Oceans Exploration Technology Takes Research to New Depths Underwater Living Building Homes on the Ocean Bed

The Credit Suisse Magazine Since 1895 Issue 3 Aug./Sept. 2008 International Edition Oceans Exploration Technology Takes Research to New Depths Underwater Living Building Homes on the Ocean Bed Nanotechnology Small Things With Huge Potential Global Infl ation High Price of Oil Takes Its Toll National Gallery Credit Suisse Partners With Museum Kofi Annan Interview With Former UN Secretary-General Bulletin plus Classical Music MYANMAR EMERGENCY The Nargis cyclone left hundreds of thousands of people without shelter, food or drinking water. The needs are immense and aid is insufficient. Our field teams, more than 250 people, provide a direct assistance to the population affected by this catastrophe. You can support our teams by making a donation. Thank you. CP 12-100-2 www.msf.ch/spende Tel. 0848 88 80 80 Editorial 03 Fish Have It Easy. After all, 71 percent of the planet’s surface is covered by oceans. And fish have ravines and trenches – sometimes several kilometers deep – in which to roam, surrounded by gigantic underwater mountain ranges and endless expanse. The freedom they enjoy down there, in the depths of the sea, must be truly without bounds. By contrast, the small world inhabited by land dwellers – who have less than one-third of the planet’s surface between them – seems cramped. What’s more, humans can only use their living space on a two-dimensional basis because gravity always forces them down. If – on occasion – they want to join the birds or the fish in the third dimension, they’re forced to squeeze themselves into flying metal tubes or huge steel whales. The fish are also likely to be amused by the lumbering hulls that land dwellers use to get from one island to another – leaving themselves exposed to the full force of the elements as they traverse the open sea. Humans are nevertheless proud to consider themselves the rulers of the seven seas. Incidentally, that particular number – seven – was a rather arbitrary choice. Today’s geographers distinguish between only three oceans: the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Previously, however, there were other, secondary oceans depending on your outlook and zone of influence – such as the Caribbean, Yellow and Black Seas, as well as the Baltic, North and Mediterranean Seas. But back to the so-called lords of the seas. According to American ocean- ographer Steve Hammond, little more than 10 percent of the oceans has been researched. Or, to illustrate the absurdity of it all: We know virtually everything there is to know about the topography and make-up of the surface of the Moon. We send special probes and satellites to Mars. Yet, when Gold Winner it comes to what lies dormant in the depths of the ocean – outside our very own front door – we know practically nothing. In an era in which natural resources – including the space available for humans to live – are becom- Gold Winner ing increasingly scarce, the growing interest in the blank spots of the world’s oceans is inevitable. It’s unlikely, however, that the unchecked pillaging of resources witnessed on dry land will be allowed when it comes to the oceans. Climate change and global warming are urgent reminders of the vulnerability of our “Blue Planet.” The oceans are important for survival – not only for fish. Daniel Huber, Bulletin Editor-in-Chief 1. R ang Photo: Cédric Widmer Cédric Photo: Solway Firth, Cumbria, England, March 28, 2006, 12:00 a.m. Contents 05 27 _ Business 28 _ Alois Bischofberger The retiring chief 18 economist makes his fi nal economic forecast 30 _ Asset Management Credit Suisse further strengthens its commitment in India 31 _ Succession Seminar Strategies provided for Latin American family businesses 32 _ Nanotechnology News There is a big market in the making of small things 34 _ Ship Finance Credit Suisse enjoys a leading position thanks to 65 years of experience 35 _ Economy 36 _ Ocean Economy How long can mankind ignore the creeping waters of climate change? 38 _ Personal Perspective Columnist Matthew Rees on the state of the fi shing industry 40 _ Iceland’s Dilemma Can it transition from emerging market to industrialized nation? 44 _ Global Infl ation High oil and food prices continue to fuel infl ation woes 46 _ Digital Defl ation Information, the commodity most in demand, becomes cheaper 43 _ Bulletin plus Classical Music Oceans in Depth This upside-down ice diver explored the frigid deep waters of the Arctic Ocean to uncover hidden 49 _ Sponsorship worlds of life in these extreme conditions. To date, just 50 _ National Gallery Credit Suisse enters into a 10 percent of the oceans − which cover 72 percent of our three-year partnership with the museum planet − have been explored. 