Description

Two thirds of our planet is covered by oceans and seas. Over recent decades developments in ocean science have dramatically improved our understanding of the key role oceans play in the Earth System, and how vital they are for regulating global climate. Humans depend on the oceans for many resources, but at the same time their impacts on the marine systems around the world are of increasing concern. Introducing Oceanography has been written by two leading oceanographers to provide a succinct overview of the science of the study of the seas for students and for the interested adult wanting a topical guide to this enormous and complex subject. The initial chapters describe the oceans and the forces at work within them. The authors then discuss the effects of light, the chemistry of the seas and the food web before surveying biological oceanography in the main oceanic regions. The final chapter looks at the methodology of ocean study. Copiously illustrated, this book is intended for those whose interest in oceanography has been stimulated, perhaps by media coverage of declining resources or climate change and who want to know more. Technical terms are kept to a minimum and are explained in a glossary.

About the Author

David N. Thomas and David C. Bowers are colleagues at the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales, although Professor David N. Thomas currently spends much of his time working at the Marine Centre of the Finnish Environment Institute in Helsinki.

Praise For…

'I would thoroughly recommend this book to any aspiring oceanographer or serious amateur. This is a very wide and complex subject that has been covered very well indeed and very attractively in such a short volume.' International Journal of the Society for Underwater Technology 'I have had the pleasure of reviewing a large number of the "Introducing" guides from Dunedin Academic Press, and I am pleased to say that here are another couple of equally good ones. The format is always the same – authorative but easy to understand text, interspersed by bold, full colour diagrams and photographs. And the topics of oceanography and meteorology certainly complement each other. The planet is two-thirds covered by oceans and seas and the energy they contain massively affects the way the Earth system (especially climate) works. While the British may be obsessed with talking about the weather, there can be little doubt about the way it affects all human life – from farming and fishing to recreation and the economy in general. These guides set outto provide overviews of these fascinating topics, and each is of the highest quality.

The nice thing about these guides is that the bite-sized nature of each chapter means you can dip in and out when you want to explore a particular subject, or you can sit down and read them in their entirety in only a few hours and feel that you really have learnt something by the time you have finished. For example, if you want to know something about mid-latitude weather systems (affecting, instance. the UK), then there is a chapter on that. If you would rather know about supercomputers versus the weather station, there are sections on those in the meteorology guide. Similarly, there is information on the chemistry, biology, the tides, waves, and so on in the one of oceanography.
And, as always, the authors of both guides are experts in their fields.'
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