The Center for Sustainable Communities
Global Sustainability Speakers Series

Dr. Lisa A. Levin
Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California San Diego

In Deep Water: Science
Diplomacy and Future Sustainability
of the Deep Ocean
 

As the human population continues to grow,  pressures on the deep ocean from climate change and resource extraction are inextricably rising, creating a serious situation in our planet's greatest frontier. This presentation will discuss  the science of change in  deep ocean environments, ecosystem responses,  the governance challenges these present and how the the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) is addressing these. DOSI represents a science diplomacy network to promote sustainability in the deep half of the planet.  Founded in 2013, DOSI seeks to integrate science, technology, policy, law and economics to advise on ecosystem-based management of resource use in the deep ocean and strategies to maintain the integrity of deep-ocean ecosystems within and beyond national jurisdiction (see www.dosi-project.org).

Lisa Levin is founder and co-lead of the Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative and also helped establish and coleads the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy, a program within GOOS. She is active in bringing climate science to policy and contributes to IPCC reports. Dr. Levin served for 6 years as Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps. Her current research interests include biodiversity of continental margin ecosystems, the effects of climate change (especially ocean deoxygenation) and human impacts on the deep ocean, with work in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Association of AAAS and has given the Anton Brun (IOC), Sverdrup (AGU) and Revelle (National Academy) medal lectures. She was awarded the ASLO Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and the Prince Albert I Grand Medal in Ocean Science in 2019.