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CITATION Kappel, E. 2007. Review of The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss, by C. Nouvian. 20(2):207–208, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2007.72.

COPYRIGHT This article has been published inOceanography , Volume 20, Number 2, a quarterly journal of The Oceanography Society. Copyright 2007 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved.

USAGE Permission is granted to copy this article for use in teaching and research. Republication, systematic reproduction, or collective redistribution of any portion of this article by photocopy machine, reposting, or other means is permitted only with the approval of The Oceanography Society. Send all correspondence to: [email protected] or The Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA.

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The Deep The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss

By Claire Nouvian, The University of Deep-Sea Animals Living Fossils?” Chicago Press, 2007, 256 pages, ISBN by Robert C. Vrijenhoek. Life at the 9780226595665, Hardcover, $45 US Bottom essays include: “The Deep Seafloor: A Desert Devoid of Life?” by Reviewed by Ellen Kappel Craig M. Young; “The Polar Depths” by Michael Klages; “The Monterey “Don’t give away that book!” so Canyon” by Gary Greene; “Seamounts: exclaimed my 12-year-old daughter Galápagos of the Deep” by J. Anthony after seeing The Deep: The Extraordinary Koslow; “Hydrothermal Vents” by Creatures of the Abyss sitting next to the Daniel Desbruyères; “Gas Promotes desk at my home office. Amid books on Mass” by Lisa Levin; “’s End is the decades. In fact, some animals have only ocean turbulence, numerical modeling, Beginning of Life on the Seafloor” by been found on whale carcasses, so-called and fluid mechanics, The Deep stood Craig R. Smith; and “Deep Trenches: The “whale-fall specialists,” but these animals out. Its large format (~ 26 x 31 cm) and Ultimate Abyss” by Kantaro Fujioka and may face extinction because there are stunning photographic collection of sea Dhugal Lindsay. just fewer carcasses to be had. Countless creatures made it an instant hit with These essays provide general back- similar “fun facts” fill The Deep. my family. Since arriving, The Deep has ground material about the physical con- Readers who don’t want to tackle the been sitting on my coffee table, thumbed ditions encountered by ocean creatures, essays—this is a coffee table book after through by kids and adults alike. I sat how scientists explore the deep-sea, all—can just gawk at the photos and down and read it cover to cover. and basic plate tectonics—material that read the captions. The captions provide The book is not all photos. After a might seem tiresome for professional abundant information about the sea preface and introduction by Nouvien, oceanographers to read, but is perfect for creatures, starting with their name (if 15 short and very readable essays by lay persons as young as middle school- known), size, and depth at which it lives. prominent scientists, along with other ers. There are lessons about specific spe- “The spectacle this siphonophore stages short blurbs written by the book’s com- cies and habitats, but also more sober- when feeding is like a grand fireworks piler, provide the background materials ing, cautionary tales about how humans display, as it deploys thousands of toxic, needed to fully appreciate the photos. are destroying the fragile relationship bioluminescent tentacles to lure prey The essays are grouped into two main between ocean and animal. Two related into its fatal snare…” (p. 84–85). “Each sections: Life in the , and essays explained that there are more spe- year, many unknown gelatinous crea- Life at the Bottom. Life in the Water col- cies of hard corals now known from the tures are found by scientists, but in order umn essays include: “The Exploration deepwater habitats (40—2000 m) than for the taxonomic description to give of the Deep” by Cindy Lee Van Dover; from tropical corals, and that over the rise to the creation of a new species, the “Midwater Life: Survival in a Harsh past few decades, deepwater reefs that same organism must have been captured Environment” by George Matsumoto; would cover an area many times that of several times. Often our observations are “The Nocturnal Ballet of Sea Creatures” Europe have been trawled and destroyed. singular events, and this is the case for by Marsh Youngbluth; “Living Lights in An essay about whale fall described how the jelly shown at the bottom…” (p. 75). the Sea” by Edith Widder; “Gelatinous, “snot worms” consume whale bones “The life span of this [] tube- but Voracious Predators” by Laurence and the oil they contain, yet are just one worm is among the longest in the ani- Madin; “From Myth to Reality: Monsters of many creatures that, in succession, mal kingdom: 250 years!” (p. 226–227). of the Deep” by Clyde Roper; and “Are eat a whale carcass over the course of There’s plenty to be learned simply by

Oceanography June 2007 207 reading these narrative captions. many gorgeous high-resolution photo- The Deep has few significant flaws. graphs when I seem to struggle for one There’s some repetition of information great cover photo every few months?” among the essays, but not enough to be In the end, the essays and captions annoying. As few people will read this offer an enjoyable education about an book in one sitting, the repetition may environment that only a relatively few go unnoticed. A handful of mistakes lucky people have seen close up. This appear, but as an editor I am fully aware book is well worth the $45 investment. that as many times as you’ve read and People of all ages and backgrounds will edited a document and gone over the enjoy picking it up time and time again. proofs, no doubt you’ll find a mistake I know that I will. within the first three minutes of review- ing the final, printed copy. Ellen Kappel ([email protected]) As an editor, I also couldn’t help but is President, Geosciences Professional wonder, “how did the author get so Services, Inc. and Editor, Oceanography.

The Equations of Oceanic Motions

By Peter Müller, Cambridge University Press, 2006, 291 pages, ISBN 0521855136, Hardcover $80 US

Reviewed by Roland de Szoeke

The Equations of Oceanic Motions has two primarily pedagogical aims: to establish rigorously the equations of approximation. We all learn the mantra oceanic motions, including the equilib- “density in the momentum equation can rium thermodynamics of seawater and be replaced everywhere by a constant ref-

the molecular transport processes, and erence value ρ0, except when multiplied

to examine systematically the common by g 0 [gravity].” But then, how exactly approximations that are made. In these does one square the conservation of vol- aims, it succeeds admirably (and very ume (not mass) with the transport equa- usefully). The book will surely become a tions for heat and salt and the equation standard reference for the ocean dynami- of state? Here it’s done right, without cist who wants to get the equations and cutting corners or (to mix metaphors) usual approximations right. For me, the sweeping dust under the rug. Who are book is already worth the price just for the book’s intended audiences? The ear- its thorough treatment of the Boussinesq nest dynamicist has already been men-

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