The Ocean

Just watched another TED video....this time Dave Gallo speaking on The Ocean.  Facts that I did not have front and center.....

• only 5% of the ocean has been explored
• average depth is 2 miles....that's 15 Empire State Building stacked on top of each other
• the largest mountain range on the planet is under the ocean....Mid Ocean Ridge, 50,000 miles long
• most of the world's active volcanoes are under the ocean
• there is more life forms at the deepest points than in a tropical rain forest

I love the ocean...grew up near it, in Florida, on the west coast.  When I was old enough to drive some of the best times were after dark in the water with a bunch of friends....we'd go to the beach and if we were lucky as we splashed around we'd see effervescent phosphorous bubbles ...you don't see them anymore, they are gone the way of the Carrier Pigeons and other extinct species.

My other loving experience with the ocean is when I lived on Guam.  That island was 5 miles wide at it's widest and 20 miles long so the ocean was ever present.  My time there was 10 months too short, but I made the most of it.  Swimming, sailing, on the water as much as possible.

I didn't learn to snorkel until our first trip to Grand Cayman.  Oh my, did that open a new perspective for me.  The Cayman Islands have some of the best diving in the world, and Pete and I got a little taste of it the many times we visited.  My favorite are the huge schools of tiny bait fish that swarm around you.  No matter how hard you try to touch one, they respond in unison and are always just beyond reach.

So, this year I get the opportunity to learn a lot more about the Ocean. October 2-3 I'll be attending the Nobel Conference 48 at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.  The topic will be 'Our Global Ocean' ....can't wait.  Some of the worlds foremost experts will be speaking. Two days of learning from the best...this is called bliss.