The World's Oceans: Geography, History, and Environment

(Hardback)

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Description

This single-volume resource explores the five major oceans of the world, addressing current issues such as sea rise and climate change and explaining the significance of the oceans from historical, geographic, and cultural perspectives. The World's Oceans: Geography, History, and Environment is a one-stop resource that describes in-depth the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans and identifies their importance, today and throughout history. Essays address the subject areas of oceans and seas in world culture, fishing and shipping industries through history, ocean exploration, and climate change and oceans. The book also presents dozens of entries covering a breadth of topics on human culture, the environment, history, and current issues as they relate to the oceans and ocean life. Sample entries provide detailed information on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle, Coral Reefs, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Ice Melt, Myths and Legends, Piracy, and Whaling. Contributions to the work come from top researchers in the fields of history and maritime studies, including Paul D'Arcy, John Gillis, Tom Hoogervorst, Michael North, and Lincoln Paine. The volume highlights the numerous ways in which Earth's oceans have influenced culture and society, from the earliest seafaring civilizations to the future of the planet.

Reviews

This single volume is a welcome addition to the stable of science materials for a wide audience, given the paucity of works on oceans and human societies. . . . The coverage is broad rather than deep, making it well suited for the general reader whose interest in the ocean may be piqued by recent weather trends. * Booklist, Starred Review *
A solid selection . . . for general readers, high school students, and undergraduates trawling for oceanic facts. * Library Journal *
The World's Oceans: Geography, History, and Environment will be of interest in all types of librariespublic, academic, high schoolfor its accessible text and its content. A sturdy hardcover binding will stand up well to repeated use by patrons. The work is probably best placed in the circulating collection, due the length of the essays and the interconnectedness of the topics explored in the two sections. * ARBA *
Part history, part geography, part marine science, and entirely fascinating, this wide-ranging reference work covers everything about our oceans, from the floating plastic debris to the darkest depths of the benthic zone. . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduate and graduate students. * Choice *

Author Bio

Rainer F. Buschmann is professor and founding faculty member in the history program at the California State University Channel Islands. Lance Nolde is assistant professor in the history program at California State University Channel Islands.