16.6: Ocean Depth Zoning Out

Aquatic scientists have long debated the terms and definitions used to classify regions of the seafloor (e.g., Forbes and Hanley 1853; Southern 1915; Ekman 1953; Hedgpeth 1957; Pérès 1982; Golikov 1985; Dauvin et al. 2008; Fraschetti et al. 2008; Costello 2009; Althaus et al. 2015; Costello et al. 2017). As pointed out by Trombley and Cottenie (2019), “The usage of ambiguous terminology can cause confusion or discord among members of the same field and fuel unproductive debates.” On the other hand, they acknowledge that “ambiguity can speed up the acquisition of knowledge by allowing definitions to change as knowledge on the subject increases.”

Now, I admit it may have been simpler (and occupied far fewer pages) to simply present the “textbook” scheme for classifying marine environments. But that approach ignores two very important principles of science (as we discussed way back in Chapter 2). First, science is an active, ongoing process that yields new data and new ideas subject to revision, review, and rejection; and second, science communication, especially to the public, demands a clear and transparent accounting of new data and ideas. Thus, while it may seem tedious and even a bit annoying to get the play-by-play as the science unfolds—like listening to a neighbor describe the installation of power outlets in the remodel of their home—in truth, nearly all science requires revision and freshening up. I feel strongly committed to promoting a view of science as a process and helping the public understand what scientists do and how they do it. It’s important to know where those terms and facts come from—and their limits—so that you are better skilled at using science in your own life.

The regular “upheaval” of ideas in science was not lost on the California-born American writer John Steinbeck (1902–1968). A close friend of marine biologist Ed Ricketts (1897–1948), Steinbeck frequently incorporated marine science in his work, especially Cannery Row (1945) and The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951). He also wrote a foreword for the Third Edition of Between Pacific Tides (Ricketts and Calvin 1962), mentioned above. Commenting on modern science, Steinbeck wrote:

And in many fields young, inquisitive are seeing new worlds. And from their seeing will emerge not only new patterns but new ethics, disciplines, and manners. The upheaval of the present world may stimulate restive minds to new speculations and evaluations. . . . The world is being broken down to be built up again.

Steinbeck ends with a quote from the book:

There are good things to see in the tidepools and there are exciting and interesting thoughts to be generated from the seeing. Every new eye applied to the peep hole which looks out at the world may fish in some new beauty and see some new pattern, and the world of the human mind must be enriched by such fishing.

New tools for observing the ocean, especially robots and drones, offer opportunities to sample across larger areas on scales not possible with traditional methods. With changes in the ocean happening at an unprecedented rate, our understanding of this environment may be more important than ever. We still have much to learn. Be enriched, ocean fisher. And carry your ocean message to others. We live because the sea lives!