#océanographie #interface_air-mer
What would you say is the most misunderstood aspect of the oceans today?
I’m trying to give this some thought. I think that people think of the ocean in a negative way. At this meeting yesterday, questions about having energy sources—they think that shallow water is better than offshore deep water. I think it’s the other way around. The oceans can be a friend and a foe and it’s probably more friendly in deep water at great depths. And people are afraid of great depths, the deep water, and I think have made a mistake in that way. I would think that the disaster in Japan was due to the fact that people thought that a nuclear power plant just on the coast very close to the ocean would be safer than in the ocean. It’s certainly safer than in the ocean at very shallow depth. But I think there’s a case to be made that these things would be a lot safer if you go to some other depths seaward, where the waves are not broken. When you are aboard a ship you can’t even know that there’s a tsunami passing, the dimensions are such, and I think that a better assessment of the dangers and the advantages of the ocean environment could be a useful thing to do.
What would you say is the most misunderstood aspect of the oceans today?
I’m trying to give this some thought. I think that people think of the ocean in a negative way. At this meeting yesterday, questions about having energy sources—they think that shallow water is better than offshore deep water. I think it’s the other way around. The oceans can be a friend and a foe and it’s probably more friendly in deep water at great depths. And people are afraid of great depths, the deep water, and I think have made a mistake in that way. I would think that the disaster in Japan was due to the fact that people thought that a nuclear power plant just on the coast very close to the ocean would be safer than in the ocean. It’s certainly safer than in the ocean at very shallow depth. But I think there’s a case to be made that these things would be a lot safer if you go to some other depths seaward, where the waves are not broken. When you are aboard a ship you can’t even know that there’s a tsunami passing, the dimensions are such, and I think that a better assessment of the dangers and the advantages of the ocean environment could be a useful thing to do.