Why is Oceanography important?

Why is Oceanography important?

Oceanography is a branch of science which deals with the study of ocean extending from the shallow estuarine areas to the deeper locations of the Ocean. Oceanography will reveal important aspects about the Ocean and several secrets that are embedded in it. Many discoveries that were made earlier in this area and many research studies going on now can be traced properly due to this field of study.

Oceanography is important as it offers much information on the various kinds of plants and animals that can be useful to us economically. Oceans can influence the weather globally. Many chemical and biological variables are evaluated by using samples brought from the Ocean. The sensing of what is happening inside the ocean can be recorded by the satellite and can be later viewed by us.

Ocean is considered as the source of food, minerals that are valuable, big place for business, place for recreation and disposal of waste. It is found that about ten percent of protein consumed by the humans was obtained from Ocean. The biological products are also used for various purposes other than food. For instance, pearls obtained from oysters are utilized in Jewellery making and corals are used in building material.

Ocean waters are used for extracting minerals like salt, magnesium and bromine which can be utilized for commercial purpose. It is found that about 60 different elements are available in Oceans. But their extraction procedure is so expensive that they are present in very minute quantities in the Ocean. In some of the countries like Israel, Kuwait and other places, the salty waters in ocean are gradually changing into fresh waters.

The shallow estuaries are those continental locations in ocean which are considered as sources for sand and gravel. Petroleum sands are available in off shore areas of certain places like Gulf, California and in Persian Gulf. Compounds like manganese oxides are available in the ocean floors which are very expensive. Ocean waters can be considered as source of energy for nuclear fusion as the fuel deuterium is abundantly available here.