A global alliance of scientists and explorers is racing against time to find at least 100,000 new marine species over the next decade.
This “global ocean census” is a 10-year, $650 million scientific initiative, involving a global network of 2,700 researchers in more than 80 countries, according to the Ocean Census organization.
Together, researchers assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans.
An estimated 2.2 million marine species live in the Earth’s oceans, but recent studies have found only 240,000 species.
An average of about 2,000 new marine species are identified each year, experts say, but the scientific search and characterization of life continues to be a slow process.
However, the Ocean Census hopes to speed up detection to an average of 10,000 sea creatures a year, before they are overfished or global warming makes them extinct.
According to SBS News, submarines, robots and even artificial intelligence are some of the tools scientists will use to identify new species in the ocean.
The 10-year census aims to identify 100,000 marine species in the oceans. The newly discovered species are sent to laboratories around the world for imaging and DNA sequencing.
The census includes 14 field projects to access key habitats and species groups in the global ocean.
A total of 11 field projects address habitats, such as subterranean mountains or the Arctic Ocean. There are 3 field projects looking at animals with a global distribution, ranging from top predators like tuna to plankton and bacteria.
According to CNN, the Earth’s area is covered by 70% of water. And deep in the oceans there are mysterious areas like the “twilight zone” – where a large number of creatures thrive beyond the reach of sunlight. It is also a mysterious place and very few marine scientists dare to venture.
When scientists dived into the twilight and mid-tropics just above the “twilight zone” in recent years, they found colorful fish and stretches of pristine coral reefs.
Now, technological innovations are helping scientists unlock this little-explored deep-sea ecosystem.
The identification of new species also allows conservationists to find ways to protect them.
