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Deep Sea Fishes and Creatures -- New Books
N-791 Creatures of the
Deep In search of the sea's "monsters" and the world they live in
by Erich Hoyt October 2001, 160 pages, 9" x 11" , full color throughout, color
map of the ocean floor, index, further reading, hardcover with dust jacket
$40.00
Description
Award-winning nature and science writer Erich Hoyt tells the
riveting story of the discovery of the deep ocean. Weaving together details from
the latest scientific research about sharks, giant squid, dragonfish and the
huge tube worms, clams and tiny microbes of the deep-sea vents, Hoyt embarks on
a magical journey to the bottom of the sea, which is inhabited not by vicious
monsters but by diverse species of pale starfish and mud-eating sea cucumbers.
Roaming across the abyssal plains and descending deep-sea trenches, he presents
as much about the character and charisma of these and other so-called monsters
as about the extraordinary world in which they live.
The deep sea is not one place but many, and the animals
living in each of these marine habitats have developed fascinating and vital
ecological relationships with one another. Hoyt unravels the complex
predator-prey relationships, from "killer" copepods to battles among
giant squid and sperm whales, presenting compelling portraits of animals that
are superbly adapted denizens of a dark high-pressure world. There are
life-forms, independent of sunlight and photosynthesis, that flourish around the
hot, sulfurous deep-sea vents in the magnificent rift valley of the midocean
ridge, the world's longest mountain range. Surviving in conditions that appear
to be close to the very soup of primordial Earth, these microbes have become the
basis for the latest research into the Earth's origins. Fully illustrated with
fantastic underwater imagery, Creatures of the Deep will help you enjoy and
appreciate the findings and the importance of deep-sea work in the coming
decades. The 21st century may well be the era of deep-ocean discovery.
About the author:
Erich Hoyt has spent much of his life on, beneath
or near the sea, working with whales and dolphins and marine conservation. The
acclaimed author of Orca: The Whale Called Killer, Meeting the Whales, Riding
With the Dolphins, The Earth Dwellers and Insect Lives, Hoyt lives in Scotland.
N-691 Deep Atlantic Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss By
Richard Ellis "An illuminating introduction to Earth's last
frontier."-Publishers Weekly 400 pages, paperback, 1996,6” x 9”, illustrations
$18.95
N-712 Deep Ocean
By Tony Rice 99 color photographs, 2000, paperback, 112 pages
$14.95
This lively and informative book tells how oceanography developed as a
science and summarizes what is known about organisms that live in the deep
ocean. The author is a deep-sea biologist for the British Natural Environment
Research Council.
N-109 The Deep Sea by Joseph Wallace Text tells the story of ocean creatures and deep water
inhabitants, over 100 photos, hardback, 1987, 143 pages. $19.95
N-480 Deep Sea Fish By Randall and Farrell 1997, hardback, 388 pages
$110.95
Contents:
Contributors. Preface. What Is the Deep-Sea? Systematics of Deep Sea Fishes: Introduction.
A Classification of Living Fishes Occurring Near or Below about 500 to 600 M with an
Annotated List of Deep Sea Fish. References. Distribution and Population Ecology. Feeding
at Depth.Buoyancy at Depth: Introduction. The Problem of Buoyancy. Swimbladder Function.
Lipid Accumulation. Watery Tissues. Hydrodynamic Lift. Conclusions. References.
Biochemistry at Depth: Introduction. Effects of Pressure on Biochemical Systems: Protein
Interactions and Enzyme Kinetics. Tolerance Adaptions: Maintenance of Biochemical Function
in the Deep Sea. Capacity Adaptation: Biochemical Correlates of Organismal Metabolism.
Future Directions: Phylogenetic and Molecular Approaches. References. Pressure Effects on
Shallow Water Fish: Introduction. Fish as a Model. Methods. Effects of Short-Term Pressure
Exposure. Acclimation of Fish to Hydrostatic Pressure. Comparison of Shallow Water Fish
(SWF) and Deep Water Fish (DWF). Conclusion. References.Sensory Physiology: Introduction.
Olfaction/Chemoreception. Vision. Touch. Octavolateralis Systems. General
Comments. References. Laboratory and in Situ. Methods for Studying Deep Sea
Fishes: Introduction. Laboratory Studies. In Situ Studies. Future Directions.
References. Index.
N-961 The Eternal
Darkness: A Personal History of Deep-Sea Exploration by Robert D. Ballard
With Will Hively 2002, paperback, 388 pages, 6 x 9, 16 color plates, 100
halftones $19.95
Until a few decades ago,
the ocean depths were almost as mysterious and inaccessible as outer space.
Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth's surface with an average depth of more
than two miles--yet humans had never ventured more than a few hundred feet below
the waves. One of the great scientific and archaeological feats of our time has
been finally to cast light on the "eternal darkness" of the deep sea. This is
the story of that achievement, told by the man who has done more than any other
to make it possible: Robert Ballard.
