God's Greatness on Display

 

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” Job 12:7-10 (NKJV)

The ocean is an intriguing environment.  Its sheer size as well as the number and variety of its creatures is truly mind-blowing. However, the aspect of marine science that holds the greatest fascination for me is the intricate balance of the ocean ecosystem on both a grand and minute scale. There are so many details that must be kept in perfect order for the ocean to support living things. Like the interwoven strands of a spider’s web, all marine life is inter-connected. To think that God first created the intricacy displayed in the ocean ecosystem by simply speaking and then continues to maintain it throughout time by His power is awe-inspiring. Such immense grandness is difficult to articulate; thoughts that attempt to accurately describe the magnitude of God’s handiwork skirt the edges of my consciousness before slipping away without fully forming. It is a mental challenge akin to trying to grab a handful of fog only to have it slip through your fingers. I am struggling to formulate any cohesive thought that could possibly come close to describing the immensity of God’s power at display in His Creation. Perhaps my inability to do so simply underscores my conclusion: Any human effort to describe such a grandiose accomplishment is dramatically insufficient. God’s Creation is so much greater than anything a human could accomplish.

In fact, the Scriptures state that through study of the natural environment, we should reach the obvious conclusion that everything that is made is the result of God’s handiwork. It is unfortunate that because of sin, mankind has become blinded to the truth that God created the world (Romans 1:21-22). Yet there is also an echo of hope found in these verses as we are encouraged to examine and study Creation so that God can reveal Himself to us.

In lieu of an adequate description to outline the immensity of God’s accomplishments in the ocean ecosystem, I rely on examples from His Creation so that you can grapple with your own thoughts about God’s greatness.

Let me share with you one of my favorite examples of remarkable ecosystem balance in the ocean.  Simply stated, the rotation of the earth creates the perfect habitat for sea otters off the coast of North America. Now let us dig into the details of these apparently unrelated factors are connected.

Sea otters are playful marine mammals that live among the kelp forests along the North American coastline. Locally within the kelp forests, sea otters are one of the most important species as they help to maintain ecosystem balance between the kelp, a photosynthetic organism, and sea urchins, avid kelp grazers. Sea otters can commonly be seen floating amongst kelp fronds happily munching on sea urchins. Through the predation of sea urchins, sea otters keeping their populations in check, preventing the urchins from overgrazing the kelp and allowing the ecosystem to remain in balance.

On a larger scale, kelp forests are submarine forests with a rather narrow set of ecological requirements. These underwater forests are comprised of algae instead of trees and plants seen in a terrestrial forest. Unlike land-based plants, kelp does not obtain nutrients from its root system but instead has leaf-like blades which draw nutrients from the water column and conduct photosynthesis. To thrive, kelp must have a rocky seafloor for attachment, a source of nutrients and access to sunlight for photosynthesis to occur. However, in the ocean environment, the need for both nutrients and sunlight offers a biological contradiction. This is because in shallow ocean waters, the same depths that allow sunlight penetration, nutrients are suspended in the water column often blocking the sunlight. This is where God’s ingenuity is displayed.

Under normal conditions, wind moves from north to south along the California coastline. The rotation of the earth causes something called the Coriolis effect which influences surface ocean currents to move to the right of the direction of the wind. This means that the coastal wind is effectively pushing water offshore creating a “void” in the surface of the ocean. Displaced surface water is replaced by water that rushes from the deep ocean; a process called upwelling. This deep ocean water is rich in dissolved nutrients. Through upwelling this clear, cold water rushes to bring vital nutrients to sun-enriched areas where kelp can thrive.  

Take a moment to consider the number of factors that God regulates for the kelp forest ecosystem to survive. At even a basic level they include winds along the coast of California, the rotation of the earth, the Coriolis force, physical properties of water, the chemistry of saltwater, sunlight, seafloor geology, kelp growth and sea urchin and sea otter populations.  My mind is overwhelmed even writing this simplified list! Taking a deep breath and bringing it all together, one can only echo the words of Scripture that state God’s understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28, NKJV). There is no one as great as our God!

 
Christa Jewett