This priority in NOAA is matched with a ten percent commitment of all funds for Ocean Exploration going to education and outreach products. This commitment to sharing NOAA's science message captures the priority of outreach and education and provides the vehicle for catapulting ocean discovery to the forefront of the public's imagination. This activity builds on the investments already made within NOAA in the existing education programs to share the excitement of discovery. By employing a full array of modern ocean technology, these explorations will survey, characterize, and define diverse marine environments. These innovative expeditions will undoubtedly rewrite oceanography and marine biology textbooks and redefine ocean maps.
History demonstrates that exploration results in discoveries of great value.
For example, the relatively recent discovery of hydrothermal vent communities has resulted in key knowledge not only about geological processes and plate tectonics, but also about biological processes of great potential use in medicine and industry. In turn, these discoveries have shown economic potential in the range of billions of dollars. Each trip we take to further reaches of the Earth's oceans has the potential to reveal important information about the origin of life on earth, or new living or non-living resources that may have tremendous potential to improve the quality of life on earth. The sooner we take the step of seriously addressing our lack of understanding of how ocean processes affect life on land, the sooner we will be able to realize the scientific and economic payoffs applicable to a wide variety of societal issues. Ocean Exploration presents possibilities for new solutions to problems we face as we move into the 21st century.