Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Earth and Ocean -- 1.1. Earth Is an Ocean World -- 1.2. Marine Scientists Use the Logic of Science to Study the Ocean -- Spotlight Figure 1.3 Earth's Most Prominent Features -- 1.3. Stars Form Seas -- Stars Formed Early in the History of the Universe -- Stars and Planets Are Contained within Galaxies -- Stars Make Heavy Elements from Lighter Ones -- Solar Systems Form by Accretion -- 1.4. Earth, Ocean, and Atmosphere Accumulated in Layers Sorted by Density -- 1.5. Life Probably Originated in the Ocean -- A Closer Look 1.1 How Do We Know the Age of Earth and the Ocean? -- 1.6. What Will Be Earth's Future? -- 1.7. Are There Other Ocean Worlds? -- Our Solar System's Outer Moons -- Mars -- Titan -- Insight from a National Geographic Explorer 1.1 -- Extrasolar Planets -- Life and Oceans? -- Questions from Students -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Chapter in Perspective -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch -- 2.A History of Marine Science -- 2.1. Understanding the Ocean Began with Voyaging for Trade and Exploration -- Early Peoples Traveled the Ocean for Economic Reasons -- Systematic Study of the Ocean Began at the Library of Alexandria -- Eratosthenes Accurately Calculated the Size and Shape of Earth -- A Closer Look 2.1 Latitude and Longitude -- 2.2. Seafaring Expanded Human Horizons -- 2.3. The Chinese Undertook Organized Voyages of Discovery -- 2.4. Prince Henry Launched the Age of European Discovery -- Insight from a National Geographic Explorer 2.1 -- 2.5. Voyaging Combined with Science to Advance Ocean Studies -- Captain James Cook Was the First Marine Scientist -- Accurate Determination of Longitude Was the Key to Oceanic Exploration and Mapping -- Matthew Maury Discovered Worldwide Patterns of Winds and Ocean Currents -- The Challenger Expedition Was Organized from the First as a Scientific Expedition -- 2.6. Contemporary Oceanography Makes Use of Modern Technology -- New Ships for New Tasks -- Oceanographic Institutions Arose to Oversee Complex Research Projects -- Robot Devices Are Becoming More Capable -- Satellites Have Become Important Tools in Ocean Exploration -- Questions from Students -- Chapter in Perspective -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch -- 3. Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics -- 3.1. Pieces of Earth's Surface Look Like They Once Fit Together -- 3.2. Earth's Interior Is Layered -- A Closer Look 3.1 How Deep in the Earth Have People Gone? -- Each of Earth's Inner Layers Has Unique Characteristics -- Radioactive Elements Generate Heat Inside Earth -- Continents Rise above the Ocean Because of Isostatic Equilibrium -- 3.3. Wegener's Idea Is Transformed -- 3.4. The Breakthrough: From Seafloor Spreading to Plate Tectonics -- Plates Interact at Plate Boundaries -- Insight from a National Geographic Explorer 3.1 -- Ocean Basins Form at Divergent Plate Boundaries -- Island Arcs Form, Continents Collide, and Crust Recycles at Convergent Plate Boundaries -- Crust Fractures and Slides at Transform Plate Boundaries -- 3.5. Confirmation of Plate Tectonics -- A History of Plate Movement Has Been Captured in Residual Magnetic Fields -- Plate Movement above Mantle Plumes and Hot Spots Provides Evidence of Plate Tectonics -- Sediment Age and Distribution, Oceanic Ridges, and Terranes Are Explained by Plate Tectonics -- 3.6. Scientists Still Have Much to Learn about the Tectonic Process -- Questions from Students -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch -- Chapter in Perspective -- 4. Ocean Basins -- 4.1. The Ocean Floor Is Mapped by Bathymetry -- Echo Sounders Bounce Sound off the Seabed -- Multibeam Systems Combine Many Echo Sounders -- Satellites Can Be Used to Map Seabed Contours -- Robots Descend to Observe the Details -- Insight from a National Geographic Explorer 4.1 -- 4.2. Ocean-Floor Topography Varies with Location -- 4.3. Continental Margins May Be Active or Passive -- Continental Shelves Are Seaward Extensions of the Continents -- Continental Slopes Connect Continental Shelves to the Deep-Ocean Floor -- Spotlight Figure 4.8 Major Features of Ocean Basins -- Submarine Canyons Form at the Junction between Continental Shelf and Continental Slope -- Continental Rises Form As Sediments Accumulate at the Base of the Continental Slope -- 4.4. The Topology of Deep-Ocean Basins Differs from That of the Continental Margin -- Oceanic Ridges Circle the World -- Hydrothermal Vents Are Hot Springs on Active Oceanic Ridges -- Abyssal Plains and Abyssal Hills Cover Most of Earth's Surface -- Volcanic Seamounts and Guyots Project above the Seabed -- Trenches and Island Arcs Form in Subduction Zones -- 4.5. The Grand Tour -- Questions from Students -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Chapter in Perspective -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch -- 5. Ocean Sediments -- 5.1. Sediments Vary Greatly in Appearance -- 5.2. Sediments May Be Classified by Particle Size -- 5.3. Sediments Are Classified