00:00So how does it work when we send a satellite into space to look at the ocean?
00:04The process to build a spacecraft is quite long
00:07because it's a highly technical engineering feat.
00:10What we're after is cutting-edge instrumentation
00:13that allows us to look at the ocean
00:15and the ocean surface and what we have in the top 50 metres.
00:19That data is used to provide information to policy makers
00:23both in Europe and internationally
00:25to monitor the health of our ocean.
00:28This is important for our planet
00:30because the ocean covers 75% of our planet's surface.
00:34Few include the ice-infested regions.
00:36So when international agreements are ratified by governments
00:39there is a need to make sure we have an evidence base
00:43that not only provides the means to set the policy
00:46but also to monitor the policy when it's enacted
00:49and to take decisions on that policy
00:52if there are infringements to that policy.
00:54Space gives us access to quasi-instantaneous data
00:58over the entire global ocean
01:00which is unprecedented in detail
01:03and that is the evidence base that we use today
01:05to ensure that European and international policies are maintained.
01:10So for example, if a ship were to flush its tanks while at sea
01:14we can see that from space using synthetic aperture radar.
01:18We have a satellite called Sentinel-1
01:20which is part of the European Union Copernicus program.
01:23With this spacecraft we can see very clearly oil spills
01:26but not only that
01:28we can capture at the spacecraft
01:30the automated information system
01:32the AIS data
01:33which will identify the ship that's polluting.
01:36This is extremely important
01:38for the safeguarding of our seas
01:39and the protection of biodiversity.
01:41The ocean is in measurable decline.
01:44We need to take action to protect our oceans
01:47our one ocean
01:48because it is the lifeblood of our society.
01:51The phytoplankton and zooplankton
01:53that are living in the ocean
01:56form the base of the food chain.
01:58Without them there can be no life.
02:01No blue, no green.
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