A Census of the Oceans

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06/27/2008

Jun. 27, 2008

A Census of the Oceans

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A worldwide effort is underway to perform a census of the world's oceans, pulling information about species from around the world into one location. The project, known as the Census of Marine Life, now has 122,500 different species on its tally -- after cleaning up over 56,000 scientific names that were in actuality just aliases for other organisms.

The project aims to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life on the planet -- but that's a tall order, with scientists estimating that there may be three times as many species yet to be discovered as have already been described in the scientific literature. In this segment, we'll talk with ocean explorer Sylvia Earle, and check in on the progress of the project. Organizers of the Census of Marine Life say they are about halfway done, on track to complete the effort in 2010. Information from the project is being published in the World Register of Marine Species, an an online encyclopedia of photos and information about all known marine species.

Produced by Annette Heist, Senior Producer

Guests

Sylvia Earle
Explorer in Residence, National
Geographic Society

Program Director, Harte Research
Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas
A&M at Corpus Christi

Chairman, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research

Washington, DC

Jun. 27, 2008