| A Note to Students
Human beings have been curious about the oceans since they first walked along their shores. As people have learned more about the oceans, they have come to more fully understand and appreciate the tremendous influence these bodies of salt water have on our lives. The oceans cover over 70% of Earth's surface, creating a habitat for thousands of known species and countless others still to be discovered. The sea contains vast quantities of diverse natural resources in the water and on the sea floor; some are actively exploited today, and many more may be recovered in the future with improved technology and greater demand. Global climate and weather are strongly influenced by the oceans as they interact with the atmosphere through the transfer of moisture and heat energy. The ocean basins also serve as the location of great geological processes and features such as earthquakes, volcanoes, massive mountain ranges, and deep trenches, all of which are related to the creation and destruction of sea floor in the process of plate tectonics.
Much of what happens in the oceans and on the sea floor is hidden from direct observation. Although the Hubble Space Telescope can form images made from light that has traveled over 10 billion trillion kilometers, we can not see more than a few tens of meters below the ocean's surface even under the most favorable conditions because of the efficient scattering and absorption of light by seawater. Consequently, most of what we know about the oceans comes from indirect, or remote, methods of observation. With constantly improving technology and innovative applications of that technology, we continue to learn more about the geological, physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the oceans.
Although careful scientific study of the oceans is often difficult and challenging, it is both necessary and rewarding. Our lives are so intimately tied to the oceans that we benefit from each new fact that we discover. Continued research and a better understanding of the oceans become increasingly important as the population of this planet grows ever larger. Early in the new millennium, there is both good news and bad news concerning global population growth. The rate of population increase has slowed with falling birth rates, and there is some indication that the human population will level off by the end of this century. But even if the human population does stabilize, it will not do so before there is an increase of several billion people over today's population. We clearly will continue to face difficult environmental decisions affecting the oceans as well as the land in the foreseeable future. Our best chance of dealing wisely and effectively with these challenges is to promote more widespread understanding of the oceans.
Although it is critical that we continue to train marine scientists to study the oceans, it is no less important for people in all walks of life to develop a basic understanding of how the oceans influence our lives and how our actions influence the oceans. In studying oceanography, you are preparing yourself to be an informed global citizen. It is likely that at some point in the future you will have the opportunity to voice your concern about the health of the oceans, either directly or through the governmental process. Your interest in and study of oceanography will help you participate in future discussions and decision-making processes in an informed manner.
The Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/sverdrup provides you with links to Internet addresses applicable to this text. To expand your knowledge of oceanography, there are Internet exercises for many of these sites. The exercises are found within the Online Learning Center.A Note to Instructors
A major objective of this text is to stimulate student interest and curiosity by blending contemporary information and research with basic principles in order to present an integrated introduction to the many and varied sciences used in the study of the oceans. To do so, we have extensively reviewed and rewritten material from the sixth edition to produce this new seventh edition. In the face of constant and rapid change, we have added new material for both content and interest.
We realize that the students who will use this book come from diverse backgrounds and that for many of them this will be an elective course. The content continues to be reasonably rigorous, but we have chosen to use simple algebra rather than advanced mathematics. For instance, we use centrifugal force to explain tidal principles because most students do not have much background in vectors. More emphasis is placed on the physical and geological aspects of oceanography than on the chemical and geochemical because the latter two disciplines require more background knowledge.
An ecological approach and descriptive material are used to integrate the biological chapters with the other subject fields. We strive to emphasize oceanography as a cohesive and united whole rather than a collection of subjects gathered under a marine umbrella.
In order to understand the constant barrage of information concerning our planet and marine issues, students must have a basic command of the language of marine science in addition to mastering processes and principles. For this reason we maintain an emphasis on critical vocabulary. All terms are defined in the text; terms that are particularly important are printed in boldface. A list of important terms is at the end of each chapter, and a glossary is included at the end of the book. The Online Learning Center for this text also hosts flashcards of key terms for student study.
Summaries at the ends of chapters provide quick reviews of key concepts. Study Problems are included in many chapters, and Study Questions are at the end of each chapter. The Study Questions are not intended merely for review, but also to challenge students to think further about the lessons of the chapter.
