ARTISTS
ROB HARCOURT - PHOTOGRAPHER & PROFESSOR OF MARINE BIOLOGY
Our earth is a blue planet. The oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface, an immense area of 361 million km2 and with an average depth of 3,790 m. At its deepest the sea reaches 10,923 m, in the Marianas Trench. Much of this environment is cold, deep and dark and beyond our reach. Water is 800 times denser and 60 times more viscous than air. Therefore while on land gravity is the primary physical force, in the ocean, buoyancy, drag and pressure take primacy. Convergent evolution has played a huge role due to these powerful constraints and so animals as diverse as pelagic fish, sharks, dolphins, seals and penguins, separated by millions of years of evolution, have all evolved streamlined forms to allow them to move through this viscous medium. Their graceful silhouettes are testimony to this, as is their ability to play in the surf and to plummet to great depths in all the oceans of the world, from the frigid poles to the warm clear waters of the tropics.
The oceans of the world support a breathtaking diversity of beautiful marine creatures. Yet how times have changed since 1883 when T. H. Huxley famously pronounced, "With existing methods of fishing it is inconceivable that the great sea fisheries, such as those for cod, herring and mackerel, could ever be exhausted." Many of the worlds great fisheries have collapsed, and a number of species driven to the point of extinction. The effects of climate change can only compound these threats to the seas inhabitants.
Yet there is hope. Over the last few years, every June passerby’s can see humpback whales migrating passed Sydney traveling north to their breeding grounds off Australia’s east coast. Thanks to concerted efforts by people of many nations, we have seen the recovery of the whales. As our understanding increases, so does our ability to protect. We are guardians of a resource of unimaginable value, the wealth of marine life that is beyond the breakers.
Associate Professor Rob Harcourt
Director of Marine Science
Macquarie University
Sales from all photos will contribute to marine conservation and education efforts by Rob and his colleagues. Please follow the link below for more information.
Please click on thumbnails for an enlarged version.
