The Consortium for Ocean Leadership (also known as COL) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that represents more than 100 of the leading public and private ocean research education institutions, aquaria (areas of water, its chemistry, physics, aquatic life, eco-systems, etc.) and industry; working to advance research, education and sound ocean policy.

The organization also manages ocean research and education programs in areas of scientific ocean drilling, ocean observing, ocean exploration, and ocean partnerships.

COL also manages the annual high school ocean and marine life education competition, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.

Anyone who has studied global environmental issues is probably aware that the world's oceans are tremendously, dangerously imperiled.

Pollution, acidification caused by carbon emissions, overfishing, spill-offs from land and water waste accumulation even dumping have created dangerous, harsh aquatic impingements ^[37]with life-threatening impacts on life itself and the planet as a whole. Urgent action is needed to remove even just the most serious consequences of myriads of toxic imbalances. References introductory list: Coral bleaching, environmental issues with coral reefs, habitat destruction, harmful algal blooms, red tide, marine pollution, great pacific garbage patch, marine debris, water pollution, whale beachings, mercury pollution in the ocean, plastic pollution (fourteen billion pounds of garbage mostly plastic, is dumped into the ocean every year ^[14]), plastic particle water pollution, oil spill s, eutrophication (depletion of oxygen in a water body, which kills aquatic animals), human impact on the environment, global warming, ecological crisis, decline in global biodiversity, extinction s (aquatic species-animals have faced an estimated extinction rate five times higher than that of land-based species-animals ^[14]), decline in amphibian population s, **sixth extinction ** (due to human activityon the planet, particularly aquatic species extinctions ^[24]), and overexploitation of aquatic bodies of water.

Jan-Feb 2017, global warming, worrisome future sea levels, multiple high-density population areas at risk: The last time the oceans got this warm (over 100,000 years ago and temperature changes then occurred very slowly, over centuries) sea levels globally were 20 to 30 feet higher than they are today.

^[17]This is dangerous today because current temperature changes have occurred today in **geologically ** very compressed time frames, which under normal earth-science time frames occur over **millennia **. As a very rough, high speed analogy: If one was to leave a freezer door open for just a few seconds the temperature would start to rise, but later real damage would occur as any ice block(s) in the freezer (Earth's polar ice caps) would melt and flood everything - in this case any lower-lying, high-density-population and most-at-risk - areas of the planet. First to go underwater would be beach resorts and low-lying river delta areas, including for example, the Mississippi Delta (New Orleans varies between only 7 and 20 feet above sea level) and New York City in the U.S. Miami Florida, with a population of 5.5 million, is 6 feet above sea level. ^[31]Damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which created an Atlantic Ocean storm surge, caused $71 billion in U.S. damages and yet that ocean surge, unlike polar ice-melting, was only temporary. Furthermore as of 1/20/17 - 2/3/17 :

Melting polar ice fields expose more of the dark Arctic Ocean surface, which then absorbs even more sunlight, resulting in an even more accelerated melting factor.

The results are increased ocean temperatures, which cause any newer or existing layers of Arctic ice to melt even faster.

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Researchers have shown that as oceans soak up the Earth's excess heat, toxic algae blooms that can have fatal implications to humans are becoming far more commonly found. ^[1]Toxic, slimy green beaches may be Florida's new normal. ^[2]Spring 2005 brought the worst "bloom" of the toxic alga Alexandrium fundyense since a massive outbreak occurred in 1972 in the New England region. These outbreaks are commonly called the red tide, but scientists prefer the term "harmful algal bloom" (or HAB). ^[3]Summer heat has also brought algal blooms to North Carolina and California waters. ^{[4] [6]} Texas Public Radio, as just one example, has intoned that warming oceans could boost dangerous toxins in shellfish dinners (see also shellfish toxins). ^[6]The West Coast of the United States has seen toxic blooms in both 2015 and 2016 because of both El Nino and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation were working in tandem, effectively multiplying the force of each. ^[7]

"Until recently, humankind seemed to view the ocean as a source of infinite resources.

Its vast size and depth and unexplored frontiers made the ocean appear invulnerable to over-exploitation.

The truth is that the populations of many species are decreasing at an alarming, unsustainable rate, and the number of species listed as **endangered ** from **marine life ** families such as whales, dolphins (Feb 2017: world's smallest porpoise the vaquita, indigenous to Mexico's upper Gulf of California, has seen 90% of its population decline, marches toward extinction since 2011 ^[27] [very short 6 years] due to gill nets usage), manatees and dugongs, salmon, seabirds, sea turtles, and sharks to name a few, are on the rise. The threats to marine species are difficult to perceive because marine animals are not as visible as animals on land." ^[23]

Chemicals, banned in the 1970's (over 40 years ago), are persisting in the deep ocean.

