Oceans: Exploring the Hidden Depths of the Underwater World

The oceans are the single most important feature of our planet. They shape our climate, our culture, and our future. Yet their depths have remained a mysterious and unchartered expanse. This book, which accompanies a major BBC television series, draws on the most exciting stories from the fields of subaquatic archaeology, geology, marine biology, and anthropology to reveal an astonishing landscape of forgotten shipwrecks, submerged volcanoes, and hidden caves. For Oceans, explorer Paul Rose and his team of expert divers filmed fluorescence in Red Sea corals for the very first time and explored the undisturbed waters of the Black Hole off the Bahamas. They witnessed rarely seen behavior in sperm whales in the Sea of Cortez and discovered a potentially unknown species below the arctic ice pack. Undertaking thrilling and often dangerous dives, Rose and his team reveal the importance of the oceans to human existence--and at the same time trace the possible consequences of climate change on their delicate balance. Beautifully illustrated with more than 160 color photographs, Oceans unravels the mysteries of the deep and provides illuminating insights into this vast undersea domain.

"It is my sincere hope that this work will make more urgent the chorus of voices crying out to save the oceans."--From the foreword, by Philippe Cousteau

Copub: BBC

Author: Paul Rose, Anne Laking
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 04/15/2009
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.73lbs
Size: 11.08h x 8.78w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780520260283


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/01/2009 pg. 92
Booklist 04/01/2009 pg. 11
Science Books & Films 05/01/2009 pg. 104
Choice 11/01/2009

About the Author
Paul Rose, expedition leader and copresenter of the BBC television series Oceans, is a professional diver, polar guide, and mountaineer. He was the base commander of the British Antarctic Survey and ran the U.S. Navy's diver training program. Rose has presented several other BBC television series, including Voyages of Discovery, Climate Change, and Take One Museum. Anne Laking's programs have won a number of awards. She was executive producer of the Horizon documentary The Mystery of the Persian Mummy, as well as the BBC Four science series Time, Light Fantastic, and Visions of the Future. She is the executive producer of Oceans.