Ballard discovered the
wreck of the Titanic. He led the teams that discovered hydrothermal vents and
"black smokers"--cracks in the ocean floor where springs of superheated water
support some of the strangest life-forms on the planet. He was a diver on the
team that explored the mid-Atlantic ridge for the first time, confirming the
theory of plate tectonics. Today, using a nuclear submarine from the U.S. Navy,
he's exploring the ancient trade routes of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
for the remains of historic vessels and their cargo. In this book, he combines
science, history, spectacular illustrations, and first-hand stories from his own
expeditions in a uniquely personal account of how twentieth-century explorers
have pushed back the frontiers of technology to take us into the midst of a
world we could once only guess at.
Ballard begins in 1930
with William Beebe and Otis Barton, pioneers of the ocean depths who made the
world's first deep-sea dives in a cramped steel sphere. He introduces us to
Auguste and Jacques Piccard, whose "Bathyscaph"descended in 1960 to the lowest
point on the ocean floor. He reviews the celebrated advances made by Jacques
Cousteau. He describes his own major discoveries--from sea-floor spreading to
black smokers--as well as his technical breakthroughs, including the development
of remote-operated underwater vehicles and the revolutionary search techniques
that led to the discovery and exploration of the Titanic, the Nazi battleship
Bismarck, ancient trading vessels, and other great ships.
Readers will come away
with a richer understanding of history, earth science, biology, and marine
technology--and a new appreciation for the remarkable men and women who have
explored some of the most remote and fascinating places on the planet.
Robert D. Ballard, Ph.D.,
is President of the Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut and the
former Director of the Center for Marine Exploration at Woods Hole,
Massachusetts. He has participated in more than a hundred deep-sea expeditions.
He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Discovery of the
Titanic, Explorations, and Exploring the Bismarck. He has also participated in
the production of numerous television programs, including five National
Geographic television specials.
Table of Contents:
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
Part I DEPTH
1 A Simple Tethered
Sphere 13
2 Bathyscaphs Race to the
Bottom 33
3 The Tragic Dawn of the
Modern Deep Submersible 58
Part II DISCOVERY
4 Scientists Begin
Exploring the Deep 93
5 The Midocean Ridge:
Womb of the Earth 117
6 Hydrothermal Vents:
Exotic Oases 157
7 Black Smokers: Recipe
for a Salty Ocean 187
Part III DETACHMENT
8 A Tethered Eyeball
Races to Find the Titanic 217
9 Recovering Our Past by
Remote Control 255
10 Should Humans Continue
to Dive? Two Paradigms 299
A Note on Sources 313
Further Reading 315
Index 375
Recipient of Commonwealth
Award for Science and Invention, Sigma Xi
Honorable Mention, 2000
Association of American Publishers Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in
Geography and Earth Sciences
Reviews:
"The Eternal Darkness is
a straightforward look at a complicated business that shows again not just that
exploration is worth doing but that even at home here on earth it is far from
over. . . . [It] is not really a book about the past. It's a promise that the
"E" word remains the deepest adventure of them all."--Michael Parfit, New York
Times Book Review
"Drawing from the
expertise gained during his more than 100 trips into the abyss, Ballard
highlights historical and scientific events that he and Hively expertly weave
into a series of scintillating tales."--Loretta DiPietro, Scientific American
"Dr. Ballard is a
passionate advocate of deep-sea exploration, pointing out that all such
expeditions so far undertaken have probably surveyed less than one percent of
the sea floor. . . . One can hardly disagree with Dr. Ballard's proposal that we
should expand that one percent."--The Atlantic Monthly
"The man who found the
Titanic, discovered black smokers on the sea floor, and first ventured into the
mid-Atlantic ridge tells the story of deep-sea exploration. . . . Scores of
photographs highlight the steadily absorbing text; together, words and pictures
present a vital and authoritative general history of humanity's adventures deep
beneath the waves."-- Publishers Weekly
"The Eternal Darkness is
an excellent book . . . It is authoritative and well written, and . . . it is
impossible to put down."--Richard Shelton, Times Literary Supplement
"Titanic discoverer
Ballard . . . handily summarizes a technology unfamiliar to many readers.
Ballard has published popular books about his recovery of other famous sunken
ships besides the movie's namesake, which adds cachet to this more scholarly
work."--Booklist
"Doing science is
exciting! This is the main message of Ballard's fascinating combination memoir
and history of deep ocean science."--Library Journal
Deep Sea Fishes and Creatures --
New
Books
C-90 Deep Sea Adventures
by Kirsten Hall 2003, paperback, 48 pages $4.95
Deep Sea Fishes and
Creatures -- Used Magazines
Nation Geographic Magazine Price Per Issue
1978 June Dragons of the Deep $2.50 $1.00 each