The forgotten ocean: Why COP26 must call for vastly greater ambition and urgency to address ocean change

Of all the interconnected threats facing the planet, the top two are the climate and the biodiversity crises. Neither problem will be solved if we ignore the ocean. To turn the tide in favour of humanity and a habitable planet, we need to recognize and better value the fundamental role that the ocean plays in the earth system, and prioritize the urgent action needed to heal and protect the ocean at the ‘Earthscape’ level – the planetary scale at which processes to support life operate. The countries gathering at COP26 have unparalleled political capacity and leadership to make this happen. COP26 could be the turning point, but there must be commitment to united action for the ocean, as well as planning to meet those commitments, based on science-led solutions that address the interconnectivity of the ocean, climate, and biodiversity. Key ways in which the ocean both contributes to and acts as the major buffer for climate change are summarized, focusing on temperature, but not forgetting the role of storing carbon. It is noted with ‘high confidence’ that the ocean has stored 91% of the excess heat from global warming, with land, melting ice, and the atmosphere only taking up approximately 5, 3, and 1%, respectively. We also highlight the impact of the recent large release of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere during the 2015–2016 El Niño. We then present six science-based policy actions that form a recovery stimulus package for people, climate, nature, and the planet. Our proposals highlight what is needed to view, value, and treat the planet, including the ocean, for the benefit and future of all life

The Search for Sustainable Seas

Recent sharp declines in numerous fish species and other ocean wildlife have forced serious reevaluation of old assumptions about the capacity of marine systems to sustain large-scale taking, especially when coupled with drastic habitat destruction, by-catch and food-web disruptions. Achieving ‘sustainable use’ of ocean wildlife is a widely-held goal, but present capacity to find, extract and transport marine life to distant markets generally exceeds the capacity of the exploited species and supporting ecosystems to recover. The role of fully protected areas within large marine management regimes or ‘seascapes’ is becoming recognised as a vital part of what is needed to restore depleted populations and ecosystems and maintain their long-term integrity. Already, some nations have begun to develop broad management plans for their Exclusive Economic Zones and to consider policies governing protection and use of wildlife in the 60% of the ocean beyond national jurisdictions. Protection of breeding, feeding and nursery areas, more realistic catch expectations and development of non-destructive methods of extraction will help reverse the present declines. But inevitably, maintaining or enhancing present levels of food derived from aquatic animals will depend on identifying and cultivating the ocean and freshwater equivalents of cows, chickens and pigs — fast growing, nutritious creatures that are low on the food chain. These issues are explored in this paper, together with a focus on the economic and ecological importance of marine life other than as marketable commodities. In particular, the importance of life in the ocean as essential components of Earth’s ‘life support system’ is acknowledged and a case made for maintaining the health of the ocean as a fundamental requirement for enduring human security

Drones that see through waves – preliminary results from airborne fluid lensing for centimetre‐scale aquatic conservation

The use of fluid lensing technology on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) is presented as a novel means for 3D imaging of aquatic ecosystems from above the water's surface at the centimetre scale. Preliminary results are presented from airborne fluid lensing campaigns conducted over the coral reefs of Ofu Island, American Samoa (2013) and the stromatolite reefs of Shark Bay, Western Australia (2014), covering a combined area of 15 km2. These reef ecosystems were revealed with centimetre‐scale 2D resolution, and an accompanying 3D bathymetry model was derived using fluid lensing, Structure from Motion and UAV position data. Data products were validated from in situ survey methods including underwater calibration targets, depth measurements and millimetre‐scale high‐dynamic‐range gigapixel photogrammetry.Fluid lensing is an experimental technology that uses water‐transmitting wavelengths to passively image underwater objects at high‐resolution by exploiting time‐varying optical lensing events caused by surface waves. Fluid lensing data are captured from low‐altitude, cost‐effective electric UAVs to achieve multispectral imagery and bathymetry models at the centimetre scale over regional areas. As a passive system, fluid lensing is presently limited by signal‐to‐noise ratio and water column inherent optical properties to ~10 m depth over visible wavelengths in clear waters.The datasets derived from fluid lensing present the first centimetre‐scale images of a reef acquired from above the ocean surface, without wave distortion. The 3D multispectral data distinguish coral, fish and invertebrates in American Samoa, and reveal previously undocumented, morphologically distinct, stromatolite structures in Shark Bay. These findings suggest fluid lensing and multirotor electric drones represent a promising advance in the remote sensing of aquatic environments at the centimetre scale, or ‘reef scale’ relevant to the conservation of reef ecosystems. Pending further development and validation of fluid lensing methods, these technologies present a solution for large‐scale 3D surveys of shallow aquatic habitats with centimetre‐scale spatial resolution and hourly temporal sampling.Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd