Duxbury/Introduction to the World's Oceans, 6/e

Professor Nancy Marcus Review

As a preface to this review I think that it is important to establish my perspective. I was trained in ecology and evolutionary biology, and presently consider myself a biological oceanographer. The introductory oceanography course that I teach fulfills the basic studies science requirement of general students at a large public university. I have taught the course for more than 10 years and have used a few different texts, but never earlier editions of this one by Duxbury et al. After examining "An Introduction to the World's Oceans: 6^th Edition" I will seriously consider using it the next time I teach the course. The book is visually stimulating with excellent photographs and other graphics. There are several reasons why the book represents an excellent reference text to introduce students to the oceans. Not only does it contain a wealth of information, both facts and concepts, but it also contains pointers to guide students towards additional resources. These pointers include the "Suggested Readings" at the end of each chapter that are a blend of very recent articles and older classics and the "Internet References" that direct the reader to the most current information on a wide range of topics. I conducted a random test of approximately a dozen of the URL web sites and each one was operational.

Although the book is organized like most other elementary oceanography texts with an introductory section on the History of Oceanography, followed by chapter groups on geological, chemical, physical, and biological oceanography this traditional coverage is enhanced by the inclusion of several specialized chapters. One example is Chapter 1, The Water Planet, which provides an excellent overview of the origin of the universe, the age of the earth, the hydrologic cycle, the distribution of land and water as well as valuable information on mapping and locations systems. In many texts this information is often relegated to appendices which can minimize the importance of this material to the reader. Chapter 1 does an excellent job setting the stage for further study of the oceans by establishing a foundation for the reader that includes both temporal and spatial perspectives.

The book also incorporates several other unique features that make it stand out as an excellent learning tool. These features include the following:

While only a few pages in length I think the middle photo section on "Going to Sea" is particularly valuable because it portrays oceanography as a modern science that is actively being pursued by women and men. Rather than emphasizing facts, this section vividly shows oceanographers at work collecting data. By giving students an opportunity to identify with the people doing oceanography, this section has the potential to motivate students to become active learners. For the reader who wants to pursue a topic further, the section contains many URL pointers to web site resources. This approach is carried over into other portions of the book. For example, in Chapter 3, The Seafloor and Its Sediments instead of just showing a diagram of a free-fall gravity corer, photographs of oceanographers deploying such a coring device are also provided. Other examples include the special boxes, "Messages in Polar Ice" and "The U.S.-Canada Arctic Ocean Section" that depict scientists at work in various polar environments.
An important problem in oceanography is the difficulty encountered in collecting samples from and measuring various parameters e.g. temperature, salinity, chlorophyll in the ocean. Technology has played a major role in the field of oceanography from the development of basic sampling equipment to collect materials in the deep sea, to the monitoring of temperature and salinity, and to the handling of enormous data sets with computers. This text provides many photographic examples of new and old technology together with written descriptions of how the equipment is used and how samples will be studied. An excellent example is the special box on the "Recovery of Black Smokers". Furthermore, up to date URL pointers to web sites enable the reader to learn even more about the equipment and how it is applied to studying the oceans.
Pedagogical techniques

The book is visually stimulating with excellent photographs. In addition to the examples already cited Chapter 11, Coasts, Beaches, and Estuaries is remarkable for the inclusion of a great variety of beautiful photographic examples of different shorelines. I found the use of both aerial and land-based photos to be particularly effective because they provide different perspectives.

The book provides page references for the Key Terms at the end of each chapter that is an extremely useful detail that helps orient the reader.

The "Study Questions" at the end of each chapter emphasize concepts rather than strict memorization of facts.

The sections on "Practical Considerations" in most chapters are valuable because each highlights the relevance of the basic science to important current societal problems.

As a Biological Oceanographer whose research is focused on zooplankton I found Chapter 15 on the plankton to be a bit disappointing because it focuses mostly on taxonomic issues, missing what I consider to be some of the more important issues that relate to plankton. For example, how the tremendous size range of plankton makes their collection difficult and requires the use of many different types of sampling equipment. I would also focus more attention on bacteria and the microbial loop. From my point of view a book on oceanography should certainly identify the 'players' but emphasis should be placed on the 'processes'. I think this would distinguish an oceanography text from a marine biology text.

Summary

I think the authors have done an excellent job not only presenting the facts and concepts associated with oceanography, but providing the reader with valuable insight into how these facts and concepts are developed. Important in this regard are the people who do oceanography and the tools that they use to accomplish their work. The middle section on going to sea provides excellent insight into the life of an oceanographer and some of the tools that are used to study the oceans. Special boxes throughout the book further enhance this approach; internet links and suggested readings go one step further. The value of this approach is that the text itself enables all students to attain a certain level of understanding but a motivated student can achieve an even greater understanding of the oceans by taking advantage of the various "pointers" provided in the book.

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