Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Getting Started with Your Ocean Voyage 5
Chapter 1: Brushing Up on Ocean Fundamentals 7
Taking a Nickel Tour of the Ocean(s) 8
Dividing the ocean into oceans or not 8
Recognizing the ocean zones 9
Dropping in on the different ecosystems 10
Going with the Flow: The Physical Properties of the Ocean 10
Getting up to speed on the water cycle 11
Checking out what’s at the bottom of the ocean (and below) 13
Riding waves, tides, and currents 13
Recognizing the ocean’s role in climate control and weather 14
Meeting the Ocean’s Inhabitants 14
Recognizing strength in numbers: Marine microorganisms 15
Going green with marine plants and plant-like organisms 15
Grouping the ocean’s animals 16
Exploring the Complex and Evolving Human-Ocean Relationship 17
Chapter 2: Appreciating the Ocean’s Many Gifts 19
Supplying Over Half of the World’s Oxygen 20
Playing a Key Role in Regulating Climate and Weather 20
Producing Protein for Billions of People 22
Contributing Trillions to the Global Economy 23
Serving as a Source of Mystery and Wonder 24
Stimulating our imaginations 25
Increasing our knowledge of the world around us 26
Getting in touch with our emotional connection to the sea 27
Chapter 3: Looking Back at the Ocean’s History (and Prehistory) 29
Discovering How the Ocean Got Its Start 30
The wet planet theory 30
The water delivery truck theory 31
Tracing the Evolution of Ocean Life 31
Getting the evolutionary ball rolling 32
Going cellular 32
And now for a word about metabolism 33
All together now: Multicellular organisms 34
Taking evolution to the next level in the Paleozoic era 35
Gaining momentum in the Mesozoic era 41
Increasing sophistication in the Cenozoic era 44
Taking the Earth’s Present Evolutionary Pulse 48
Looking Ahead: What’s in Store for the Ocean’s Future? 51
Part 2: Finding Your Way Around 55
Chapter 4: Mapping the Ocean by Zones 57
Dividing the Ocean into Three Horizontal Zones 58
Where land meets sea: The intertidal zone 58
Wading through the neritic zone 60
Heading out to sea: The oceanic zone 61
Exploring the Five Vertical Zones of the Water Column 62
Skimming the surface: The epipelagic zone 62
Dimming the lights in the mesopelagic zone 63
Taking a deeper, darker dive into the bathypelagic zone 65
Delving into the abyss: The abyssopelagic zone 67
How low can you go? The hadalpelagic zone 69
Acknowledging the Existence of Other Zones 71
From light to dark: The photic and aphotic zones 71
From top to bottom: The pelagic and benthic zone 72
Chapter 5: Checking Out the Neighborhoods: The Ocean’s Ecosystems 73
Hugging the Shore 74
Digging life in the sand 74
Living life on the rocks 75
Mixing it up in the estuaries 77
Muddling through the mudflats 78
Settling down in salt marshes 80
Meandering through the mangroves 81
Swimming through Kelp Forests 83
Swirling in Sargasso: A Sea without Borders 85
Grazing in the Seagrass Meadows 87
Building Their Own Communities: Reefs 88
Coral reefs 88
Oyster reefs 92
Chilling Out at the Poles 92
Living Under Extreme Conditions: Deep Ocean Ecosystems 95
Hydrothermal vents 95
Deep-sea coral reefs 95
Cold seeps 97
Whale falls 97
Moving Out and About: Migratory Species 98
Chapter 6: Taking a Deeper Dive: Beneath the Ocean 99
Grasping the Basics of Plate Tectonics 99
Tracing the Contours of the Seafloor 102
Creating the first map of the seafloor 104
Fine-tuning seafloor maps with better technology 105
Chipping Away at Ocean Rock and Sediment 106
Checking Out Deep-Sea Cores 106
Part 3: Sampling the Vast Diversity of Sea Life 109
Chapter 7: Getting to Know the Mighty Microbes 111
Meeting the Marine Microbes 112
Bacteria 112
Archaea 114
Viruses 114
Protists 115
Fungi 115
Recognizing the Importance of Microbes 116
Feeding the ocean’s living organisms 117
Anchoring food chains and webs 118
Cleaning up our messes 122
Looking at the Relationship between Microbes and Plankton 123
Phytoplankton 123
Zooplankton 123
Distinguishing lifers from juvies 124
Chapter 8: Sorting Out Algae, Seaweed, and Other Aquatic Vegetation 127
All You Need to Know about Algae, and Then Some 128
