For introductory courses in Oceanography.
"How do the oceans work?" To help students find the answers, Trujillo and Thurman present in-depth and rigorous discussions of oceanographic concepts and demystify the science for the non-science student. Their systems approach highlights the interdisciplinary relationship between oceanographic phenomena and how those phenomena affect other Earth systems. Scientific information from geology, chemistry, physics, and biology is incorporated to illustrate how each of these disciplines relates to the ocean. This unique combination of rigor and accessibility has made Essentials of Oceanography the best-selling brief book – and one of the best-sellers, period – on the market.
Table of Contents:
Introduction I.1 What Is Oceanography?
I.2 How Are Earth’s Oceans Unique?
I.3 What Is Rational Use of Technology?
Chapter 1 — Introduction to Planet "Earth" 1.1 How Many Oceans Exist On Earth?
The Four Principal Oceans, Plus One
The Seven Seas?
Comparing the Oceans to the Continents
1.2 How Was Early Exploration of the Oceans Achieved?
Early History
The Middle Ages
The Age of Discovery in Europe
The Beginning of Voyaging for Science
History of Oceanography…To Be Continued
1.3 What Is the Nature of Scientific Inquiry?
Observations
Hypothesis
Testing
Theory
Theories and the Truth
1.4 How Were Earth and the Solar System Created?
The Nebular Hypothesis
Protoearth
Density and Density Stratification
Earth’s Internal Structure
1.5 How Were Earth’s Atmosphere and Oceans Created?
Origin of Earth’s Atmosphere
Origin of Earth’s Oceans
1.6 Did Life Begin in the Oceans?
The Importance of Oxygen to Life
Stanley Miller’s Experiment
Evolution and Natural Selection
Plants and Animals Evolve
1.7 How Old Is Earth?
Radiometric Age Dating
The Geologic Time Scale
Chapter 2 — Plate Tectonics and the Ocean Floor
2.1 What Evidence Supports Continental Drift?
Fit of the Continents
Matching Sequences of Rocks and Mountain Chains
Glacial Ages and Other Climate Evidence
Distribution of Organisms
Objections to the Continental Drift Model
2.2 What Evidence Supports Plate Tectonics?
Earth’s Magnetic Field and Paleomagnetism
Sea Floor Spreading and Features of the Ocean Basins Other Evidence from the Ocean Basins
