Cramer, Deborah. Great waters; an Atlantic passage.Norton. 442p. maps. notes. index. c2001. 0-393-32334-X. $15.95. SA To say that this title is about oceanography oceanography, study of the seas and oceans. The major divisions of oceanography include the geological study of the ocean floor (see plate tectonics) and features; physical oceanography, which is concerned with the physical attributes of the ocean water, such as would be the same as calling the Iliad a book about an ancient war. The subject is the Atlantic Ocean--or simply "Atlantic," as Cramer calls it--but its theme is vastly wider: a menage of geology, marine biology, tectonics, oceanic chemistry, meteorology and numerous other disciplines, all blended together in a matrix of awed speculation and passionate wonder. Oddly enough, all of this works. Ostensibly, the author is describing the birth, life, and eventual eroding away of one of the earth's most significant oceanic basins. In actuality, she is leading the reader across the geography and probable weather patterns of the titanic proto-continent Pangea, eons before Atlantic began as a chain of shallow lakes along a minor depression. Other chapters find her in the abyssal deeps of the world-ocean Tethys, tasting the chemistry of the seawater seawater Water that makes up the oceans and seas. Seawater is a complex mixture of 96.5% water, 2.5% salts, and small amounts of other substances. Much of the world's magnesium is recovered from seawater, as are large quantities of bromine. and sifting through the crystalline intricacies of the one-celled diatoms diatoms a series of unicellular algae, microscopic in size, with cell walls containing silica. Members of the family Diatomaceae. Their remains accumulate as geological deposits and are mined. See diatomaceous earth. raining down to create future cliffs and shoals of limestone. She conjures up the appearance and feeding behaviors of myriad creatures known to us only by their faint traces in a rocky matrix, and awes us with descriptions of the vast and implacable forces that sculpt sculpt v. sculpt·ed, sculpt·ing, sculpts v.tr. 1. To sculpture (an object). 2. To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision: our globe. The goal of all this is, of course, not just a mere portrayal of an ocean and its corollary systems; it is an appreciation and a beginning of understanding of Gala itself, the earth and its numberless life forms. This book is a natural for those who thumb through old copies of The World We Live In, and will be a great mind-opener for all YAs who can be induced to open its pages. Raymond L. Puffer puffer, common name for some tropical marine fish of the family Tetraodontidae. The puffers and their allies, the boxfish, the porcupinefish, and the ocean sunfish or headfish, form an odd group (order Tetraodontiformes). , Ph.D., Historian, Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. , CA |
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