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A new school dedicated to the future of the planet’s largest biome
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory may be headquartered in the most biologically diverse desert in the world — the Sonoran Desert — but we are still part of a planet with a surface that is 70% water. We cannot develop a comprehensive picture of our planet and its health without understanding its oceans. Oceans play a vital role in the dynamics of Earth’s systems and provide critical services. They store about 90% of the heat produced by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and sequester CO 2 produced by burning fossil fuels, as well as providing ecosystem services, food, transportation, commerce routes, raw materials, employment and recreational opportunities.
There is no thriving future without a thriving ocean. Humanity has always intuitively known that as go the oceans, so goes societal health. To meet this challenge, the Global Futures Laboratory has launched the School of Ocean Futures as an integral part of its College of Global Futures. Scientists and scholars in the school will serve local and global communities through exploration, discovery and knowledge development at the intersection of oceans and society, along with the development of educational programs. Research programs are currently underway and educational degree programs are expected to launch in fall 2024.
The new school, which is the fourth in the College of Global Futures, will expand our capacity to study Earth systems holistically. It will address the fundamental dynamics of the ocean as part of the Earth system, as well as its response to human pressures ranging from overfishing to pollution to climate change. The school, together with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, the Hawai’ibased activities of the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, and the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (Pacific RISA) research center in Hawai’i, will establish ASU as a leader in field-based ocean research and learning opportunities. Students will have the chance to take classes and conduct field studies in Arizona, Bermuda and Hawai’i.
The School of Ocean Futures will include both undergraduate and graduate degree programs that will connect with the School of Sustainability, the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Complex Adaptive Systems within the College of Global Futures to enable unique learning and training opportunities. It also will have close connections to ASU’s School of Life Sciences, the School of Earth and Space Exploration, and the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, among others. Through transdisciplinary efforts, these academic programs will prepare students to tackle complex problems, including altered planetary systems, plastics and nutrient pollution, climate change and rising sea levels, overfishing, damage to coral reefs, destruction of biodiversity and more.
To meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world, we must have insight into all of the interconnected systems of our planet. We cannot implement scalable solutions to pressing, complex problems without fully engaging in the systems that represent more than two-thirds of the planet’s surface. Oceans are not just the world’s largest ecosystem; they are one of the leading indicators of our planetary health and wellness. The School of Ocean Futures is a critical and compelling extension of our mission to shape tomorrow, today.
