Sea Him

GOD’S GREATNESS ON DISPLAY

written by Christa Jewett

The ocean is an intriguing environment. Its sheer size, as well as the number and variety of its creatures, is mind-blowing. However, the most fascinating aspect of marine science may be the intricate balance of the world ocean on both a grand and minute scale. There are so many details that God must keep in perfect order for the ocean to support living things. While human efforts to describe God’s accomplishments are often insufficient, science can reveal some of these amazingly intricate marine relationships.

“For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.” (Psalm 95:3-5 NKJV)

One marine environment that displays God’s hand in maintaining remarkable balance on both a local and global scale is the kelp forest ecosystem. For kelp forests to live along North America’s West Coast, everything from the rotation of the earth to sea otter predation must be kept in equilibrium. Let us examine the details more closely.

Sea otters are an endangered species of marine mammal that live in the kelp forests along the west coast of the United States. They are considered one of the most important species in this ecosystem as they play a vital role in the health of their home habitat. Sea otters prey on sea urchins, a type of animal that lives on the seafloor and grazes on kelp. If sea urchin populations increase beyond what is sustainable for the kelp, the sea urchins can destroy the kelp beds. Consequently, sea otters’ predation of sea urchins maintains balance within the local food web.

Kelp forests, the environment in which sea urchins and sea otters thrive, are submarine forests comprised mainly of different species of seaweed called kelp. Kelp has a rather narrow set of ecological requirements. Unlike land-based plants, kelp does not obtain nutrients through roots, but instead has leaf-like blades that draw nutrients from the water. To survive, kelp must have a rocky seafloor for attachment, a source of nutrients, and access to sunlight for photosynthesis to occur. However, in the ocean environment, the need for both nutrients and sunlight can be an issue. This is because in shallow ocean waters that allow sunlight penetration, nutrients float in the water column and block the sunlight. This is where God’s ingenuity is displayed, and the rotation of the earth becomes a factor in kelp’s survival.

Under normal conditions, wind moves from north to south along the California coastline. The rotation of the earth causes something called the Coriolis effect, which influences surface ocean currents to move to the right of the wind’s direction in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that the coastal wind is effectively pushing water offshore, creating a “void” in the surface of the ocean. Displaced surface water is replaced by water that rushes from the deep ocean in a process called upwelling. This deep ocean water is rich in dissolved nutrients, providing a source of nutrition for the kelp while also allowing sunlight to reach its leafy blades. To summarize: wind blows, the earth rotates, water rushes from the deep, kelp is fed, and sea otters have a home!

Take a moment to consider all that God manages for kelp forests to survive. If all these things are under His control, is He not also in control of what happens to you? The entire world is in God’s hands. He can be trusted with your life as well.