Scientists have been surprised by the relatively high concentrations of pollutants like PolyChlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) found in deep sea ecosystems. ^[33]These chemicals have been found to be toxic and build up in the environment. These chemicals do not easily chemically break up and disappear. PCBs have been contaminants in the marine environment for more than 60 years. Like other organochlorine compounds they are a hazard to marine ecosystems because of their extreme stability, low biodegradability and lipid solubility, which causes them to bioaccumulate.

PCBs tend to act as endocrine disrupting compounds, which disrupt the hormone balance of animals. This might cause immunodeficiency and or reproductive problems (which have been demonstrated in marine mammals). These effects are suspected to occur at much lower concentrations than those which cause acute toxicity. PCBs have been shown to cause chronic diseases in humans (such as skin lesions, reproductive disorders and liver damage) and are suspected to be carcinogenic. Concentrations which (in laboratory conditions) cause lethal effects in fish range from 10 to 300ppm (parts per million in the animal tissue). ^[34]

Loss of ocean biodiversity: "The health of the oceans is spiraling downwards far more rapidly than we had thought.

We are seeing greater change, happening faster, and the effects are more imminent than previously anticipated.

The situation should be of the gravest concern to everyone since everyone will be affected by changes in the ability of the ocean to support life on Earth."

• Professor Alex Rogers of Somerville College, Oxford, and Scientific Director of IPSO, Latest Review of Science Reveals Ocean in Critical State From Cumulative Impacts, the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), October 3, 2013. The factors affecting the ocean’s health includes: deoxygenation, ocean acidification and sea temperature warming (global warming). These impacts will have cascading consequences for marine biology, including altered food web dynamics and the expansion of pathogens, the IPSO also notes. ^[28]See also**aquatic biodiversity research andmarine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning **.

Exemplifying growing rates of biodiversity losses, Adélie penguins, who live in and around Antarctica, are quickly disappearing due to climate change. Palmer Station, a U.S. scientific and research station based in Antarctica, has witnessed an 85% population decline of the cute little birds of Happyfeet movie fame, but that may be because they have spread elsewhere in Antarctica. ^{[21] [22]}Adélie penguins, adapted also to swimming, require ice to hunt for fish and to live. As the Antarctic's ice shrinks, so does their habitat and inevitably their populations. ^[5]First impacted are species uniquely adapted to certain pristine, unchanged prior thriving cooler and pollution-free ecosystems, such as Adélie penguins in colder, polar ice locations. Second, as climate changes intensify, grow stronger and more pronounced, even more species perish. No more Happyfeet or Happy Feet 2; Brittany Murphy would be aghast, her character Gloria simply non-existent or even constantly in excessive peril. Furthermore, chemical pollution (including mercury poisoning) is getting to Antarctic marine bird colonies via the oceans and atmosphere. ^[22]

Ocean Leadership shapes the future of ocean science and technology through discovery, understanding and action.

They provide expertise in managing, coordinating, and facilitating scientific programs and partnerships; influencing sound ocean policy; and educating the next generation of ocean leaders.

The consortium's aggregate vision is - a global society that views its own well-being as intimately connected, inseparable with the ocean.

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May 2016: World's richest source of oceanographic data now operational at Rutgers University: The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and the Center for Environmental Visualization, University of Washington. The data center for the pioneering OOI, which collects and shares data from more than 800 sophisticated instruments and a transmission network across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is now operating. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), OOI is collecting, processing and sharing vast amounts of data on the oceans. The primary users are expected to be scientists and educators worldwide at colleges and universities, K-12 schools and research institutions. The data-collection network and systems for OOI are being managed by Oregon State University, the University of Washington and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The OOI project is managed by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. ^[32]

Aug 2016: Through the consortium, its leaders, members and others, there are student-by-student glimmers of hope on the horizon: A new generation of students is being encouraged to look for solutions for pressing environmental needs, including issues related to ocean mechanics and systems.

One example of that is a competition involving s tudents from all over the U.S., who recently rallied together to discuss the theme: “Our Changing Ocean: Science for Strong Coastal Communities.”

In total, 369 teams from 272 schools (making up approximately 1,845 students) participated in the National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB), a program of the consortium. The competition, sponsored by Eastman Chemical, was created to eliminate broad gaps in environmental and earth sciences in public education. The program engages high school students in ocean sciences and encourage new talents in this field. ^[13]