The Acceptance of a Theory
2.3 What Features Occur at Plate Boundaries?
Divergent Boundary Features
Convergent Boundary Features
Transform Boundary Features
2.4 Testing the Model: What Are Some Applications of Plate Tectonics?
Hotspots and Mantle Plumes
Seamounts and Tablemounts
Coral Reef Development
Detecting Plate Motion with Satellites
2.5 How Has Earth Changed in the Past…And How Will it Look in the Future?
The Past: Paleogeography
The Future: Some Bold Predictions
2.6 Plate Tectonics…To Be Continued
Chapter 3 — Marine Provinces
3.1 What Techniques Are Used to Determine Ocean Bathymetry?
Soundings
Echo Soundings
Seismic Reflection Profiles
3.2 What Does Earth’s Hypsographic Curve Reveal?
3.3 What Features Exist on Continental Margins?
Passive versus Active Continental Margins
Continental Shelf
Continental Slope
Submarine Canyons and Turbidity Currents
3.4 What Features Exist in the Deep-Ocean Basins?
Abyssal Plains
Volcanic Peaks of the Abyssal Plains
Ocean Trenches and Volcanic Arcs
3.5 What Features Exist along the Mid-Ocean Ridge?
Volcanic Features
Hydrothermal Vents
Fracture Zones and Transform Faults
Chapter 4 — Marine Sediments
4.1 What Is Lithogenous Sediment?
Origin
Composition
Sediment Texture
Distribution
4.2 What Is Biogenous Sediment?
Origin
Composition
Distribution
4.3 What Is Hydrogenous Sediment?
Origin
Composition and Distribution
4.4 What Is Cosmogenous Sediment? Origin, Composition, and Distribution
4.5 What Mixtures of Sediment Exist?
4.6 A Summary: How Are Pelagic and Neritic Deposits Distributed?
Neritic Deposits
Pelagic Deposits
How Sea Floor Sediments Represent Surface Conditions
Worldwide Thickness of Marine Sediments
4.7 What Events Are Revealed by Sea Floor Sediments?
4.8 What Resources Do Ocean Sediments Provide?
Energy Resources
Other Resources
Chapter 5 — Water and Seawater
5.1 Why Does Water Have Such Unusual Chemical Properties?
Atomic Structure
The Water Molecule
5.2 What Other Important Properties Does Water Possess?
Water’s Thermal Properties
Water Density
5.3 How Salty Is Seawater?
Salinity
Determining Salinity
Comparing Pure Water and Seawater
5.4 Why Does Seawater Salinity Vary?
Salinity Variations
Processes Affecting Seawater Salinity Dissolved Components Added and Removed from Seawater
5.5 Is Seawater Acidic or Basic?
The pH Scale
The Carbonate Buffering System
Recent Increase in Ocean Acidity
5.6 How Does Seawater Salinity Vary at the Surface and with Depth?
Surface Salinity Variation
Salinity Variation with Depth
Halocline
5.7 How Does Seawater Density Vary with Depth?
Factors Affecting Seawater Density
Density Variation with Depth
Pycnocline and Thermocline
5.8 What Methods Are Used to Desalinate Seawater?
Distillation
Membrane Processes
Other Methods of Desalination
Chapter 6 — Air-Sea Interaction
6.1 What Causes Earth’s Seasons?
6.2 How Does Uneven Solar Heating Affect Earth?
Distribution of Solar Energy
Oceanic Heat Flow
6.3 What Physical Properties Does the Atmosphere Possess?
Composition
Temperature
Density
Water Vapor Content
Pressure
Movement
An Example: A Nonspinning Earth
6.4 How Does the Coriolis Effect Influence Moving Objects?
Example 1: Perspectives and Frames of Reference on a Merry-Go-Round
Example 2: A Tale of Two Missiles
Changes in the Coriolis Effect with Latitude
6.5 What Global Atmospheric Circulation Patterns Exist?
Circulation Cells
Pressure
Wind Belts
Boundaries
Circulation Cells: Idealized or Real?
6.6 What Weather and Climate Patterns Does the Ocean Exhibit?
Weather versus Climate
Winds
Storms and Fronts
Tropical Cyclones (Hurricanes)
The Ocean’s Climate Patterns
6.7 How Do Sea Ice and Icebergs Form?
Formation of Sea Ice
Formation of Icebergs
6.8 What Causes the Atmosphere’s Greenhouse Effect?
Earth’s Heat Budget and Changes in Wavelength
Which Gases Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect?
What Changes Will Occur as a Result of Increased Global Warming?
What Should Be Done To Reduce Greenhouse Gases?
