At the Leading Edge of an Environmental Renaissance

Description: The oceans are mysterious, dangerous and largely unexplored, yet they are central to the habitability of life on Earth. Many natural phenomena that occur throughout the world's oceans and seafloor also occur in, on, and above the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate. Scientists with the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative use a planned underwater research observatory associated with the plate to investigate global processes such as ocean currents, earthquake zones, creation of new seafloor, and rich environments of marine plants and animals in an effort to explore and understand this last frontier on Earth. UW Professor of Oceanography John Delaney leads this regional effort.