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Ebb and flow : tides and life on our once and future planet / Tom Koppel.
LIBRA GC301.2 .K67 2007
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Koppel, Tom.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Tides.
- Tidal currents.
- Tide-predictors.
- Koppel, Tom.
- Physical Description:
- 292 pages : illustrations, maps, portrait ; 23 cm
- Place of Publication:
- Toronto ; Tonawanda, NY : Dundurn, [2007]
- Summary:
- Tides shape our world. They have sculpted shorelines, transformed early life on Earth, and changed the course of civilization. Tides frustrated Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, and aided General MacArthur. They govern the way our planet moves, provide us with an alternative source of energy, and may be aggravating global climate change.
- Drawing on science, history, and personal memories, Koppel's fascinating book engages and enlightens, demonstrating that a subject we take for granted affects all our lives. He weaves together three grand narratives, exploring how tides impact coasts and marine life, how they have altered human history and development, and how science has striven to understand the surprisingly complex way in which tides actually work.
- Contents:
- Chapter 1 High Water and History: India, China, and How the Ancient World Learned about the Moon and Tides 15
- Chapter 2 Living by the Tides: Author's Daily Activities Run in Sync with the Local Tide Tables 37
- Chapter 3 Heaven and Earth: The Renaissance and Isaac Newton's Great Breakthrough in Tidal Theory 55
- Chapter 4 Into the Maelstrom: Powerful Tidal Currents Generate Killer Whirlpools 73
- Chapter 5 The Shape of Tides: The Great Variety of Shorelines Created by Different Tidal Regimes 91
- Chapter 6 Age of Discovery: European Explorers Learn How Complex the Tides Can Be 115
- Chapter 7 Tidal Tempest: Fast-Flowing Waters Doom Many a Ship 135
- Chapter 8 Theory Meets Practice: Tides as Great Rotating Wave Systems 149
- Chapter 9 The Great Wheel of Life: High Water and Coastal Biology 171
- Chapter 10 Sea and Sky in Harmony: Oscillating Waters and Modern Tidal Forecasting 187
- Chapter 11 Holding Back the Tide: How Civilizations Have Coped with High Water and Low 215
- Chapter 12 The Big Picture: Climate Change and Worldwide Tidal Patterns 231
- Chapter 13 Turning the Tide: Tapping the Energy of the Oceans 247
- Chapter 14 Once and Future Tides: A Receding Moon and Drifting Continents 265
- Epilogue: A Trip to the Beach 283.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references: pages [287]-292.
- ISBN:
- 9781550027266
- 1550027263
- OCLC:
- 159897401
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