6.9 Can Power from Wind Be Harnessed as a Source of Energy?
Chapter 7 — Ocean Circulation
7.1 How Are Ocean Currents Measured?
Surface Current Measurement
Deep Current Measurement
7.2 How Are Ocean Surface Currents Organized?
Origin of Surface Currents
Main Components of Ocean Surface Circulation
Other Factors Affecting Ocean Surface Circulation
Ocean Currents and Climate
7.3 What Causes Upwelling and Downwelling?
Diverging Surface Water
Converging Surface Water
Coastal Upwelling and Downwelling
Other Causes of Upwelling
7.4 What Are the Main Surface Circulation Patterns in Each Ocean?
Antarctic Circulation
Atlantic Ocean Circulation
Indian Ocean Circulation
Pacific Ocean Circulation
7.5 What Deep-Ocean Currents Exist?
Origin of Thermohaline Circulation
Sources of Deep Water
Worldwide Deep-Water Circulation
7.6 Can Power from Currents Be Harnessed as a Source of Energy?
Chapter 8 — Waves and Water Dynamics
8.1 What Causes Waves?
8.2 How Do Waves Move?
8.3 What Characteristics Do Waves Possess?
Wave Terminology
Circular Orbital Motion
Deep-Water Waves
Shallow-Water Waves
Transitional Waves
8.4 How Do Wind-Generated Waves Develop?
Wave Development
Interference Patterns
8.5 How Do Waves Change in the Surf Zone?
Physical Changes as Waves Approach Shore
Breakers and Surfing
Wave Refraction
Wave Reflection
8.6 How Are Tsunami Created?
Coastal Effects
Some Examples of Historic and Recent Tsunami
Tsunami Warning System
8.7 Can Power from Waves Be Harnessed as a Source of Energy?
LIMPET 500: An Example of a Wave Power Plant
Global Coastal Wave Energy Resources
Chapter 9 — Tides
9.1 What Causes the Tides?
Tide-Generating Forces
Tidal Bulges: The Moon's Effect
Tidal Bulges: The Sun's Effect
Earth’s Rotation and the Tides
9.2 How Do Tides Vary During a Monthly Tidal Cycle?
The Monthly Tidal Cycle
Complicating Factors
Idealized Tide Prediction
9.3 What Do Tides Really Look Like in the Ocean?
Amphidromic Points and Cotidal Lines
Effect of the Continents
Other Considerations
9.4 What Types of Tidal Patterns Exist?
Diurnal Tidal Pattern
Semidiurnal Tidal Pattern
Mixed Tidal Pattern
9.5 What Tidal Phenomena Occur in Coastal Regions?
An Example of Tidal Extremes: The Bay of Fundy
Coastal Tidal Currents
Whirlpools: Fact or Fiction?
9.6 Can Tidal Power Be Harnessed as a Source of Energy?
Tidal Power Plants
Chapter 10 — The Coast: Beaches and Shoreline Processes
10.1 How Are Coastal Regions Defined?
Beach Terminology
Beach Composition
10.2 How Does Sand Move on the Beach?
Movement Perpendicular to Shoreline
Movement Parallel to Shoreline
10.3 What Features Exist along Erosional and Depositional Shores?
Features of Erosional Shores
Features of Depositional Shores
10.4 How Do Changes in Sea Level Produce Emerging and Submerging Shorelines?
Features of Emerging Shorelines
Features of Submerging Shorelines
Changes in Sea Level
10.5 What Characteristics Do U.S. Coasts Exhibit?
The Atlantic Coast
The Gulf Coast
The Pacific Coast
10.6 What Is Hard Stabilization?
Groins and Groin Fields
Jetties
Breakwaters
Seawalls
10.7 What Alternatives to Hard Stabilization Exist?
Construction Restrictions
Beach Replenishment
Relocation
Chapter 11 — The Coastal Ocean
11.1 What Laws Govern Ocean Ownership?
Mare Liberum and the Territorial Sea
Law of the Sea
11.2 What Characteristics Do Coastal Waters Exhibit?
Salinity
Temperature
Coastal Geostrophic Currents
11.3 What Types of Coastal Waters Exist?
Estuaries
Coastal Wetlands
Lagoons
Marginal Seas
11.4 What Is Pollution?
Marine Pollution: A Definition
Standard Laboratory Bioassay
The Issue of Waste Disposal in the Ocean
11.5 What Are the Main Types of Marine Pollution?
Petroleum
Sewage Sludge
DDT and PCBs
Mercury and Minamata Disease
Non-Point-Source Pollution and Trash
Chapter 12 —Marine Life and the Marine Environment
12.1 What Are Living Things and How Are They Classified?
A Working Definition of Life
The Three Domains of Life
The Five Kingdoms of Organisms
Taxonomic Classification
12.2 How Are Marine Organisms Classified?
Plankton (Floaters)
Nekton (Swimmers)
Benthos (Bottom Dwellers)
12.3 How Many Marine Species Exist?
Why Are There So Few Marine Species?
Species in Pelagic and Benthic Environments
12.4 How Are Marine Organisms Adapted for the Physical Conditions of the Ocean?
Need for Physical Support
Water’s Viscosity
Temperature
Salinity
Dissolved Gases
Water’s High Transparency
Pressure
12.5 What Are the Main Divisions of the Marine Environment?
Pelagic (Open Sea) Environment
Benthic (Sea Bottom) Environment
Chapter 13 — Biological Productivity and Energy Transfer
13.1 What Is Primary Productivity?
Measurement of Primary Productivity
Factors Affecting Primary Productivity
Light Transmission in Ocean Water
Why Are the Margins of the Oceans So Rich in Life?