Go big or go home: Macroalgae (a.k.a seaweed) 128
Small, but just about everywhere the sun shines: Microalgae 132
Understanding the threats posed by harmful algae blooms (HABs) 134
Shoring Up the Shoreline with Mangroves 137
Not Your Typical Lawn: Seagrass 138
Checking Out What’s Growing in the Salt Marshes 139
Chapter 9: Getting the Lowdown on Simple Invertebrates 141
Sponges and Other Holy Creatures: The Porifera 142
Calcarea 143
Demospongiae 143
Hexactinellida 145
Homoscleromorpha 145
Jellyfish, Anemones, and Other Notable Cnidarians 146
Scyphozoans 147
Hydrozoans 148
Anthozoans 149
Cubozoans 150
Ctenophora (Comb Jellies) 150
Starfish, Urchins, and Other Famous Echinoderms 151
Asteroidea (sea stars) 151
Ophiuroidea (brittle stars) 152
Echinoidea (sea urchins and sand dollars) 153
Crinoidea (sea lilies and feather stars) 154
Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers) 155
Squirmy Wormies: The Annelids 156
Polychaetes 156
Oligochaetes 158
Hirudinea 158
Chapter 10: Getting Mushy over Mollusks 159
Meet the Mother of All Mollusks 160
Gastropods: Putting Their One Foot Forward 161
Snails 161
Sea slugs and sea hares 165
Bivalves: Parts One and Two 167
Clams 167
Oysters 168
Mussels 169
Scallops 169
Cephalopods: Head and Tentacles Above the Rest 170
Octopi 171
Squid 172
Cuttlefish 174
Nautilus 175
Chapter 11: Wearing Their Skeletons on the Outside: Crustaceans 177
What Makes a Crustacean a Crustacean? 178
The Shrimpy Crustaceans: Branchiopoda 178
Real Softies: Malacostraca (Soft-Shell Crustaceans) 180
Phyllocarida 180
Hoplocarida 181
Eumalacostraca 182
A New Twist on Putting Your Foot in Your Mouth: Maxillopoda 190
Copepods 190
Barnacles 191
Fish lice 191
Crustacean Cave Dwellers: The Remipedia 192
Ostracoda 192
What about Horseshoe Crabs? 193
Chapter 12: Getting Chummy with Fish: Bony and Otherwise 195
Look Ma, No Jaw! Agnatha 196
Lampreys 196
Hagfish 197
Look Pa, No Bones! Chondrichthyes 198
Elasmobranchii: The fish with a PR problem 199
Holocephali: Chimaera 208
Check Out the Bones! Osteichthyes 209
Ray-finned 211
Lobe-finned 215
Chapter 13: Meeting a Few Marine Reptiles 217
Everybody’s Favorite: Sea Turtles 218
Meet the family 219
Making babies 223
A seriously threatened animal 224
Will the Real Sea Serpent Please Slither Forward? 225
The Only Lizard to Make the Cut: Marine Iguanas 227
Saltwater Crocodiles 228
Chapter 14: Bird Watching in and Near the Ocean 231
Knowing What Makes a Bird a Shorebird or a Seabird 232
Shorebirds 232
Seabirds 233
Flying Way Below the Radar: Penguins 234
Going Loony 236
Courting Grebes 237
Tubular, Dude! Albatross, Petrels, Shearwaters, and Fulmars 238
Soaring with the albatross 238
Skimming the surface with shearwaters 239
Fluttering above the surface with petrels 240
Pelicans and Other Pelecaniformes 241
Pelicans 242
Frigate birds 243
Boobies and gannets 243
Cormorants and shags 245
Phaethontidae — Tropicbirds 246
Sea Ducks and Geese: The Saltwater Variety 246
A Curious Mix: The Charadriiformes 247
Gulls, terns, skimmers, and friends 247
Auks, puffins, and other Alcids 249
Shorebirds and waders 251
Ospreys, Herons, Flamingos, and Other Seaside Attractions 253
Osprey 254
Eagles 255
Herons 255
Flamingos 256
Chapter 15: Getting Warm and Fuzzy with Marine Mammals 257
What Makes Marine Mammals So Special? 258
Staying toasty 258
Breathing easy 259
Adapting to their food source 259
Adapting to salt water 263
Exhibiting special sensory adaptations 263
Getting Acquainted with the Cetaceans: Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises 265
Sizing up baleen whales 266
Sinking your teeth into the toothed whales 270
Swimming with the Sirenians: Manatees and Dugongs 276
Seals, Walruses, and Other Pinnipeds 277
Earless (true) seals 278
Eared seals 279
Walruses 280
Stepping Out with the Marine Fissipeds 281
The ever-popular polar bears 281
Otters you “oughter” know 283
Part 4: Grasping Basic Ocean Physics 285
Chapter 16: Following the Ocean in Motion 287
Meeting the World’s Largest Wave Machine 288
Plain ol’ surface waves 288
Tsunamis: So-called tidal waves 289
Rising and falling with the tides 291
Going unnoticed: Internal waves 294