This book may be used in a one-quarter or one-semester course. Because the experience and emphasis of faculty using this book will differ, it is expected that each instructor will emphasize and elaborate on some topic at the expense of other topics. We continue to make each chapter stand as independently as possible and encourage instructors to use the chapters in the order that best suits their purposes. Cross-references from one chapter to another indicate discussion of topics elsewhere in the text. Faculty wishing to expand quantitative material are encouraged to make use of Appendix C, Equations and Quantitative Relationships. The answers to the Study Questions and Study Problems from the text appear in the Instructor's Manual, in the password-protected instructor's area of the Online Learning Center.Changes to the Seventh Edition
In addition to revisions and updates based on current research, this edition contains several new boxed readings. The Prologue contains a significant amount of new material on the history of oceanography, as well as an updated section on oceanography of the recent past, present, and future. In Chapter 1 we have added material on the origin of the oceans. The discussions of the Earth's internal structure and the characteristics of plates and their boundaries have been extensively rewritten and many new figures have been added. Chapter 3's section describing the characteristics of marine sediments has been completely revised and a new section on gas hydrates has been added. Chapter 4 contains a new section on temperature and heat before the discussion of changes in the state of water. Chapter 5 now begins with a new section explaining the pH scale and the pH of seawater in order to form a foundation for the discussion of seawater chemistry. Both chapters 6 and 7 have been renamed and reorganized. Chapter 6 is now named "The Structure and Motion of the Atmosphere." It focuses exclusively on atmospheric processes critical to understanding the links between the atmosphere and the oceans. Chapter 7 is now entitled "Circulation and Ocean Structure." This chapter includes a revised discussion of ocean density structure and covers topics in vertical circulation, upwelling and downwelling, the layering of the oceans, and updated material on sampling methods and measurement techniques. Chapter 7 also contains two new special interest boxes covering topics including Arctic Ocean studies (with a discussion of the North Pole Environmental Observatory) and Ocean Gliders (independent, unmanned vehicles). The material in Chapter 8 has been reordered and sections on convergence and divergence have been rewritten to enhance clarity. Chapter 9's discussion of Energy from Waves and the boxed reading on Tsunami Warning Systems have both been updated. The tide and current tables have been updated in Chapter 10. The discussions of beach dynamics and beach types in Chapter 11 have been reordered for clarity and the material previously in chapter 12 on modifying beaches has been moved to chapter 11. In Chapter 12 the discussion of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone has been updated and rewritten. Chapter 13 has a new name, "The Living Ocean"; the chapter has been completely revised and rewritten. More emphasis is given to ocean biology and there are new sections on ocean biology, groups of organisms and environmental zones. Symbiotic relationships are now included. Chapter 14 has new information on the roles of nitrogen and iron, and a new boxed reading on CalCOFI—Fifty Years of Coastal Ocean Data. Chapter 15 contains updated material on the krill harvest, more information on the microbial loop, and the section on harmful algal blooms has been revised and updated. There is revised and expanded information on skates and rays, marine mammal populations, and bathypelagic organisms in Chapter 16. In addition, all fisheries data has been updated. Chapter 17 has new and revised information on corals including bleaching, predation, disease, and the effect of human activities. New information on Lost City vents is included in Chapter 17 and all harvesting data has been updated. In addition, Chapter 17 hosts a new boxed reading on ice worms living on deep-sea ice hydrates.Instructor Supplements McGraw-Hill offers a variety of supplements to assist the instructor with both preparation and classroom presentation. Materials that are specific to this text and that are available to the instructor include a text-specific Online Learning Center (OLC), which can be found at www.mhhe.com/sverdrup. Within the password-protected Online Learning Center instructors will find the Instructor's Manual, which includes answers to the Study Questions and Study Problems from the text. Also available to instructors is the Digital Content Manager CD-ROM. This multimedia collection of visual resources allows instructors to utilize artwork and photos from the text in multiple formats to create customized classroom presentations, visually-based tests and quizzes, dynamic course website content, or attractive printed support materials. The digital assets on this cross-platform 2 CD-ROM set are grouped by chapter within easy-to-use folders and provide access to 34 video segments from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, grouped by chapter to go with the seventh edition of this text. The Scripps video segments are also available on videotape.
