New deep territories a story of France's exploration of the seafloor Beatriz Martinez-Rius

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martinez-Rius, Beatriz, author.

Series:

Oceans in depth

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ocean bottom.

Research--France.

Research.

Marine resources.

Ocean bottom--Discovery and exploration.

France.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Chicago The University of Chicago Press 2026

Summary:

"How France integrated the seafloor into its national territory through an interplay of science, technology, and geopolitical ambition during the Cold War. Beneath the surface of the seas and oceans lies a territory as important for human societies as the exposed land and the airspace above them: the seafloor. Our daily life is inextricably linked to the seafloor and its resources, from global telecommunications infrastructure to offshore oil and gas extraction to strategic mineral mining. By focusing on France, a country with an underwater territory seventeen times larger than its emerged lands, New Deep Territories explains how the seafloor emerged as a territory during the second half of the twentieth century. Beatriz Martinez-Rius traces the evolution of the country's seafloor exploration and the motivations that fueled it, from the aftermath of World War I to the late 1970s. In the early 1960s, the seafloor, instead of colonial territories, came to be seen as a source of natural resources. The French government, corporations such as oil companies, as well as scientists all imagined future uses of the seafloor, and these ever-evolving aspirations drove the development of technologies, techniques, and scientific fields that built up the submerged territory. Government officers and industrial stakeholders massively invested in technoscientific development to prepare for a future reliant on seafloor resources, including oil, gas, and minerals, well before it was technologically possible, economically feasible, and legally acceptable to extract them. The future they envisioned did not arrive, but their investment resulted in an unprecedented understanding of the ocean's crust. Today, once again, national governments, international organizations, and private stakeholders are turning their attention to the seafloor"-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Introduction: A World's View from the Seafloor

Deep Blue Canyons: Geology from Land to Sea

Lagging Behind? Geopolitics and Geophysics Underwater

France's New Economic Frontier

Three-Dimensional Territories: Science and Industry in the North Atlantic

Alliances and Hidden Minerals in the Abyss

Stories Beneath Deep Salt: Drilling Across the Mediterranean

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Print version record

Other Format:

Print version Martinez-Rius, Beatriz New deep territories

ISBN:

9780226846385

0226846385

OCLC:

1569645799

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license