Climate
The ocean stores heat and absorbs carbon dioxide. Its circulation connects weather and climate across the planet.
NOAA PLANETARY OCEAN INTELLIGENCE
Future of the planet.
Starting with
the ocean.
A new perspective on our blue planet.
Connect science, people and action to protect the systems that sustain us.
Happy Orbis is a community of people who care about our planet. Join the conversation.
01 — OUR PRINCIPLE
Measure first. Act second. Verify everything.
EARTH / OCEAN SYSTEMORTHOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE
Sentinel-2 cloudless by EOX · Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016 & 2017 · CC BY 4.0 · Data attribution
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One ocean.
Endless connections.
Endless connections.
VIEWING
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OCEAN GIFTS
Looking for a gift with meaning?
Choose an ocean animal and create a personalised digital Ocean Gift.
Explore Ocean GiftsTheir name. Your message. A gift to keep.
SCIENCE + PEOPLE + ACTION
A global ecological platform. Connected by the ocean.
Happy Orbis connects environmental knowledge, people and action. Explore the evidence, find people who can help and build projects with outcomes that can be checked.
ONE CONNECTED PLANET
Why start with the ocean?
What happens in the ocean reaches everyone. What we do on land reaches the ocean.
Oxygen & life
Oceanic plankton support food webs and play a major role in the oxygen and carbon cycles.
NOAABiodiversity & food
Marine habitats sustain diverse life, fisheries and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
NOAATrade & coastal cities
Sea routes carry most international trade in goods by volume. Ports connect this activity with cities and marine ecosystems.
UNCTADRivers & pollution
Runoff carries materials from farms, streets and industry into waterways and onward to the sea. Local action matters far inland.
NOAAFROM A QUESTION TO SHARED PROGRESS
Observe. Understand. Connect. Act. Verify. Share.
01
Observe
Explore environmental data and community observations.
02Understand
Read the sources, uncertainty and scientific context.
03Connect
Find people, places and expertise.
04Act
Start a local event or propose a project.
05Verify
Submit evidence for independent review.
06Share
Make knowledge and progress accessible.
EVERY COUNTRY CAN CONTRIBUTE
Your place in a shared planet.
Our goal: at least one active ecological volunteer in every country. Every country can help, including those far from the coast.
Member
Join freeStudent
Join freeOrganisation (self-declared)
Join freeVolunteer Environmentalist
Join freeEnvironmental Professional
Join freeCompany Representative
Join freePublic Official / Politician
Join freeEnvironment-focused Public Official
Join freeFROM YOUR RIVER TO THE OCEAN
You do not need a coastline to make a difference.
The Elbe connects Czechia with the North Sea. The Danube basin connects Central Europe with the Black Sea. Protecting rivers, forests and local habitats is part of protecting the planet.
OPEN DATA. PAID ACTION.
From understanding to action.
AN OCEAN
OF EVIDENCE
Sea surface temperature2026-09-07Latest imageryNASA JPL · Daily analysis Ocean colourLatest imageryE.U. Copernicus Marine Service / ACRI-ST · DailyEuropean seafloorDTM 2024Terrain modelEMODnet · Versioned release Know the source.OF EVIDENCE
Understand the limits.Data & methodology
THE OCEAN, IN CONTEXT
Look closer. See the bigger picture.
OCEAN & CLIMATE
01 / OCEAN STORIES
A warmer ocean. A changing planet.
Read the patterns beneath a sea surface temperature map.
4 min explorationDISCOVER THE DEEP
02 / OCEAN STORIES
The ocean we cannot see.
Follow the light down into our planet’s least familiar world.
Interactive descentLIFE IN THE OCEAN
03 / OCEAN STORIES
Small life. Planetary influence.
What ocean colour reveals — and what it cannot tell us.
3 min explorationFROM UNDERSTANDING TO ACTION
A healthier ocean starts
with better questions.
GLOBAL ECO NETWORK
What the world is doing
Ocean Community opinion
Which ocean animal made you care about the ocean?
Sometimes our connection with the sea begins with one animal. A turtle surfacing for air. A whale heard before it is seen. A dolphin, a shark, or the life hidden in a small patch of coral. Is there an ocean animal that changed the way you think about the sea? Why? You might have met it on a trip, seen it in a documentary, read about it as a child or received a symbolic adoption as a gift. There is no right answer a…
Pollution Community opinion
Microplastics are everywhere. What should we actually do about them?
Microplastics have become one of the most recognisable pollution issues in the world. But awareness alone solves very little. Where should society concentrate first: products, wastewater, textiles, tyres, packaging or cleanup? Which interventions could realistically make the biggest difference? A good answer should consider what a measure prevents, what it costs and what happens to the material afterwards. Captur…
Research Community opinion
Can ordinary citizens help create useful environmental data?
Environmental monitoring has traditionally belonged to governments, universities and specialised organisations. Modern technology changes that. Phones, affordable sensors and citizen observations could potentially create millions of useful data points. But there is an important question: How do we make citizen data useful without sacrificing scientific quality? A useful observation needs more than enthusiasm. It…
ONE PLATFORM. CONNECTED PURPOSES.
A SHARED PLANET. A SHARED MISSION.