Why the Public Should Care about the Mud at the Bottom of the Sea: Ocean

To most, the ocean is what they see when they go to the beach. It's the shore to the horizon - the coastal zone. Yet that is what most oceanographers might consider simply "the beach." The ocean is far beyond, covering much of the planet to an average depth of two and one-half miles. Yet, little is known about this unfamiliar world, despite the importance of the ocean's role in such diverse topics as climate change and natural hazards, from earthquakes to volcanic eruptions to severe storms and tsunamis. Explaining to the public why they should care about the mud at the bottom of the sea, and how that mud can impact their daily lives, is a challenge - and an opporunity - for ocean and atmospheric scientists and for those communicating scientific research to the public. This presentation will highlight a few recent examples of atmospheric and ocean hazard research that caught the public's attention, and why.