The 10th edition of this popular book continues to provide an excellent foundation in science by examining the vast body of oceanic knowledge. Spanning the disciplines of geology, chemistry, physics, and biology, it allows readers to have a fundamental understanding of how oceans work. Interwoven within the book are hundreds of photographs, illustrations, real-world examples, and applications that make the material relevant, accessible, and entertaining. Well-organized and clearly written, this book covers scientific inquiry and gives an historical look at the study of oceanography; the origins of life, the earth, and the oceans; plate tectonics; marine provinces; marine sediments; water and seawater; air-sea interaction; ocean circulation; waves, tides, and coastlines; biological productivity and the marine habitat; marine resources; and environmental concerns. This book is intended to help readers in their quest to find out more about oceans. Because of its comprehensive scope and excellent resource materials, it can also serve as an excellent reference work for those involved in oceanography.

Harold V. Thurman. Hal Thurman retired in May 1994, after 24 years of teaching in the Earth Sciences Department of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. Interest in geology led to a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma A & M University, followed by seven years working as a petroleum geologist, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico, where his interest in the oceans developed. He earned a master's degree from California State University at Los Angeles and then joined the Earth Sciences faculty at Mt. San Antonio College. Other books that Hal has coauthored include Essentials of Oceanography (with Alan Trujillo) and a marine biology textbook. He has also written articles on the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans for the 1994 edition of World Book Encyclopedia and served as a consultant on the National Geographic publication, Realms of the Sea. He still enjoys going to sea on vacations with his wife Iantha.

Alan P. Trujillo. Al Trujillo teaches at Palomar Community College in San Marcos, California, where he is co-Director of the Oceanography Program and Chair of the Earth Sciences Department. He received his bachelor's degree in geology from the University of California at Davis and his master's degree in geology from Northern Arizona University, afterward working for several years in industry as a developmental geologist, hydrogeologist, and computer specialist. A1 began teaching in the Earth Sciences Department at Palomar in 1990 and in 1997 was awarded Palomar's Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has coauthored Essentials of Oceanography with Hal Thurman and is a contributing author for other Earth science textbooks, including Earth, 7th edition and Earth Science, 10th edition. In addition to writing and teaching, Al works as a naturalist and lecturer aboard natural history expedition vessels in Alaska and the Sea of Cortez/Baja California. His research interests include beach processes, sea cliff erosion, and computer applications in oceanography. A1 and his wife, Sandy, have two children, Karl and Eva.

To the Student Welcome! You're about to embark on a journey that is far from ordinary. Over the course of this term, you will discover the central role the oceans play in the vast global system of which you are a part. The book's content was carefully developed to provide a foundation in science by examining the vast body of oceanic knowledge. This knowledge includes information from a variety of scientific disciplines--geology, chemistry, physics, and biology--as they relate to the oceans. However, no formal background in any of these disciplines is required to master the subject matter contained within this book. Our desire is to have you take away from your oceanography course much more than just a collection of facts. Instead, we want you to develop a fundamental understanding ofhow the oceans work. Taken as a whole, the components of the ocean--its sea floor, chemical constituents, physical components, and life forms--comprise one of Earth's largest interacting, interrelated, and interdependent systems. Because humans are beginning to impact Earth systems, it is important to understand not only how the oceans operate, but also how the oceans interact with Earth's other systems (such as its atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere) as part of a larger picture. Thus, this book uses a systems approach to highlight the interdisciplinary relationship among oceanographic phenomena and how those phenomena affect other Earth systems. To that end--and to help you make the most of your study time--we focused the presentation in this book by organizing the material around three essential components: Concepts:General ideas derived or inferred from specific instances or occurrences (for instance, the concept of density can be used to explain why the oceans are layered) Processes:Actions or occurrences that bring about a result (for instance, the process of waves breaking at an angle to the shore results in the movement of sediment along the shoreline). Principles:Rules or laws concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes (for instance, the principle of sea floor spreading suggests that the geographic positions of the continents have changed through time). Interwoven within these concepts, processes, and principles are hundreds of photographs, illustrations, real-world examples, and applications that make the material relevant and accessible (and maybe sometimes evenentertaining) by bringing the science to life. Ultimately, it is our hope that by understanding how the oceans work, you will develop a new awareness and appreciation of all aspects of the marine environment and its role in Earth systems. So enjoy and immerse yourself! You're in for an exciting ride. To the Instructor The tenth edition ofIntroductory Oceanographyis designed to accompany an introductory college-level course in general or physical oceanography taught to students with no formal background in mathematics or science. Like previous editions, the goal of this edition of the textbook is toy present clearly the relationships of scientific principles toy ocean phenomena in an engaging and meaningful way. This edition, like its predecessors, emphasizes fundamental marine processes and the basic issues of interactions among humans, the ocean, and the atmosphere. The text has benefited from the addition of a new coauthor, Alan Trujillo. As a result, the writing style has been improved, several sections have been reorganized, and material has been updated and refined throughout the text. You'll also notice many new features, which are detailed in the "What's New in this Edition?" section below. This edition has also benefited from extensive review by knowledgeable reviewers. The 18-chapter format of this textbook is designed for coverage of the material in a 1