So much of what people take for granted about the world is a direct result of the structure and polarity of H2O. Learning how those specific properties make water the essential ingredient for life is crucial.

Climate, weather and foods are determined to a great extent by ocean circulation; the uneven heating of the Earth by the Sun and the Coriolis effect result in circulation cells of air, the movement of water masses and "hot spots" of marine life.

How and where life begins on Earth; photosynthetic and chemosynthetic food chains point to the possibility that life could originate through two different paths; life begins in the oceans; bacteria are the most successful organisms on the planet.

Phytoplankton form the base of almost all marine food chains, including that of the blue whale; far below the penetration of sunlight, a very different and only recently discovered food web relies solely on the chemosynthetic ability of bacteria.

Humans owe their existence to phytoplankton, dinoflagellates, green algae cyanobacteria, and others; scientists believe they are the ancestors of terrestrial plants; phytoplankton continues to produce about half of all the oxygen in the atmosphere.