ABSTRACT
We live at a time of revitalized interest in Earth’s oceans, often seen as the ‘Cinderella’ of physical geography with consequential neglect or omission from many textbooks and courses, despite the fact that they cover 70 per cent of Earth’s surface. They were perceived as a black box of largely invisible parts operating as a homogeneous, stable system, with a monotonous surface except at the coastline and apparently subject only to slow spatial and temporal change. Above all, oceans are not the habitat of humans and the marine environment is hostile to human life. What is happening to change this indifference? Our concern about global environmental change leads us increasingly to appreciate the integrated nature and fast response times of many previously neglected planetary systems – including oceans – and interest in our own future security does the rest!
