- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Other sellers (Hardcover)
-
All (3) from $61.85
-
New (1) from $401.46
-
Used (2) from $61.85
More About This Textbook
Overview
Oceans drive the world’s climate, nurture marine ecosystems full of aquatic life, and provide shipping lanes that have defined the global economy for centuries. And few realize that half of the world’s population lives in a coastal region within easy reach of one. Yet human activities such as commercial fishing, coastal real estate development, and industrial pollution have taken their toll on the seas. The first book of its kind, The Atlas of Coasts and Oceans documents the fraught relationship between humans and the earth’s largest bodies of water—and outlines the conservation steps needed to protect the marine environment for generations to come.
The Atlas offers a fascinating and often sobering account of how urbanization, climate change, offshore oil drilling, shipping routes, global tourism, and maritime conflict have had a profound impact on the world’s oceans and coasts. Combining text and images in visually engaging, thematically organized map spreads, this volume addresses the ecological, environmental, and economic importance of marine phenomena such as coral reefs, eroding shorelines, hurricanes, and fish populations—and how development threatens to destroy the ultimate source of all life on the “blue planet.” Lavishly illustrated with global and regional maps, from the Arabian Gulf to the Great Barrier Reef, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and all the other major global waterways, The Atlas of Coasts and Oceans will be the definitive companion to any study of its subject for years to come.
Don Hinrichsen is the author of many books on the environment and development, including Coastal Waters of the World, Our Common Future, and The Atlas of the Environment. Now senior development manager at the Institute of War and Peace Reporting in London, he has worked with UN agencies, governments, and NGOs in some sixty developing countries.
Editorial Reviews
Foreign Affairs
“For those who like maps and numbers, this atlas illustrates the pressures bearing down on the world’s coasts and inshore waters and the pressures created, in turn, for people who live near coasts (most of the world’s population) and whose livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on the sea.”
Choice
”An excellent one-stop resource for graphical and pictorial information on a wide range of topics, focusing on the damaging effects of human activities on marine life and the importance of conservation efforts to preserve the oceans.”—Choice
Product Details
Meet the Author
Don Hinrichsen is the author of many books on the environment and development, including Coastal Waters of the World, Our Common Future, and The Atlas of the Environment. Now senior development manager at the Institute of War and Peace Reporting in London, he has worked with UN agencies, governments, and NGOs in some sixty developing countries.
Table of Contents
Photo credits 8
About the Author 9
Foreword Jens Sorensen 11
Introduction: Our ocean planet in peril 13
Acknowledgements 18
Definition of key terms 19
Part 1 People and Coasts 22
Population Growth Along Coasts 24
Half the world's population lives in coastal regions, on just 10 percent of the earth's land area.
Urbanized Coastlines 26
For the first time in history, the majority of the world's people live and work in towns and cities.
Urbanized Coastlines: Sub-Saharan Africa 28
Eroding Shorelines 30
Coastal erosion is a natural phenomenon, aggravated by human activities.
Part 2 Major Threats to Ocean Resources 32
Marine Ecosystems Under Threat 34
Human impacts over the last 60 years have led to a decline in the viability of coastal and ocean ecosystems.
Ocean Dead Zones 36
The number of coastal dead zones has doubled every decade since 1962.
Ocean Dead Zones: The Baltic Sea 38
Ocean Dead Zones: The Northwest Pacific 40
Key Coastal Environments at Risk 42
Coastal wetlands, estuaries, and seagrass meadows perform vital ecological functions on which human safety and wellbeing depend.
Key Coastal Environments at Risk: Seagrasses 44
Key Coastal Environments at Risk: Mangroves 46
Coral Reefs in Danger 48
Coral reefs provide valuable coastal protection, and play a vital role in the health and ecology of the oceans.
The Empty Ocean 50
The rising global demand for seafood is leading to over-exploitation of fish stocks.
Part 3 Trade, Commerce, and Tourism 52
Major Shipping Lanes 54
The overwhelming majority of world trade travels by ship to key seaports.
Energy From the Sea: Oil and Gas 56
The quantity of oil extracted from offshore fields is expected to increase, posing an increasing hazard to the marine environment.
Energy From the Sea: Wind 58
Energy From the Sea: Tides and Waves 60
Coastal and Marine Tourism 62
Coastal and marine tourism are the fastest growing sectors of the travel and leisure industry.
Coastal and Marine Tourism: Mediterranean Sea 64
Farming the Sea 66
Farmed fish and shellfish are meeting most of the rising demand for seafood from the developing economies of Asia and Latin America.
Farming the Sea: Asia and Indo-Pacific 68
Part 4 Climate Change 70
The Ocean Conveyor Belt 72
The world's oceans play an important role in shaping the earth's climate
Rising Seas 74
As the world's climate changes sea levels are rising. If current trends continue, the world could face catastrophic coastal inundations.
Rising Seas: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 76
Extreme Weather Events 78
Extreme weather events are increasingly linked to climate change.
Ocean Acidification 80
Rising carbon dioxide emissions are leading to increasing acidification of the oceans.
Disappearing Arctic 82
The extent of Arctic sea ice is shrinking as the polar temperature increases.
Antarctic: Losing Ice Cover 84
The West Antarctic ice sheet is losing volume and a number of floating ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula have already broken up.
Part 5 Seas in Conflict 86
Contested Islands 88
Contested islands pose the risk of igniting regional conflict between countries with competing claims.
Piracy: A Recent Growth Industry 90
Global piracy is on the increase, putting shipping in some areas in jeopardy.
Part 6 Management of Coastal and Marine Areas 92
Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management 94
Coastal management efforts have accelerated since the 1970s, but debate continues as to what constitutes a credible plan.
International Management Plans 96
Virtually every sea now has a management program in place, unfortunately, only a handful have been implemented.
International Management Plans: The Mediterranean 98
Marine Protected Areas 100
Marine protected areas represent less than one percent of ocean area - too small an area to protect marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) 102
LMEs account for the majority of the world's fish catches, as well as receiving most of the pollution entering the seas.
Marine Ecosystems and Species in Peril 104
Our collective failure to act to protect the seas leaves many marine ecosystems and species critically endangered.
Coasts and Oceans Data 106
Sources 116
Index 126