PowerWeb: Oceanography can be accessed through the Online Learning Center, and contains articles from current magazines, newspapers, and journals; weekly updates of current issues; web research tips; an online library of updated research links to help you find the right information; up-to-the-minute headlines from around the world including course-specific and general news; and online quizzing and assessments for your students.
A Brownstone testing system containing questions specific to each chapter is available on a cross-platform CD-ROM to help instructors generate tests; and a set of overhead transparencies contains over 200 figures from the text. These ancillaries are available to instructors through their McGraw-Hill sales representative.
For those schools offering a laboratory with their oceanography course, McGraw-Hill offers an exceptional lab manual entitled "Investigating the Ocean" by R. Leckie and R. Yuretich of University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Additional earth science supplements offered by McGraw-Hill which are appropriate for this course include the Journey Through Geology CD-ROM by the Smithsonian Institution; the JLM Visuals Physical Geology Photo CD; and a geoscience videotape library. Contact your McGraw-Hill sales representative for details on these products.
Student Supplements
The Internet makes oceanographic information and data available to researchers and it also provides images and information in many forms to instructors and students. Public agencies and museums, universities and research laboratories, satellites and oceanographic projects, interest groups and individuals all over the planet provide information that can be publicly accessed. The text-specific Online Learning Center (OLC) website, which can be found at www.mhhe.com/sverdrup, provides chapter-sorted links to many websites that contain information pertinent to each chapter's content. In addition, web links are provided within the OLC for further information on many boxed readings and figures within each chapter. Wherever you see this icon in your textbook, you will find associated web links for the indicated figure or boxed reading on the OLC. The OLC also hosts a complete Student Study Guide, chapter quizzing, key term flashcards, and Internet exercises to help with chapter study. In addition, PowerWeb is a great way to get information you need quickly and easily! Through the OLC, students can access PowerWeb: Oceanography, which contains articles from current magazines, newspapers, and journals; weekly updates of current issues; web research tips; an online library of updated research links to help you find the right information; up-to-the-minute headlines from around the world including course-specific and general news; online quizzing and assessments to measure your understanding of course material, and more!Acknowledgments
As a book is the product of many experiences, it is also the product of people other than the authors. We extend many thanks to our friends and colleagues who have graciously answered our questions and provided us with information and access to their photo files. We owe very special thanks to faculty and staff of the School of Oceanography, College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, and to the scientists and staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Regional Office, who have answered questions, supplied data and provided many of the illustrations in this edition. We are also grateful to Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who have allowed us the privilege of providing their videotape series as an instructor ancillary to this seventh edition of the text.
We would also like to acknowledge the valuable contributions of the following people:
Marcia McNutt
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Charlie Eriksen
School of Oceanography, University of Washington
Suzan Huney
Polar Science Center, University of Washington
Charles Fisher and Erin McMullin
Mueller Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
Steve Nathan and R. Mark Leckie
University of Massachusetts, AmherstReviewers for the Seventh Edition
Claude D. Baker
Indiana University Southeast
Douglas Biggs
Texas A&M University
Wayne V. Bloechl
Cabrillo College
Gregg Brooks
Eckerd College
Hans G. Dam
University of Connecticut
Cynthia Domack
Hamilton College
Nancy Glass
Baldwin Wallace College
Lawrence Krissek
Ohio State University
James McWhorter
Miami-Dade Community College
Keith H. Meldahl
MiraCosta College
A. Conrad Neumann
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dan E. Olson
Edgewood College
Mike Phillips
Illinois Valley Community College
Reed Scherer
Northern Illinois University
Guatam Sen
Florida International University
Kent M. Syverson
University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire
Margaret Vose
University of Southern Maine
We thank all members of the team at McGraw-Hill, without whose help, enthusiasm, and coordinated efforts this seventh edition could not have been completed.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education