Since the HMS Challenger expedition of 1872 1876, our vision of the
ocean has changed completely. We now understand that it plays a key
role in biodiversity, climate regulation, and mineral and biological
resources, and as such, the ocean is a major service provider for
humanity.
Oceans draws on data from new oceanographic and satellite tools,
acquired through international interdisciplinary programs. It describes
the processes that control how the ocean functions, on different spatial
and temporal scales.
After considering the evolution of concepts in physical, chemical and
biological oceanography, the book outlines the future of a warmer,
acidified, less oxygenated ocean. It shows how a view of the ocean at
different scales changes how we understand it. Finally, the book
presents the challenges facing the ocean in terms of the exploitation of
biological and mineral resources, in the context of sustainable
development and the regulation of climate change.
Innehållsförteckning
Introduction
– Look from space: the planet ’Ocean’ rather than planet Earth
– Brief history of the ocean planet, from its origins to the present day
– The Challenger expedition: the birth of oceanography
Part 1 – Evolution of concepts since the Challenger expedition
1- The ocean acquires a third dimension
2- From ocean physics to ocean-atmosphere interactions
3- From marine chemistry to marine biogeochemistry
4- From marine biology to biological oceanography
5- From the azo abysses to hydrothermal ecosystems
Part Two – Concepts for the 21st Century Ocean
1- From large to small scale: importance in physics, biogeochemistry, and biology
2- Ecosystem approach to the exploited biological resources
3- Integrated approach to a warm, acidified, deoxygenated ocean
Outlook
– Comparative evolution of concepts in oceanography and other natural sciences
– The challenges of oceanography beyond the sciences sensu stricto.
Om författaren
Guy Jacques, a planktologist, launched the French program to study the
pelagic environment of the Southern Ocean. He has chaired scientific
committees at Ifremer and Orstom.
Paul Treguer, a marine biogeochemist, led international and European
programs on the impacts of global change on the ocean. He is the
founder of the European Institute for Marine Studies (IUEM) and of
Europole Mer.
Herle Mercier, a marine physicist, is interested in observing the
variability of water masses in the North Atlantic from a forecasting
perspective. He has chaired the MISTRALS Evaluation Committee and
the scientific council of the IPEV.