Oceans are vital organs of the earth
As humans are terrestrial creatures, we focus strongly on changes in the planetary environment that occur on the land (e.g., degradation and deforestation) or the atmosphere (e.g., climate change) rather than the cryosphere or the ocean. However, in terms of planetary stewardship, the ocean is arguably more important than either land or atmosphere in the functioning of the Earth System; it modulates modes of climate variability, provides the moisture for most of rainfall over land that supports agriculture and cities, and stores much more carbon than the land and atmosphere combined
