Essays about the economic and industrial development of the Lakes that point out the uniqueness of the area.

Containing 97 percent of Earth's water supply, the ocean plays a huge role in regulating global temperatures, supporting plant and animal life, and contributing to the livelihoods of millions of people. But in spite of all this, the ocean remains drastically unexplored, and the details of its impact on human lives aren't fully understood. Scientists from around the world are realizing that to address issues plaguing the ocean, such as dead zones, coral bleaching, and climate change, we need to better understand this incredible, unique feature of our planet. With a range of impressive, cutting-edge technologies at their disposal, oceanographers have set out to measure, sample, and analyze at every turn. Every day, mysteries about the ocean are being solved, and every day, new questions come to light. The more scientists learn, the better they are able to answer these new questions. What lies in the deep? And who is at the forefront of these exciting discoveries? The scientists and research included in this book shed light on the most pressing issues currently facing oceanographers and point us in the right direction to solving these challenges.

The sea and Great Lakes have inspired American authors from colonial times to the present to produce enduring literary works. This reference is a comprehensive survey of American sea literature. The scope of the encyclopedia ranges from the earliest printed matter produced in the colonies to contemporary experiments in published prose, poetry, and drama. The book also acknowledges how literature gives rise to adaptations and resonances in music and film and includes coverage of nonliterary topics that have nonetheless shaped American literature of the sea and Great Lakes. The alphabetical arrangement of the reference facilitates access to facts about major literary works, characters, authors, themes, vessels, places, and ideas that are central to American sea literature. Each of the several hundred entries is written by an expert contributor and many provide bibliographical information. While the encyclopedia includes entries for white male canonical writers such as Herman Melville and Jack London, it also gives considerable attention to women at sea and to ethnically diverse authors, works, and themes. The volume concludes with a chronology and a list of works for further reading.

Offers informative essays and factual statistics on eight distinctive marine animals, each accompanied by video-like Photicular illustrations, as well as an introductory piece chronicling a journey on a submersible.

Few creatures have captured the imaginations of so many for so long as have monsters of the deep. Their history has been surprisingly consistent, the author notes. Most began as myths and then acquired a sense of reality when the existence of creatures resembling those chronicled in legend was documented. Ellis (Men and Whales) gives a superb account of marine monsters and their attendant myths, sightings, scientific discovery and biology. He describes only the best known and the best documented. He traces the mermaid to the manatee and dugong, Leviathan to the sperm whale, kraken to the giant squid and polyp to the octopus (sharks, however, remain sharks). He examines these monsters in art, literature and film, taking Jules Verne and Victor Hugo to task for their ignorance of biology, hysterical fantasy and unmitigated malice. Herman Melville, Arthur C. Clarke and Peter Benchley get better ratings. Of all the sighted monsters, only the giant squid (Architeuthis) retains its mythological and cryptozoological status, for its very existence is shrouded in mystery. Sharks have had a bad reputation throughout history, but until Jaws (1974) they did not figure prominently in literature. At the end of this engaging book, Ellis confesses to skepticism: "monsters, if they exist, have more to fear from us than we do from them.

The riveting story of the exploration of the final frontier of our planet—the deep ocean—and history-making mission to reach the bottom of all five seas. Humankind has explored every continent on earth, climbed its tallest mountains, and gone into space. But the largest areas of our planet remain largely a mystery: the deep oceans. At over 36,000 feet deep, there areas closest to earth’s core have remained nearly impossible to reach—until now. Technological innovations, engineering breakthroughs and the derring-do of a team of explorers, led by explorer Victor Vescovo, brought together an audacious global quest to dive to the deepest points of all five oceans for the first time in history. The expedition pushed technology to the limits, mapped hidden landscapes, discover previously unknown life forms and began to piece together how life in the deep oceans effects our planet—but it was far from easy. Expedition Deep Ocean is the inside story of this exploration of one of the most unforgiving and mysterious places on our planet, including the site of the Titanic wreck and the little-understood Hadal Zone. Vescovo and his team would design the most advanced deep-diving submersible ever built, where the pressure on the sub is 8 tons per square inch—the equivalent of having 292 fueled and fully loaded 747s stacked on top of it. And then there were hurricane-laden ocean waters and the byzantine web of global oceanography politics. Expedition Deep Ocean reveals the marvelous and other-worldly life found in all five deep ocean trenches, including several new species that have posed as of yet unanswered questions about survival and migration from ocean to ocean. Then there are the newly discovered sea mounts that cause tsunamis when they are broken by shifting subduction plates and jammed back into the earth crust, something that can now be studied to predict future disasters. Filled with high drama, adventure and the thrill of discovery, Expedition Deep Ocean celebrates courage and ingenuity and reveals the majesty and meaning of the deep ocean.