ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-6038-7 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-6036-3 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-6036-3 His Sea Who hath desired the Sea?-the sight of salt water unbounded- The heave and the halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber wind-hounded? The sleek-barrelled swell before storm. grey. foamless. enormous. and growing Stark calm on the lap of the Line or the crazy-eyed hurricane blowing- His Sea in no showing the same-his Sea and the same 'neath each showing: His Sea as she slackens or thrills? So and no otherwise-so and no otherwise-hillmen desire their Hills' Who hath desired the Sea?--the immense and contemptuous surges') The shudder. the stumble. the swerve. as the star-stabbing bowsprit emerges') The orderly clouds of the Trades. the ridged. roaring sapphire thereunder Underalded cliff-haunting flaws and the headsail's low-volleying thunder His Sea in no wonder the same-his Sea and the same through each wonder: His Sea as she rages or stills') So and no otherwise-so and no otherwise-hillmen desire their Hills. Who hath desired the Sea') Her menaces swift as her mercies ,) The in-rolling walls of the fog and the silver-winged breeze that disperses? The unstable mined berg going South and the calvings and groans that declare it White water half-guessed overside and the moon breaking timely to hare it: His Sea as his fathers have dared-his Sea as his children shall dare it: His Sea as she serves him or kills ,) So and no otherwise-so and no otherwise-hillmen desire their Hills. Who hath desired the Sea? Her excellent loneliness rather Than forecourts of kings. and her outermost pits than the streets where men gather Inland. among dust. under trees-inland where the slayer may slay him- Inland. out of reach of her arms. and the bosom whereon he must lay him- His Sea from the first that betrayed-at the last that shall never betray him: His Sea that his heing fulfils') So and no otherwise-so and no otherwise-hillmen desire their Hills. Rudyard Kipling Preface The oceans cover about 72 percent of our planet (which is named for the remaining 28 percent). These oceans have fascinated and challenged the human race for centuries. In the past, the ocean had been used first as a source of food and later as a means of transportation. However, the oceans have recently become very important-they may offer a solution to many of our modern problems. For example, refuse from land is to be dumped into the ocean never to be seen again; fish and other biological resources are to be caught and used to meet the protein deficiency of the world; oil and gas from the continental shelf and perhaps deeper areas will eventually solve our energy problems. None ofthese examples is completely possible, and the at source offood and later as a means of transportation. However, the oceans social, and ecological problems in the marine environment. Countries are al ready planning how the oceans can be divided up, so that they will get their "fair share". Economists, politicians, and others are producing almost daily, optimistic or pessimistic views (depending upon your own viewpoint) about the ocean and its resources. Equally loud reports come from environ mentalists, conservationists, government sources, and oil companies con cerning the pollution and potential destruction of the ocean. Where is the truth-what are the real problems and opportunities as sociated with the ocean? This book is written in an attempt to shed some light on how we now use the ocean, what are its opportunities and what we can do in the future. What I am trying to do is present some basic informa tion about the ocean in a form that will be understandable to people who are not oceanographers, but who are interested and concerned about the marine environment. viii Preface The book has two obvious shortcomings. First, it is impossible to cover all aspects of all problems, but I do try to cover the important ones. In this regard I have probably overemphasized examples from the United States, but these are the ones I am most familiar with. Second, as a practicing oceanographer and occasionally involved in the area of marine policy and ocean management, I feel that I must take a position on some particular problems and opportunities. I don't apologize for this, although I try to in dicate my own preferences or prejudices when I present them. I have several people I want to thank. These include my colleagues who, although marine scientists at heart, often became interested in policy ques tions and in doing so have stimulated me to likewise think about these ques tions. These include people like Paul Fye, Ken Emery, Bob Morse, Bob Frosch, John Teal, Richard Haedrich, Charlie Hollister, John Knauss and Warren Wooster. Paul Fye encouraged me to get more involved in the Marine Policy and Ocean Management Program at the Woods Hole Ocean ographic Institution, and through this program I made contacts with social scientists who were interested in