52 _ Summer of Art Segantini, Balthus and Hodler on show in Swiss museums 53 _ Art & Entrepreneurship A new generation of 06 _ Slowing Earth’s Rotation When a day gets ever longer artists refl ects the DNA of Credit Suisse due to the Moon and the tides 54 _ Live at Sunset An all-star lineup of singers perform at Zurich’s outdoor concert series 08 _ Underwater Living The seafl oor is becoming a likely solution for new living space 55 _ Credit Suisse in Society 56 _ Science Festival New York celebrates 14 _ Back to the Future Sea travel looks back to the wind scientifi c discovery and innovation and sun as new methods of propulsion 58 _ Children’s Storefront Volunteers help 18 _ Secrets Buried Deep New technologies help explorers school kids in Harlem get a better education shed new light on the mysteries hidden in the deep 59 _ Love Ride Children with muscular diseases benefi t from biggest Swiss bikers’ meet 22 _ Ambitious Port Project “Tanger Med” will soon make 60 _ Dragon Award Employees pitch ideas for Morocco the Dubai of the Mediterranean charitable causes to win a large donation 62 _ Leader Kofi Annan An interview with the former UN Secretary-General In Every Issue 35 _ Good to Know 48 _ Reading Up 54 _ Masthead 66 _ @propos and In Focus The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sets the standard for environmentally and socially responsible forest management. Swiss paper (Z offset, with 30 % FSC component), from European pulp, produced by Ziegler Papier Coverphoto: www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov AG, Grellingen (ISO 14001-certifi ed). Your link to our know-how: www.credit-suisse.com/infocus Solway Firth, Cumbria, England, March 27, 2006, at 5.20 a.m. How Ebb and Flow Alter the Course of Time Oceans Tides 07 Many people say they could do with a few more hours in the day to of astronomical standards it’s a different matter. Indeed, this small fit in everything they need to do. At some point in the – albeit increase already influences our calendar. Because no matter how extremely – distant future, their wish may well be granted. Day in, small the discrepancy, this time delay has to be corrected on a day out, the Earth’s vast oceans and the Moon are doing their regular basis. For that very reason, a leap second was last inserted level best to make this a reality. at the end of 1998. The time delay makes itself even more clearly It is a well-known fact that 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is felt when seen over very long periods of time. covered by ocean. For one thing, these vast reserves of water Coral Records the Length of Day ensure that life as we know it can exist. But no matter how strange it might sound, the world’s seas also influence the length of day on An examination of present-day coral shows it contains more than Earth. To do that, however, they need the Moon’s help. The Moon 360 growth lines in annual skeleton growth – equivalent to one orbits the Earth on a slightly elliptical path, at a current average growth line per day. Scientists examined the growth rings from distance of 384,000 kilometers. fossilized coral, and discovered that 400 million years ago a day on Earth lasted only 22 hours while a year comprised more than Moon Ascribed Many Influences 400 days. Many influences are ascribed to the Moon – in many instances If we turn the clock back even further – to around 900 million probably too many. But one phenomenon caused by the Moon can years before our time – the length of a day was only about 18 hours. be seen plainly on a twice-daily basis: the tides. Twice a day the Back then, a year comprised roughly 490 days. Due to the friction oceans rise, before falling back again to a lower level. Due to the exerted by the tides, the speed at which the globe is rotating has Moon’s orbit, the ebb and flow shows itself across the world as a since slowed to the current 365.26 rotations per year with the perpetual rhythm. 24-hour day we are familiar with. Indeed, the force of the tides causes a deformation of the solid People used to believe that nautilus shells recorded a perfect Earth as it rotates within the gravitational fields of the Moon and lunar calendar, in that they produce one growth ring for each orbit Sun – with the degree of deformation reaching around half a meter of the Moon. The two scientists Peter Kahn and Stephen Pompea near the Equator. The regular ebb-and-flow action means that the caused a furor in an article they penned at the end of the 1970s.

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