A world of water
More than 70% of our world is actually covered by water, a fascinating realm that produces one third of the oxygen we breath and hosts more than 140.000 different species of animals, plants and algae plus a still unclear number of microbial forms of life. Such immense biodiversity is due to the oceans’ long history and to a plethora of different habitats, which fostered extremely diversified evolutionary pathways.
Man and seas have always coexisted: one third of human population lives in coastal areas. Traditionally, seas have provided food, trades, cultural exchanges that deeply shaped our heritage. More recently, men turn to seas for resources like oil, medical compounds and tourism, not to mention aesthetic value and leisure. What may be less evident are other important services provided by marine habitats to humans, such as climate mitigation, nutrient recycling and Carbon fixation. Furthermore, marine activities have strongly contributed to the development of science and technology since the very beginning of human history. Innovations that often eventually turned into everyday use objects.
Get deeper in our 4 Seas!
Mediterranean Sea
Atlantic Ocean/North Sea
Baltic Sea
Black Sea
Seas, a world on its own
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant agreement n. 217766 