The Atlas is an information system designed for use by policy makers who need to become familiar with ocean issues and by scientists, students and resource managers who need access to underlying data bases and approaches to sustainability.Covering about 70 of the earths surface, the oceans are a highly productive system which continuously recycles chemicals, nutrients and water through the hydrological cycle, which powers climate and weather, and which regulates global temperature by acting as a giant heat reservoir from the sun. About twothirds of the worlds population live within 60 kilometres of the coast, and almost half of the worlds cities with more than one million people are sited in and around the tidewashed river mouths known as estuaries. From a human point of view, oceans are also a major source of food and employment, and provide natural routes for communication, transportation and trade.

Website: http://www.oceansatlas.org/