From a certain point-in outer space, above the Pacific Ocean,the Earth appears entirely blue. It is the presence of liquid water in such vast quantities that marks the planet out from its neighbours in the solar system. The oceans spawned the earliest life forms, and they continue to sustain all terrestrial creatures - mankind included. And not simply through the water cycle; the oceans also play a vital role in regulating the Earth's temperature;out them, the planet would be inhospitably hot by day and cord by night.

Much is already understood about the oceans, from the reason for their characteristic hue to the role they play in climatic phenomena such as tornadoes, tsunamis and E[ Nino. But they are also the last great wilderness on Earth. Light penetrates only to a depth of around 200 metres; below lies a dark world of extraordinary topography and remarkable creatures.There are mountain ranges that dwarf the Andes, and trenches so deep that if Mount Everest were deposited there,it would stILL FInd itself: covered by over a mile of sea water. The coelacanth,thought to be extinct before 1938, can claim the title of the 'ocean's dinosaur' since fossil records show it to be at least 400 million gears old.And textbooks had to be rewritten when the megamouth shark was first sighted in 1976. What other, as yet undlscovered, species inhabit the depths？

Ocean examines every facet of this remarkable environment, from plate tectonics to the effects of the moon,phytoplankton to blue whales. It traces Man's efforts to probe the deep in the his less worthy activities regarding the environment, the ramifications of which remain uncertain.

Mankind began to Look outward with the dawn of the space era in the 1950s. This book shows that seventy percent of the Earth's Surface is a source of wonder whose secrets have yet to be fully revealed.

Introduction

THE GIVER OF LIFE

OCEAN DYNAMICS

LIFE IN THE OCEANS

The Ocean Edge

  Above the Tide Line

  Estuaries, Salt Marshes and Mudflats

  Sandy Shores

  Rocky Shores

  The Shallows

  Mangroves

  The Frozen Polar Coasts

Coral Reef

The Open Ocean

The Abyss

  The Twilight Zone

  The Dark

  The Deep Sea Bed

MAN AND THE OCEANS

  The Challenge of the Oceans

  The Vast Ocean Resource

  Maritime Law

  Man's Impact

Index

Acknowledgements