Synopses & Reviews
Covering nearly three-quarters of our planet, the worldand#8217;s oceans are a vast and unique ecosystem from which all life on Earth originated. But each year the marine realm is more susceptible to harm by careless exploitation, and as demands for food, waste disposal, transport, and travel increase, the fate of the worldand#8217;s oceans hangs in the balance. This timely guide offers the nonscientist an opportunity to appreciate the importance of this expansiveand#8212;and fragileand#8212;frontier.
With selections chosen for their value in identifying the multiple uses of oceans, their resources, and the hurdles they face as the worldand#8217;s population continues to expand and consume their resources at a staggering rate, Oceans collects more than thirty thematically arranged articles from the past decade, including recent pieces written in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. The bookfeatures articles that investigate the origins of the worldand#8217;s oceans, the diversity of life in the water, the state of global fisheries, the dangers of natural disasters, and the perils oceans face, whether induced by nature or by humans.
With breadth of topics as wide as the ocean is deep, this Scientific American reader will engage general readers interested in the evolution, ecology, and conservation of the oceanic ecosystem and can be used in courses on introductory oceanography, environmental science, and marine biology.
About the Author
Scientific American, the premier general-interest science magazine, reports the most important developments in modern science, medicine, and technology to more than three million readers worldwide. The oldest continuously published magazine in the United States, it has been at the forefront of science for more than 150 years. Evolution: A Scientific American Reader, is also published by the University of Chicago Press.
Table of Contents
OriginsSculpting the Earth from the Inside Out
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Michael Gurnis
Large Igneous Provinces
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Millard F. Coffin and Olav Eldholm
Lifeand#8217;s Rocky Start
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Robert M. Hazen
When Methane Made Climate
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; James F. Kasting
Snowball Earth
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Paul F. Hoffman and Daniel P. Schrag
Looking for Life below the Bottom
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Sarah Simpson
and#160;
Marine Life
Life in the Ocean
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; James W. Nybakken and Steven K. Webster
The Oceanand#8217;s Invisible Forest
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Paul G. Falkowski
Light in the Oceanand#8217;s Midwaters
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Bruce H. Robison
Manatees
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Thomas J. Oand#8217;shea
Secrets of the Slime Hag
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Frederic H. Martini
Why Are Reef Fish So Colorful?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Justin Marshall
and#160;
Fisheries
Counting the Last Fish
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Daniel Pauly and Reg Watson
The Worldand#8217;s Imperiled Fish
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Carl Safina
Shrimp Aquaculture and the Environment
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Claude E. Boyd and Jason W. Clay
The Evolution of Ocean Law
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Jon L. Jacobson and Alison Rieser
Fishy Business
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Sarah Simpson
Sharks Mean Business
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; R. Charles Anderson
Fishing the and#8220;Zoneand#8221; in Sri Lanka
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Anton Nonis
and#160;
Dangerous Waters
Giant Earthquakes of the Pacific Northwest
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Roy D. Hyndman
Tsunami!
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Frank I. Gonzand#225;lez
The Threat of Silent Earthquakes
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Peter Cerville
The Coming Climate
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Thomas R. Karl, Neville Nicholls and Jonathan GregoryTsunami: Wave of Change
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Eric L. Geist, Vasily V. Titov and Costas E. Synolakis
and#160;
The Oceans in Peril
Enriching the Sea to Death
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Scott W. Nixon
Red Tides
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Donald M. Anderson
Natural Oil Spills
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Ian R. MacDonald
Flammable Ice
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Erwin Suess, Gerhard Bohrmann, Jens Greinert and Erwin Lausch
Can We Bury Global Warming?
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Robert H. Socolow
Chaotic Climate
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Wallace S. Broecker
Defusing the Global Warming Time Bomb
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; James Hansen
Meltdown in the North
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Matthew Sturm, Donald K. Perovich and Mark C. Serreze