Upwelling and Downwelling in the Water Column 295
Riding the Currents: The Ocean’s Global Conveyor Belt 296
Knowing Where the Winds Blow 298
Going Round and Round with Gyres 301
Following the Ups and Downs of Sea Levels 303
Chapter 17: Driving Climate and Weather 307
Understanding the Ocean’s Role in Climate and Weather 307
Differentiating climate and weather 308
Looking at how the ocean impacts climate and weather 308
Letting Off Some Steam 309
Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons 309
Monsoons 312
El Nino and La Nina 312
Understanding Climate Change and Global Warming 314
Part 5: Understanding the Human-Ocean Connection 319
Chapter 18: Taking a Quick Dip into the History of Underwater Exploration 321
Getting to the Bottom of Things 322
Diving bells 322
Hard-hat diving helmets and suits 324
The self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) 324
Submersibles 328
Setting Up Shop in Underwater Research Stations 333
Conshelf 333
SeaLabs 334
Aquarius 335
Checking Out Other Ocean Monitoring Gadgets and Technologies 335
Buoys (moored and drifting) 335
Coring, dredging, and trawling tools 337
Water column samplers 337
Sonar and lidar 338
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) 338
Chapter 19: Tapping the Ocean’s Resources: The Blue Economy 341
Supplying the World’s Seafood Diet 342
Harvesting plant life, too 343
Growing our own supplies: Aquaculture and mariculture 344
Tapping the Sea as a Source for Fresh water 344
Shipping Goods ‘Round the World 345
Digging Up Gold, Diamonds, and Other Valuables: Deep-Sea Mining 345
Harnessing the Ocean’s Energy Resources 346
Discovering New Medications 348
Capitalizing on Tourism and Recreation 349
Accounting for a Few Ancillary Ocean Benefits 349
Carbon storage (a.k.a blue carbon) 349
Coastal protection 351
Cultural value 351
Biodiversity 352
Chapter 20: Governing the Ocean: Treaties, Laws, Agreements, and Enforcement 353
Recognizing the Two Systems of Law That Govern the Seas 354
Admiralty Law 354
The Law of the Sea 355
Establishing Sovereign and International Jurisdictions 357
Understanding sovereign jurisdiction 357
Ruling the high seas: International jurisdiction 359
Policing the Ocean and Enforcing the Laws 360
Preventing illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing 361
Combating piracy on the high seas 361
Chapter 21: Taking Care of the Ocean That Takes Care of Us 363
Keeping Tabs on Ocean Health 364
Zeroing in on the Problems 365
Pollution 366
Overfishing 372
Acidification 373
Habitat destruction 374
Invasive species 374
Warming sea temperatures 374
Coming Up with Solutions 377
Improving socio-economic conditions 377
Building marine sanctuaries 378
Cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 380
Restoring and conserving coastal and ocean habitats 381
Reducing the impact of plastics and other trash 382
Preventing and recovering from overfishing 382
Engaging youth 383
Get involved! 384
Part 6: The Part of Tens 385
Chapter 22: Ten Deadly Ocean Creatures 387
Saltwater Crocodiles 388
Fugu Fish 388
Killer Whales 389
Blue-Ringed Octopus 389
Sea Snake 390
Stone Fish 390
Sharks (But Not All of Them) 391
Cone Snails 392
Box Jellyfish 393
Humans 393
Chapter 23: Ten Ocean Myths Busted 395
Melting Sea Ice Increases Sea Levels 395
Sharks Must Swim Constantly to Survive 396
Some Penguins Can Fly 397
Salt Water Kills Bacteria 397
Seawater is Just Salty Water 398
Waterspouts Are Tornadoes Over Water 398
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a Solid Mat of Plastic 399
All Jellies Can Sting Humans 399
The Ocean is Blue Because It Reflects the Color of the Sky 400
Nothing Lives in the Middle of the Ocean 400
Chapter 24: Ten Ways You Can Help Preserve the Ocean 401
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint 402
Steer Clear of Plastics 403
Make Sustainable Seafood Choices 403
Use Ocean-Friendly Sunscreen 404
Don’t Buy Products That Exploit Marine Life 405
Vote for the Ocean with an Environmental Conscience 405
Defend Your Drain: Use Natural Products 406
Protect Your Local Watershed 406
Make It a Family Affair 407
Join and Support Ocean Conservation Organizations 408
Index 411
