Census Celebrates a Decade of Discovery
Posted October 12th, 2010 by RandyKochevar
in TOPPBlog
On October 4 the international Census of Marine Life unveiled the discoveries made during the ten years since it was launched. The global press conference, held in London, has generated hundreds of articles around the globe. In the two days that followed, representatives from each of the Census field projects and National and Regional Implementation Committees (NRICs) presented summaries of their findings. The three days were capped off with an incredible celebration at the Museum of Natural History, which was decked out just for the special event.
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| The celebration at the Museum of Natural History was truly a sight to behold! |
On hand for the week's events were all four TOPP principal investigators: Dr. Barbara Block from Stanford University, Dr. Dan Costa from UC Santa Cruz, Dr. Steven Bograd from NOAA and Dr. Randy Kochevar from Stanford. They were joined by TOPP scientists Dr. Scott Shaffer from San Jose State University, Dr. George Shillinger from Sanford University's Center for Ocean Solutions, and UCSC Ph.D. student Autumn-Lynn Harrison.
I think that I speak for all of us when I say that it was a bit overwhelming to realize the magnitude of the accomplishments of the Census. To quickly summarize, more than 2,700 scientists from 80 nations spent over 9,000 days at sea on over 540 expeditions, and produced more than 2,600 academic papers - a number that will continue to grow in the months and years ahead.
Perhaps more importantly, we have been part of a new community of collaborations, partnerships and friendships that will last the rest of our lives. Regardless of what directions we travel in as this first Census draws to a close, it is certain that our paths will be shaped by this monumental undertaking of which we have been a part.
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