News and information on integrated activities at Southampton taking place through the partnership between NOC and the University of Southampton can be viewed at http://noc.ac.uk.
News and information on integrated activities at Southampton taking place through the partnership between NOC and the University of Southampton can be viewed at http://noc.ac.uk.
From a human point of view, understanding how our planet works is very important. There are billions of humans, and all of them need - at the very least - water, food and shelter. These require access to resources such as fresh water, fertile land for crops or animals, and building materials. For the lucky ones who don't live in poverty there are further needs - transportation, fuel, electricity, education, healthcare. Our planet provides all of these things, with the sun being the ultimate provider of energy to nearly all natural systems.
Because we exist in such large numbers, use so many resources, and as a species are willing to go to extreme lengths to secure commodities we value highly, the use of our planet's resources often need to be managed. Where this is done badly, resources can collapse or become hard to get, leading to conflict and sometimes war. Therefore, learning how the ocean-earth-atmosphere-cryosphere (ice) system works becomes vital if we want to live peaceful, long and happy lives in harmony with the planet.
A good example of the need for scientific understanding is the fishing industry. For many years scientists have learned about how fish feed, live and breed and the results of this research has shown very clearly that, because we have such excellent fish-hunting technology, fishing needs to be controlled according to scientific principles otherwise too many fish are caught and the stock collapses. Unfortunately this scientific advice is not always taken, or is assumed to be not accurate, and so the stock indeed collapses. This is happening now to North Sea cod, and measures need to be taken to prevent the fish from being hunted to extinction.
Similarly there is abundant evidence that humans are contributing to climate change because we burn fossils fuels at an unsustainable rate and damage the natural systems that could help absorb carbon dioxide gas, such as rainforests.
By understanding how the oceans and earth work it will be possible for future generations to generate power in a clean manner, to sustainably harvest marine and land resources, and to predict how a changing climate will affect their lives. The skills we learn in managing our own planet will one day enable our descendants to colonise new worlds, confident that they haven't destroyed their own. The planet needs ocean and earth scientists, not just as scientists, but as citizens, parents, office workers, politicians and artists. The skills you will learn are widely transferable and can be applied in many jobs and careers.
