The traveling exhibition Our Ocean From Space, a visual journey through Earth’s marine ecosystems, is on display until December 31, 2024, on the fences of UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Inaugurated during the Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona in April 2024 and later showcased in Milan at the 2024 International Astronautical Congress, Our Ocean from Space highlights Europe’s leadership in Earth observation. The exhibition blends stunning satellite imagery from ESA and other partners with insights from scientific experts, local policymakers, and coastal stakeholders, illustrating ongoing efforts to protect our precious marine ecosystems.
How does the global ocean appear from space? What are its most striking features? How does human activity impact marine ecosystems? Satellite imagery serves as a powerful tool to explore a wide range of scientific topics, such as the evolution of Arctic sea ice, ocean warming, sea level rise, the role of salinity and ocean currents, and the effects of climate change on coral reefs and biodiversity.
Our Ocean From Space also demonstrates the critical role of satellite ocean observation in both protecting the ocean—by enabling the monitoring of marine protected areas, for example—and promoting the more responsible and sustainable use of its valuable resources.
The exhibition has arrived in Paris with the support of Mercator Ocean International, as part of the OceanPredict Symposium ’24, which will be held at UNESCO headquarters from November 18 to 22, 2024.
On November 18, an event supported by IOC-UNESCO and Mercator Ocean International will take place to officially present the exhibition, featuring:
- Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), UNESCO
- Pierre Bahurel, CEO of Mercator Ocean
- Maria Mendendez, Corporate Communications Manager, ESA
- Craig Donlon, Head of Earth Observation Systems Architecture, ESA
- Eric Chassignet, Director and Professor, Florida State University
- Fiorella Coliolo and Benoît Delpanque, Exhibition Curators
Our Ocean From Space is co-produced by UNESCO and ESA, with the support of Mercator Ocean International and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Additional contributions were provided by the French Space Agency (CNES), the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), Planetek Italia, the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Shom, Prométhée Earth Intelligence, and the Maldives Space Research Organization (MSRO).
Source: esa
