Scientists and divers, Prager and Earle are well licensed to condense oceanographic knowledge in an overview of the subject that inculcates the integrality of the ocean to geological history. They proceed chronologically through the paleontological divisions of time (Paleozoic, Cenozoic, etc.) before turning to the aspects of today's ocean. They relate how the ocean arrived at its present chemical composition; how its currents and thereby global climate have been affected by the earth's rotation and the positions of drifting continents; and how vital the ocean has been to life's evolutionary epic. While considering each of these topics in oceanography--oceanic chemistry, geology, and biology--Prager and Earle recount the initial scientific investigations of the sea, such as the three-year voyage of the Challenger in the 1870s. They combine the development of the planet, the history of science, and an awareness of environmental stresses on the oceans to produce a worthy introduction to the 72 percent of Earth that is submerged. Readers seeking acquaintance with the basic, current interpretation of oceanic evolution need look no further.