the sea. I learned a lot from them and would especially like to acknowledge George Cadwalader, Susan Peterson, Leah Smith, Ed Miles, Tom Lechine and many other interesting people who participated in this program. Several friends either read portions of the text, supplied me with pictures or both and these include Wayne Decker, Ken Emery, Bob Ballard, Jim Heirtzler, Robert Dinsmore, Phyllis Laking, Vicky Cullen, Jeffrey Ellis, John Ryther, Murray Felsher and Susumo Honjo. Leah Smith read the en tire text and provided many valuable comments. Kathy Vermersch drafted some of the figures and Mavise Crocker and Ellen Gately assisted in the dif ficult job of keeping everything in order. My wife Edith, as she has done before, did many things that helped keep writing this book to a reasonable task. Woods Hole, David A. Ross Massachusetts October, 1979 Contents Chapter 1 The Opportunity of the Ocean Chapter 2 How the Ocean Works 5 Introduction 5 General Characteristics of the Oceans 7 The Origin of the Oceans 7 General Topography of the Ocean 11 Origin of the Ocean Basin 14 Water 17 Physical Oceanography 18 Chemical Oceanography 22 Biological Oceanography 27 Marine Geology-Geological Oceanography 33 References 36 Chapter 3 The Legal Aspects of the Ocean 38 Events Leading to the Truman Proclamation 38 The Truman Proclamation 40 The 1958 and 1960 Geneva Conventions 0'1 the Law of the Sea 42 Events Leading to the Law of the Sea Conferences in the 1970s 50 x Contents Basic Issues of the Law of the Sea Conferences of the 1970s 54 The Freedom of Scientific Research Issue 63 References 71 Chapter 4 Marine Shipping 73 Introduction 73 The World Shipping Fleet 75 The United States Shipping Fleet 82 Port and Offshore Facilities 86 Problems Associated with Shipping 92 Shipping and the Law of the Sea 99 References 101 Chapter 5 The Resources of the Ocean 103 Introduction 103 Mineral Resources of the Ocean 105 Marine Resources of the Continental Margin 107 Resources of the Deep Sea 132 Biologic Resources of the Ocean 155 References 186 Chapter 6 Marine Pollution 194 Introduction 194 Domestic, Industrial, and Agricultural Pollution 197 Ocean Dumping 205 Hydrocarbon Pollution 208 Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of Marine Mineral Resources 220 Radioactive and Thermal Wastes 223 Conclusions 224 References 225 Chapter 7 Military Uses of the Ocean 231 Introduction 231 Antisubmarine Warfare 233 Relative Naval Strengths of the United States and the USSR 243 Contents XI Military Use of the Ocean and the Law of the Sea 245 References 247 Chapter 8 The Coastal Zone 248 Introduction 248 Ownership and Definition of Coastal Regions 249 Oceanographic Processes Relative to the Coastal Zone 251 Coastal Erosion 257 Estuaries and Marshes 259 Human Activity in the Coastal Zone 263 Use of the Coastal Zone 267 References 273 Chapter 9 Innovative Uses of the Ocean 275 Energy from the Sea 275 Climate and the Ocean 291 Fresh Water from the Sea 295 Disposal of Nuclear Wastes in the Deep Sea 299 Innovative Opportunities for Using Marine Organisms 301 Other Innovative Ideas 305 References 310 Index 315 Chapter 1 The Opportunity of the Ocean The future use and opportunities of the ocean are limited only by human imagination and technology. Whether the ocean will be used with wisdom and proper concern for its environment is only a hope, for past exploitation of the ocean shows a poor record. It has been rare that a local or state gov ernment has used the ocean, coastal zone, or rivers with a concern for another group or for another use of these resources. Our increased under standing of the marine environment clearly shows that this lack of concern has generally resulted in more overall harm than benefit. Civilization has now developed to the point where almost any new tech nology, or any increased use of the environment, will have subsidiary ef fects-some of them unknown. The challenge is to optimize the good while either eliminating the bad or keeping it to a minimum. To do this for the marine environment requires a solid background of scientific knowledge and experience and the ability to perform experiments, to predict future effects, and to understand, as best as possible, the ramifications throughout the marine environment of whatever action is taken. Generally, such data and understanding are not presently available for the ocean. I should emphasize here that the marine environment is not a series of isolated phenomena, such as fish in one spot, plankton in another, and pollutants in a third; instead it is a complex and interacting system that is almost impossible to duplicate in a laboratory. What, then, is to be done? Shall those who want to use the coastal zone or other parts of the marine environment-the developers, fisherman, politicians, lawyers, swimmers, oilmen, and conservation ists-wait until marine scientists get such data and understanding? The answer is obvious. The marine environment will continue to be used at an ever-increasing rate.
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