Oceans in Decline

About this book

What is happening in our oceans? By describing their main elements, Oceans in Decline shows how and why the oceans are being transformed, and suggests possible future scenarios to address this complex, yet often-asked, question. The ocean is being dramatically transformed, but the magnitude of this transformation remains unclear since the ocean is largely inaccessible and still unknown: there is more information about the outer universe than about the deepest parts of our oceans.

The author, a marine biologist with extensive research experience, offers a holistic view of our oceans. Focusing on fishing, pollution and the effects of climate change, he identifies and describes the changes occurring in all marine ecosystems, and discusses the long-passed state of equilibrium.

Contents

Prologue

Part one: Seas of Yore
Chapter 1 - Brief history of our seas
Chapter 2 - The sea that once was
Chapter 3 - Hunted to extinction
Chapter 4 - What happened to cod?
Chapter 5 - The end of the reign of the cetaceans

Part two: Effects of Overfishing
Chapter 6 - The big fish and the end of innocence
Chapter 7 - The golden fish, tuna
Chapter 8 - The destruction of the animal forest
Chapter 9 - The forgotten forms of fishing
Chapter 10 - The ghosts of the sea
Chapter 11 - Precious corals

Part three: Effects of pollution
Chapter 12 - The silent menace
Chapter 13 - The overpopulated coast
Chapter 14 - The stained sea
Chapter 15 - The alien nightmare

Part four: Effects of climate change
Chapter 16 - Climate detectives
Chapter 17 - Something's moving on the ice: Arctic and Antarctic
Chapter 18 - Water heating
Chapter 19 - Acid seas
Chapter 20 - The slow death agony of reefs

Part five: Future perpectives
Chapter 21 - The farm in the sea
Chapter 22 - The final target of the Marine Protected Areas
Chapter 23 - Reforesting the sea
Chapter 24 - Energy and matter from the sea
Chapter 25 - The future model of sea

Epilogue
Bibliography

Customer Reviews

Biography

Sergio Rossi is a senior researcher at the Environmental Sciences and Technology Institute of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona from 2007, following more than thirteen years spent at the Marine Sciences Institute of Barcelona (CSIC). Born in 1969 in Barcelona, he is half Italian and half Spanish, has a doctorate in Biology from the University of Barcelona, and is a consummate observer of nature. Specialized in marine biology and ecology, Rossi has participated on a number of scientific expeditions all over the world: the Antarctic, California, Reunion island, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and many other research areas. Aiming to have an impact in the human society, Rossi has a prolific writing career in popular science to explain the details of the conservation projects in which he is involved. Oceans in Decline very elegantly conveys Rossi's awareness from the tropical coral reefs affected by climate change to the bottom trawling effects on the so called animal forests of the world.