The World's Oceans
Geography, History, and Environment
2nd Edition
Published on 20. February 2025
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-1-4408-8158-9 (ISBN)
Description
Discover the science, cultural history, and environmental importance of our planet's oceans.
The second edition of this award-winning encyclopedia has been updated throughout and includes more than 20 additional entries and highlights timely concerns, including overfishing and microplastics, while also providing expanded coverage of the role oceans play in modern society, from cruise ships to the America's Cup competition. Part I of the book features a collection of 10 thematic essays, covering the five oceans of the world and broad areas of study such as the shipping industry and the changing nature of ocean boundaries. Part II includes more than 115 encyclopedia entries exploring topics ranging from the Bermuda Triangle to maritime law, from tsunamis to ocean acidification. Sidebars throughout offer fascinating facts that complement the main text.
The oceans of the world are the lifeblood of our planet. They act as a climate regulator, absorbing heat and influencing weather patterns. The oceans teem with a vast and mostly unexplored diversity of life, providing us with food and medicine. Historically, oceans have been the highways of exploration and trade, connecting continents and fostering cultural exchange. From ancient Polynesian voyagers to modern shipping lanes, societies have relied on the oceans for transportation and resources. Yet, despite their vastness and importance, the world's oceans face numerous threats, including the effects of climate change, pollution, and exploitation of their bounty.
The second edition of this award-winning encyclopedia has been updated throughout and includes more than 20 additional entries and highlights timely concerns, including overfishing and microplastics, while also providing expanded coverage of the role oceans play in modern society, from cruise ships to the America's Cup competition. Part I of the book features a collection of 10 thematic essays, covering the five oceans of the world and broad areas of study such as the shipping industry and the changing nature of ocean boundaries. Part II includes more than 115 encyclopedia entries exploring topics ranging from the Bermuda Triangle to maritime law, from tsunamis to ocean acidification. Sidebars throughout offer fascinating facts that complement the main text.
The oceans of the world are the lifeblood of our planet. They act as a climate regulator, absorbing heat and influencing weather patterns. The oceans teem with a vast and mostly unexplored diversity of life, providing us with food and medicine. Historically, oceans have been the highways of exploration and trade, connecting continents and fostering cultural exchange. From ancient Polynesian voyagers to modern shipping lanes, societies have relied on the oceans for transportation and resources. Yet, despite their vastness and importance, the world's oceans face numerous threats, including the effects of climate change, pollution, and exploitation of their bounty.
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
Dimensions
Height: 258 mm
Width: 186 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
1100 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4408-8158-9 (9781440881589)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2025
2nd Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€205.99
Available for download
Persons
Rainer F. Buschmann is professor and founding faculty member in the history program at California State University Channel Islands, USA.
Lance Nolde is assistant professor in the history program at California State University Channel Islands, USA.
Lance Nolde is assistant professor in the history program at California State University Channel Islands, USA.
Content
Introduction
Part I: Thematic Essays
The Arctic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean
The Indian Ocean
The Pacific Ocean
The Southern Ocean
Oceans and Seas in World Culture
The Changing Nature of Ocean Boundaries
The Shipping Industry
Ocean Exploration
Environmental Issues and the World's Oceans
Part II: Topical Entries
Adriatic Sea
Age of Sail
America's Cup
Antikythera Wreck
Aquaculture
Art and the Sea
Atlantic Galleon Exchange
Atlantis
Atocha Wreck
Austronesians
Beachcombers (Transculturites)
Belitung Wreck
Bermuda Triangle
Bikini Atoll (Nuclear Pacific)
