Interactive story and introduction to this project
Just 56 years ago, humankind took its first step onto the moon. From that distant vantage point, astronaut Neil Armstrong gazed back at our fragile blue planet, and called it beautiful.
Our Earth is unique among other planets because we have oceans. Covering around 70% of the planet’s surface, the ocean regulates our climate, sustains ecosystems, and cradles the very origin of life.
But climate change is happening.
Marine heatwaves intensify, currents rearrange, and food webs begin to fray. The rhythm of the ocean is changing.
Sharks, the ocean’s apex predators, keep prey in balance, preserve biodiversity, and hold food webs together. If climate change alters sharks' behavior, the ecosystems might begin to unravel.
Protection must be smart and targeted. Combining NASA satellite data with innovative bio-tag technology, we developed a model to predict where sharks forage and their seasonal hotspots.
To our findings, many predicted hotspots fall outside today’s marine protected areas (MPAs). With a global goal to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, this system gives leaders the evidence they need — how much to protect, where to focus, and how to design connected, enforceable MPAs that can move with a changing sea.
We have only one ocean. There is no planet B.