Partilho com todos esta nova expedição oceanográfica financiada pela National Geographic (em inglês):
I want to take you on a journey back in time.
I want to show you what our oceans, islands, and coral reefs were like before the impact of humans. And I want to show you how we can, together, preserve these ecosystems and make sure they are not lost forever.
My name is Dr. Enric Sala. I am a marine ecologist and a National Geographic Fellow, and in just a few hours my team and I are leaving on a six-week voyage through the Southern Line Islands, part of the Republic of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean.
This expedition is the beginning of an important project, the most important of my career. We call this project Ocean Now, because we must act now to find, survey, and protect the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean. To make a global difference, however, this work must be shared, and you are invited to come along.
I have just recorded a short video introducing myself and explaining our expedition. Please watch it and sign up to climb aboard for our journey at sea:
Click to watch Enric's video and to join the Ocean Now expedition.
Our ship is equipped with satellite phones and data connections, so we can stay in touch with you every day of the voyage. We'll share updates on our discoveries, photos and videos from our amazing onboard team -- stories from places possibly no human has ever seen before. And -- when we're not underwater -- we'll be answering questions you send our way!
On this journey, we will explore some of the richest, most beautiful places anyone has ever encountered: magnificent reefs full of colorful fishes and corals, tiny islands almost no one has set foot on, and bright blue oceans untouched by humans.
There are precious few places like this left. Ninety percent of large ocean predators have been lost to overfishing. A fifth of our coral reefs are covered by seaweed. Near-shore waters are being overrun by jellyfish and algal blooms, and deep seamounts are losing their irreplaceable biodiversity to damage by industrial shipping fleets.
To know the full impact of human activity so far, we must study pristine ecosystems such as the Southern Line Islands. These rare gems show us what the ocean was like hundreds of years ago -- before the human-driven effects of pollution, shipping, overfishing, and coastal development. Only with this comprehensive baseline will we fully understand what the ocean was like before, what we have lost, and how we preserve the ocean for the future.
I hope you'll join us as we explore the last frontiers of the ocean -- from the smallest coral to the largest shark, from the shallowest waters to the deepest -- and try to save them before it is too late. The Ocean Now expedition sets sail today. I'd be honored if you'd sign up to share the wonder, and the voyage, with us.
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/Sincerely,
Enric Sala
National Geographic Ocean Now