13.2 What Kinds of Photosynthetic Marine Organisms Exist?
Seed-Bearing Plants (Anthophyta)
Macroscopic (Large) Algae
Microscopic (Small) Algae
Photosynthetic Bacteria
13.3 How Does Regional Primary Productivity Vary?
Productivity in Polar Oceans
Productivity in Tropical Oceans
Productivity in Temperate Oceans
Comparing Regional Productivity
13.4 How Are Energy and Nutrients Passed Along in Marine Ecosystems?
Flow of Energy in Marine Ecosystems
Flow of Nutrients in Marine Ecosystems
13.5 What Oceanic Feeding Relationships Exist?
Feeding Strategies
Trophic Levels
Transfer Efficiency
Food Chains, Food Webs, and the Biomass Pyramid
Symbiosis
13.6 What Issues Affect Marine Fisheries?
Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries
Overfishing
Incidental Catch
Fisheries Management
Seafood Choices
Chapter 14 — Animals of the Pelagic Environment
14.1 How Are Marine Organisms Able to Stay above the Ocean Floor?
Use of Gas Containers
Ability to Float
Ability to Swim
The Diversity of Planktonic Animals
14.2 What Adaptations Do Pelagic Organisms Possess for Seeking Prey?
Mobility: Lungers versus Cruisers
Swimming Speed
Cold-Blooded versus Warm-Blooded Organisms
Adaptations of Deep-Water Nekton
14.3 What Adaptations Do Pelagic Organisms Possess to Avoid Being Prey?
Schooling
Other Adaptations
14.4 What Characteristics Do Marine Mammals Possess?
Mammalian Characteristics
Order Carnivora
Order Sirenia
Order Cetacea
14.5 An Example of Migration: Why Do Gray Whales Migrate?
Migration Route
Reasons for Migration
Timing of Migration
Gray Whales as Endangered Species
Chapter 15 — Animals of the Benthic Environment
15.1 How Are Benthic Organisms Distributed?
15.2 What Communities Exist along Rocky Shores?
Intertidal Zonation
The Spray (Supratidal) Zone: Organisms and Their Adaptations
The High Tide Zone: Organisms and Their Adaptations
The Middle Tide Zone: Organisms and Their Adaptations
The Low Tide Zone: Organisms and Their Adaptations
15.3 What Communities Exist along Sediment-Covered Shores?
Physical Environment of the Sediment
Intertidal Zonation
Sandy Beaches: Organisms and Their Adaptations
Mud Flats: Organisms and Their Adaptations
15.4 What Communities Exist on the Shallow Offshore Ocean Floor?
Rocky Bottoms (Subtidal): Organisms and Their Adaptations
Coral Reefs: Organisms and Their Adaptations
15.5 What Communities Exist on the Deep-Ocean Floor?
The Physical Environment
Food Sources and Species Diversity
Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Biocommunities: Organisms and Their Adaptations
Low-Temperature Seep Biocommunities: Organisms and Their Adaptations
The Deep Biosphere
Afterword
A.1 What Are Marine Protected Areas?
A.2 What Can I Do?
Appendixes
I Metric and English Units Compared
II Geographic Locations
III Latitude and Longitude on Earth
IV A Chemical Background: Why Water Has 2 H’s and 1 O
V Careers in Oceanography
Glossary
Credits and Acknowledgements
Index
About the Author :
Alan P. Trujillo Al Trujillo teaches at Palomar Community College in San Marcos, CA, where he is co-Director of the Oceanography Program and Chair of the Earth Sciences Department. He received his bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of California at Davis and his master’s degree in geology from Northern Arizona University, afterwards working for several years in industry as a development geologist, hydrogeologist, and computer specialist. Al began teaching in the Earth Sciences Department at Palomar in 1990 and in 1997 was awarded Palomar’s Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has co-authored Introductory Oceanography with Hal Thurman and is a contributing author for the textbooks Earth and Earth Science. In addition to writing and teaching, Al works as a naturalist and lecturer aboard natural history expedition vessels in Alaska and the Sea of Cortez/Baja California. His research interests include beach processes, sea cliff erosion, and computer applications in oceanography. Al and his wife, Sandy, have two children, Karl and Eva.
Harold V. Thurman Hal Thurman retired in May 1994, after 24 years of teaching in the Earth Sciences Department of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Interest in geology led to a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma A&M University, followed by seven years working as a petroleum geologist, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico, where his interest in oceans developed. He earned a master’s degree from California State University at Los Angeles and then joined the Earth sciences faculty at Mt. San Antonio College. Other books that Hal has co-authored include Introductory Oceanography (with Alan Trujillo) and a marine biology textbook. He has also written articles on the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans for the 1994 edition of World Book Encyclopedia and served as a consultant on the National Geographic publication Realms of the Sea. He still enjoys going to sea on vacations with his wife Iantha.
