Oceans were created billions of years ago and at one point, the water we see today was actually a gas until the Earth cooled below 212 degrees Fahrenheit. However, oceans are more than the bodies of water we swim in, travel by, or fly over today. They produce more than half of the world’s oxygen, absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere and the U.S. ocean economy alone produces $282 billion in goods and services.
You may not know though that a special group of scientists called geophysicists uphold an important role in protecting the oceans we rely on every day. Want to know the highlights of how they make a huge impact? Keep reading below:
- They’re important to energy conservation. Geophysicists conduct seismic surveys, a safe scientific tool that helps with: energy exploration, understanding natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis, evaluating sand deposits for coastline re-nourishment and locating carbon sequestration and offshore alternative energy sites.
- They’re also important to energy modernization. As we work to modernize energy of all forms, geophysical surveys help by providing information for assessing coastal erosion, determining sites for offshore wind farms and exploring for minerals for alternative energy technologies.
- They protect marine life. Geophysical crews work daily to clean up our oceans and watch for marine mammals in trouble. Associations like the International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) have also been hard at work to protect marine life with projects like the Ghost Net & Marine Debris Removal Initiative, an ocean debris removal project that creates a healthier ocean environment by clearing marine debris, one of the greatest dangers to marine life.
- They play an important role in combating climate change. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is a process through which carbon dioxide emissions can be effectively re-used productively or stored so that they do not enter the atmosphere. This process relies on the identification of geological structures appropriate for carbon storage. Geophysical technology is essential to the identification and long-term maintenance of these geological structures.
