“[An] amiable, in-depth examination of the most critical era for the
development of modern oceanography” (Publishers Weekly). In a
history at once scientific and cultural, Helen Rozwadowski shows us
how the Western imagination awoke to the ocean's possibilities?in
maritime novels, in the popular hobby of marine biology, in the
youthful sport of yachting, and in the laying of a trans-Atlantic
telegraph cable. The ocean emerged as important new territory, and
scientific interests intersected with those of merchant-industrialists
and politicians. Rozwadowski documents the popular crazes that
coincided with these interests?from children's sailor suits to the
home aquarium and the surge in ocean travel. She describes how,
beginning in the 1860s, oceanography moved from yachts onto the decks
of oceangoing vessels, and landlubber naturalists found themselves
navigating the routines of a working ship's physical and social
structures. Fathoming the Ocean offers a rare and engaging look into
our fascination with the deep sea and into the origins of
oceanography?origins still visible in a science that focuses the
efforts of physicists, chemists, geologists, biologists, and engineers
on the common enterprise of understanding a vast, three-dimensional,
alien space. “Rozwadowski greatly expands our own understanding, all
while telling a story that is original, wide-ranging, and
illuminating.” —Margaret Deacon, Southampton Oceanography Centre,
author of Science and the Sea: The Origins of Oceanography
“Required reading for anyone wanting to understand how the oceans
have come to play the role that they do in Western knowledge.”
—Eric L. Mills, Dalhousie University and author of Biological
Oceanography: An Early History, 1870-1960 “Chronicles the birth of
deep-sea oceanography, from early observations by Benjamin Franklin to
the voyage of HMS Challenger in the 1870s. [Rozwadowski] weaves a rich
narrative from the world of renowned as well as lesser-known
oceanographers.” —Nature
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780674266889
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Vendor
Harvard University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter