"The diversity of life in the ocean is being dramatically altered by the rapidly increasing and potentially irreversible effects of activities associated with human population expansion," especially along coasts, warned a 1995 report by the National Research Council. Among major agents contributing to the damage are overfishing, exploitation of other marine organisms, chemical pollution, and destruction of coastal wetlands.
      Even more alarming is the news that deep ocean mining may soon begin in the South Pacific at volcanic springs that teem with creatures that may hold clues to our origins and to the beginning of life on Earth. These creatures were discovered only two decades ago.
      The rock towers that stand beside these volcanic vents are rich depositories of gold, silver, copper, and other elements that bring high prices on world markets. In November, 1997, the New York Times reported that the government of Papua New Guinea had granted title to almost 2,000 square miles of its territorial waters to a mining firm.
      The deep ocean frontier has been opened with the use of technology developed for military purposes and released for civilian use after the end of the Cold War. Profit-making enterprises are way ahead of scientists in what they can afford to spend, so they can move faster.
      "I'm not against mining," comments marine biologist and deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle, former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "but I am opposed to blind use of our assets. We have to know what they are so that we can decide whether we want to give them up. The answer may be yes. But there are other things to be mined as well; knowledge of the sea is priceless."
      Even the fundamental patterns of ocean processes are still a mystery. Almost nothing is known about the living communities of the deep ocean floor, where no life was believed to exist until recently. These creatures depend not on sunlight but on microorganisms that process the chemical brew that pulses up from the earth's molten core.
      A recent SeaWeb Poll showed that an overwhelming number of people favor ocean exploration over space exploration. Yet far fewer of our national resources have been allocated to learning more about the sea. OCEAN98 is an opportunity to discover the living ocean before it's too late.
      For starters, there is the OCEAN98 web site, produced in the Netherlands and packed with easy-access information and enticing invitations. There's the NOAA Year of the Ocean web site, in an earlier stage of construction. There's the invitation from NOAA to contact Matt Stout or Greg Hernandez at NOAA Public Affairs in Washington, DC by phone: (202) 482-6090; or by e-mail: webmaster@ocean.nos.noaa.gov. To get a feel for the deep ocean frontier - and be enthralled - ask your library or bookstore for The Universe Below, by William Broad, science writer for the New York Times. This is the year to discover ourselves as inhabitants of the ocean planet. 

- Rasa Gustaitis