Ocean Health Index

 A healthy ocean sustainably delivers a range of benefits to people now and in the future. The Ocean Health Index is the comprehensive framework used to measure ocean health from global to local scales. 

SEA LEVEL RISE (SLR) is a major global concern and a pressure for several goals of the Ocean Health Index. Its ultimate cause is the rise in global temperature caused by release of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases as a result of fossil fuel combustion. The warming atmosphere transfers heat to the ocean’s surface waters. Some of the heat slowly penetrates into deeper waters. The “temperature” of water describes the average velocity of the water molecules.