by Source -- Terrigenous Sediments Come from Land -- Biogenous Sediments Form from the Remains of Marine Organisms -- Hydrogenous Sediments Form Directly from Seawater -- Cosmogenous Sediments Come from Space -- Marine Sediments Are Usually Combinations of Terrigenous and Biogenous Deposits -- 5.4. Neritic Sediments Overlie Continental Margins -- 5.5. Pelagic Sediments Vary in Composition and Thickness -- Turbidites Are Deposited on the Seabed by Turbidity Currents -- Clays Are the Finest and Most Easily Transported Terrigenous Sediments -- Oozes Form from the Rigid Remains of Living Creatures -- Hydrogenous Materials Precipitate out of Seawater Itself -- Researchers Have Mapped the Distribution of Deep-Ocean Sediments -- 5.6. Scientists Use Specialized Tools to Study Ocean Sediments -- 5.7. Sediments Are Historical Records of Ocean Processes -- A Closer Look 5.1 Could Sediment Cores Tell Us Something about Earth's History, and Thus Offer Insight into Future Change? -- Questions from Students -- Chapter in Perspective -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch -- 6. Water and Ocean Structure -- 6.1. Familiar, Abundant, and Odd -- 6.2. The Water Molecule -- A Closer Look 6.1 How Do We Know the Nature of Water? -- 6.3. Water Has Unusual Thermal Characteristics -- Heat and Temperature Are Not the Same Thing -- Not All Substances Have the Same Heat Capacity -- Water's Temperature Affects Its Density -- Water Becomes Less Dense When It Freezes -- Water Removes Heat from Surfaces As It Evaporates -- 6.4. Surface Water Moderates Global Temperature -- Movement of Water Vapor from Tropics to Poles Also Moderates Earth's Temperature -- Global Warming Is Influencing Ocean-Surface Temperature -- 6.5. Water Is a Powerful Solvent -- Salinity Is a Measure of Seawater's Total Dissolved Organic Solids -- The Components of Ocean Salinity Came From, and Have Been Modified by, Earth's Crust -- The Ratio of Dissolved Solids in the Ocean Is Constant -- Salinity Is Calculated by Seawater's Conductivity -- The Ocean Is in Chemical Equilibrium -- The Ocean's Mixing Time Is Short -- 6.6. Gases Dissolve in Seawater -- Nitrogen -- Oxygen -- Carbon Dioxide -- 6.7. Acid-Base Balance -- 6.8. The Ocean Is Stratified by Density -- The Ocean Is Stratified into Three Density Zones by Temperature and Salinity -- Water Masses Have Characteristic Temperature, Salinity, and Density -- 6.9. Light Does Not Travel Far through the Ocean -- The Photic Zone Is the Sunlit Surface of the Ocean -- Water Transmits Blue Light More Efficiently Than Red -- Insight from a National Geographic Explorer 6.1 -- 6.10. Sound Travels Much Farther Than Light in the Ocean -- Refraction Can Bend the Paths of Light and Sound through Water -- Refraction Causes SOFAR Layers and Shadow Zones -- Sonar Systems Use Sound to Detect Underwater Objects -- Questions from Students -- Chapter in Perspective -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch.

7. Atmospheric Circulation -- 7.1. The Atmosphere and Ocean Interact with Each Other -- 7.2. The Atmosphere Is Composed Mainly of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Water Vapor -- 7.3. The Atmosphere Moves in Response to Uneven Solar Heating and Earth's Rotation -- The Solar Heating of Earth Varies with Latitude -- The Solar Heating of Earth Also Varies with the Seasons -- Earth's Uneven Solar Heating Results in Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation -- 7.4. The Coriolis Effect Deflects the Path of Moving Objects -- The Coriolis Effect Influences the Movement of Air in Atmospheric Circulation Cells -- Three Atmospheric Circulation Cells Circulate in Each Hemisphere -- 7.5. Atmospheric Circulation Generates Large-Scale Surface Wind Patterns -- Monsoons Are Wind Patterns That Change with the Seasons -- El Nino, La Nina -- 7.6. Storms Are Variations in Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation -- Storms Form within or between Air Masses -- Extratropical Cyclones Form between Two Air Masses -- Tropical Cyclones Form in One Air Mass -- 7.7. Katrina and Sandy -- Spotlight Figure 7.24 Comparing Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy -- Questions from Students -- Terms and Concepts to Remember -- Chapter in Perspective -- Study Questions -- Global Environment Watch -- 8. Ocean Circulation -- 8.1. Mass Flow of Ocean Water Is Driven by Wind and Gravity -- 8.2. Surface Currents Are Driven by the Winds -- Surface Currents Flow around the Periphery of Ocean Basins -- Seawater Flows in Six Great Surface Circuits -- Boundary Currents Have Different Characteristics -- A Final Word on Gyres -- 8.3. Surface Currents Affect Weather and Climate -- 8.4. Wind Can Cause Vertical Movement of Ocean Water -- Nutrient-Rich Water Rises Near the Equator -- Wind Can Induce Upwelling Near Coasts -- Wind Can Also Induce Coastal Downwelling -- 8.5. El Nino and La Nina Are Exceptions to Normal Wind and Current Flow -- 8.6. Thermohaline Circulation Affects All the Ocean's Water -- Water Masses Have Distinct, Often Unique Characteristics.