Burial at Sea
Carbon Cycle
Celestial Navigation
Climate Change
Clotilda, Wreck of the
Coastal Erosion and Deposition
The Columbian Exchange
Commodities
Cook, James (1728-1779)
Coral Reefs
Coriolis Effect
Cousteau, Jacques (1910-1997)
Cross-Cultural Encounters
Cruise Ships and Cruising
Da Gama, Vasco (1469-1524)
Deep Sea Exploration
Earle, Sylvia (1935-)
El Nino/La Nina
Endurance, Wreck of the
Estuaries
Exclusive Economic Zone
Fishing
Fortified Wines (Port and Madeira)
Franklin Expedition
Glaciers
Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
Groot (Grotius), Hugo de (1583-1645)
Hanseatic League
Heyerdahl, Thor (1914-2002)
Hokule'a
Hurricanes and Typhoons
Ibn Majid, Ahmad (c. 1432-c. 1500)
Ice Breakers
Ice Melt
Islands
Law of the Sea
Literature and the Sea
Little Ice Age
Littoral
Magellan, Ferdinand (1480-1521)
The Manila Galleon
Manmade Reefs
Marine Pollution
Maritime Archaeology
Maritime Deities
Maritime Empires
Maritime Organizations
Maritime Trade
Mediterranean Sea
Mermaids
MH370
Microplastics
Moby-Dick
Mu (Continent of)
Music and Seafarers
Myths and Legends
Nansen, Fridtjof (1861-1930)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Navigation
Nor'easter
Northwest Passage
Ocean Acidification
Ocean Currents
Ocean and Sea in Film
Ocean Tides
Overfishing
Panama Canal
Piailug, Mau (1932-2010)
Piracy
Plate Tectonics
Poseidon/Neptune
Queen Anne's Revenge, Wreck of the
Reefs
Salinity
Sama-Bajau
Sargasso Sea
Sea Ice
Sea Level Rise
Sea Monsters
The Sea Peoples
Sea Volcanoes
Sharks
Ship Graveyards and Ship Breaking
The South China Sea
Submarines
Submersibles
Suez Canal
Surfing
Survival at Sea
Terra Australis Incognita
Thalassocracy
Titanic, Wreck of the
Tomol
Tsunami
Tupaia (c. 1725-1770)
20,000 Leagues under the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The Vikings
Warships: North American Colonial Wars
Waves
Whales and Whaling
Zheng He (1371-c. 1430)
Bibliography
About the Editors and Contributors
Index
Part I: Thematic Essays
The Arctic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean
The Indian Ocean
The Pacific Ocean
The Southern Ocean
Oceans and Seas in World Culture
The Changing Nature of Ocean Boundaries
The Shipping Industry
Ocean Exploration
Environmental Issues and the World's Oceans
Part II: Topical Entries
Adriatic Sea
Age of Sail
America's Cup
Antikythera Wreck
Aquaculture
Art and the Sea
Atlantic Galleon Exchange
Atlantis
Atocha Wreck
Austronesians
Beachcombers (Transculturites)
Belitung Wreck
Bermuda Triangle
Bikini Atoll (Nuclear Pacific)
Burial at Sea
Carbon Cycle
Celestial Navigation
Climate Change
Clotilda, Wreck of the
Coastal Erosion and Deposition
The Columbian Exchange
Commodities
Cook, James (1728-1779)
Coral Reefs
Coriolis Effect
Cousteau, Jacques (1910-1997)
Cross-Cultural Encounters
Cruise Ships and Cruising
Da Gama, Vasco (1469-1524)
Deep Sea Exploration
Earle, Sylvia (1935-)
El Nino/La Nina
Endurance, Wreck of the
Estuaries
Exclusive Economic Zone
Fishing
Fortified Wines (Port and Madeira)
Franklin Expedition
Glaciers
Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
Groot (Grotius), Hugo de (1583-1645)
Hanseatic League
Heyerdahl, Thor (1914-2002)
Hokule'a
Hurricanes and Typhoons
Ibn Majid, Ahmad (c. 1432-c. 1500)
Ice Breakers
Ice Melt
Islands
Law of the Sea
Literature and the Sea
Little Ice Age
Littoral
Magellan, Ferdinand (1480-1521)
The Manila Galleon
Manmade Reefs
Marine Pollution
Maritime Archaeology
Maritime Deities
Maritime Empires
Maritime Organizations
Maritime Trade
Mediterranean Sea
Mermaids
MH370
Microplastics
Moby-Dick
Mu (Continent of)
Music and Seafarers
Myths and Legends
Nansen, Fridtjof (1861-1930)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Navigation
Nor'easter
Northwest Passage
Ocean Acidification
Ocean Currents
Ocean and Sea in Film
Ocean Tides
Overfishing
Panama Canal
Piailug, Mau (1932-2010)
Piracy
Plate Tectonics
Poseidon/Neptune
Queen Anne's Revenge, Wreck of the
Reefs
Salinity
Sama-Bajau
Sargasso Sea
Sea Ice
Sea Level Rise
Sea Monsters
The Sea Peoples
Sea Volcanoes
Sharks
Ship Graveyards and Ship Breaking
The South China Sea
Submarines
Submersibles
Suez Canal
Surfing
Survival at Sea
Terra Australis Incognita
Thalassocracy
Titanic, Wreck of the
Tomol
Tsunami
Tupaia (c. 1725-1770)
20,000 Leagues under the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The Vikings
Warships: North American Colonial Wars
Waves
Whales and Whaling
Zheng He (1371-c. 1430)
Bibliography
About the Editors and Contributors
Index