A Public Perception of Our Ocean

Abstract

As educators, we spend much of our time working with students explaining the complexities of the ocean system. Many of us work with schools to encourage young budding scientists to head seaward, we deliver public lectures for the science-hungry masses, and present ocean-related stories in the media. These aspects of our role as science educators have been covered in recent years in my humble pages of this august journal, but what has become clear to me is a public misconception of our ocean. This is partly due to a lack of appreciation of its enormity and a misguided belief that humankind has everything under control.

Keywords

• the oceanography classroom
• misconceptions about the ocean
• ocean education