Man’s Use of the Oceans

Abstract

This chapter describes a number of applied aspects of marine science which are central to man’s use of the oceans. Maritime law is becoming a major factor in determining which nations have access to the sea and sea bed for oil and mineral exploration. Position fixing and satellite imagery have developed to a point at which they can be used to position a ship within 10 m, to detect objects less than a metre in size, and to plot coastal fronts and oceanic productivity over areas as large as the North Sea. The exploitation of oil and gas and the mining of sea-bed minerals on the continental shelf have become so important that some nations’ economies depend on them. The world’s demand for energy has stimulated many coastal states to examine the possibility of obtaining energy from waves. tides and ocean heat. Finally, all of those activities are potential sources of pollutants in the oceans, which cover three-quarters of the earth’s surface.