The waters...Religious as well as scientific concepts about the early earth refer to the ocean. Indeed, geologists who specialize in the early history of the earth believe that there was a globe-encircling ocean during the first billion years of the earth’s existence. The most recent theories about the chemical origin of life suggest that the first life formed in geothermal brines in the deep sea. Archeologists confirm that human societies have long had close ties to the edge of the sea. And the ocean continues to play an important role in our lives today. Of the world’s twenty largest cities, eighteen have direct ocean access. We swim in the sea, fish in it, sail on it, dump waste in it, and wonder about it.

Many of our students indicate a strong interest in learning about the diversity of marine organisms and how physical factors influence these organisms. This provided us with another reason for writing the book. To present a balanced and intergrated treatment of the ocean's physical and biological factors, the book emphasizes visual materials.

This second edition of Oceanography: An Introduction has been substantially rewritten and reorganized, based upon an extensive survey of over one hundred faculty members who have read the book or used it as a text. In addition, ten detailed reviews of the initial draft of this edition have been carefully evaluated. This research, combined with abundant feedback from our students at San Diego State University, has resulted in a book that is addressed precisely to the needs and interests of those most likely to use it and benefit from it.

Some of the new or substantially revised parts of the book include: a new chapter on continental drift; new sections on survival at sea, energy from the sea, and navigation; an expanded section on tidal theory; recent information on fisheries, maritime law, and pollution; and a completely revised chapter on the marine environment.