World Ocean Observatory Launches Three New Websites

NEW YORK, NY, July 23, 2007 – The World Ocean Observatory http://www.thew2o.net is pleased to announce the launch of three new event websites.

World Ocean Events www.thew2o.net/events is a catalogue of comprehensive websites on key ocean issues. Each site contains interviews with scientists in the field, visualizations, and on-line resources, including primary documents, reports, educational materials, links to pertinent sites, and other essential information for students, policy-makers, and curious individuals. Several events include real-time, interactive connections with classrooms and scientists around the world.

W2O Forum Events were inaugurated in January 2007 as a proactive information and education service for an international audience. Events supplement and expand upon other W2O services which include Breaking Waves, a daily posted ocean news service; the World Ocean Observer, a monthly letter on essential ocean issues; World Ocean Radio, downloadable interviews for pod or broadcast; and World Ocean Classroom, a compendium of ocean curriculum, educational programs, and profiles of ocean exemplars.

Sea Turtles http://www.thew2o.net/events/seaturtles/index.html
What is it about sea turtles? How are they able to move us so deeply, perhaps more than any other marine creature? Sea turtle are at once emblematic flagships for the oceans, and umbrella species whose conservation requires the preservation of intact habitats ranging from tropical nesting beaches to sub-Arctic foraging grounds.

Exporting Pollution http://www.thew2o.net/events/ep/index.html
That the oceans are a repository for all sorts of human-derived wastes is something most people know something about, given the striking images in the media of debris-laden waterways, syringes washing ashore on beaches, and plastic entangling seals, turtles, and birds. But using oceans to rid waste occurs in more subtle and infinitely more damaging ways. Here we focus on three ways that countries export pollution, whether deliberately or inadvertently, and consequences for marine ecosystems worldwide.

International Polar Year http://www.thew2o.net/events/polaryear/index.html
The World Ocean Observatory joins IPY in focusing worldwide attention on the changing Arctic and Antarctic through synthesis and presentation of information online.