Scientists and the Sea, 1650–1900: A Study of Marine Science

Description

Scientists and the Sea is a history of how the scientific study of the sea has developed over a period of nearly 2500 years. Beginning with the speculations of Greek philosophers it carries the story forward, showing how curiosity about the ocean appeared in many different forms and locations before, in the late 19th century, the first deep-sea researches heralded the foundation of the science known today as oceanography. Originally published in 1971, this book has never been superseded as the most comprehensive and wide-ranging treatment of the emergence of marine science within the western scientific tradition. After three introductory chapters dealing with knowledge up to the Renaissance, the main part of the work shows how pioneers of scientific observation at sea during the 17th and 18th centuries made notable discoveries, but that it was not until the middle of the 19th century when, aided by the advance of technology, scientists were able to undertake the first explorations of the ocean depths. This second edition contains a new introduction and bibliography. Contents Foreword to Second Edition Preface to First Edition Acknowledgements Introduction to Second Edition THE BACKGROUND TO THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY MOVEMENT 1. The Ancient World 2. The Middle Ages 3. The Renaissance MARINE SCIENCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 4. The Seventeenth Century Movement towards a Science of the Sea 5. Theories and Observations of Tides 6. Marine Science in the Works of Robert Boyle 7. The Currents in the Strait of Gibraltar 8. Robert Hooke and the Vanishing Harvest AN AGE OF PHILOSOPHY AND CURIOUS NAVIGATION 9. Reawakening Interest in the Sea, 1700–1800 10. Widening Horizons: The Last Quarter of the Eighteenth Century 11. Marine Science in the Early Nineteenth Century: A Period of Growth THE UNSATISFIED OCEAN 12. Wild-Meeting Oceans: the Study of Tides 13. The Threshold of the Deep Ocean 14. The Magnificent Generalization 15. The Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger 16. Edinburgh and the Growth of Oceanography at the end of the Nineteenth Century Appendix 1: Propositions Experiments to be Made by the of Earl of Sandwich in his present Voyage Appendix 2: Experiments made by Captain Robert Holmes on 2 and 30 May 1663 Appendix 3: Other Inquiries Concerning the Sea Select Bibliography to First Edition Bibliography to Second. Edition Introduction Index of Persons Subject Index