Boosting the Earth’s “Immune System”: the Development of an “Ocean Mission Architecture Optimization”

Abstract

Since the 1960s, researchers have studied catastrophes and have predicted that the Earth’s Systems are moving towards a new equilibrium. We are heading towards a new Ice Age. The question is whether mankind can withstand it. Eighty-two percent of the world’s largest cities are situated on coastal areas cf. (Creel in Ripple effects: population and coastal regions, PRB. https://www.prb.org/resources/ripple-effects-population-and-coastal-regions/, 2003). Urbanization and deterioration of mangroves, the marine ecology and coastal environments bring cities in the front line of impact with the climate crises. While, ever since the 1970s, oceans have absorbed 93% of the excess atmospheric heat from  greenhouse gas emissions cf. (Ocean Warming in IUCN. https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/ocean-warming, 2017), megacities continue to grow over a boiling pot. What comes next remains to be seen, yet this paper proposes the development of an “Ocean Mission Architecture Optimization” (OMAO) as a step forward in combining interconnected proactive plans for future Ocean and land-use sustainability.