Gerry Bearman – författare

This is the last volume in the six-volume Open University set. Each volume is required by students as a relevant part of the Open University course but designed so that it can equally be used as an individual textbook. This volume differs from the others in the series in that it does not draw specifically upon traditional scientific disciplines. The first part of the book provides an historical review of the Law of the Sea culminating in the present day situation. The second part is devoted to two case studies, covering not only the scientific aspects of a particular oceanographic environment, but also the social, political and legal consequences and implications of human interactions with that environment. Each volume in this set is well laid out and copiously illustrated with full colour photographs. Questions to help develop arguments can be found in the text with answers provided at the back. Each chapter concludes with a summary to help consolidate understanding before proceeding with the next section.

Seawater: Its Composition, Properties and Behaviour provides a comprehensive introduction to marine science. This book is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 summarizes the special properties of water and the role of the oceans in the hydrological cycle. The distribution of temperature and salinity in the oceans and their combined influence on density, stability, and vertical water movements are discussed in Chapters 2 to 4. The fifth chapter describes the behavior of light and sound in seawater and provides examples of the application of acoustics to oceanography. Chapter 6 examines the composition and behavior of the dissolved constituents of seawater, covering minor and trace constituents and major ions, as well as dissolved gases and biologically important nutrients. Residence times, speciation, and carbonate equilibria are also deliberated. The last chapter provides a short review of ideas about the history of seawater, involvement of the oceans in global cycles, and their relationship to climatic change. This publication is beneficial to oceanographers and marine biologists, including students that are interested in marine science.