The Atlas of Coasts & Oceans

by Hinrichsen, Don

• ISBN13: 9780226342269
• ISBN10: 0226342263
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Oceans drive the world's climate, nurture marine ecosystems full of aquatic life, and provide shipping lanes that have defined the global economy for centuries. And few realize that half of the world's population lives in a coastal region within easy reach of one. Yet human activities such as commercial fishing, coastal real estate development, and industrial pollution have taken their toll on the seas. The first book of its kind, The Atlas of Coasts and Oceansdocuments the fraught relationship between humans and the earth's largest bodies of waterand outlines the conservation steps needed to protect the marine environment for generations to come. The Atlasoffers a fascinating and often sobering account of how urbanization, climate change, offshore oil drilling, shipping routes, global tourism, and maritime conflict have had a profound impact on the world's oceans and coasts. Combining text and images in visually engaging, thematically organized map spreads, this volume addresses the ecological, environmental, and economic importance of marine phenomena such as coral reefs, eroding shorelines, hurricanes, and fish populationsand how development threatens to destroy the ultimate source of all life on the "blue planet." Lavishly illustrated with global and regional maps, from the Arabian Gulf to the Great Barrier Reef, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and all the other major global waterways, The Atlas of Coasts and Oceanswill be the definitive companion to any study of its subject for years to come.

Table of Contents

Photo credits	p. 8
About the Author	p. 9
Foreword	p. 11
Introduction: Our ocean planet in peril	p. 13
Acknowledgements	p. 18
Definition of key terms	p. 19
People and Coasts	p. 22
Population Growth Along Coasts	p. 24
Half the world's population lives in coastal regions, on just 10 percent of the earth's land area.
Urbanized Coastlines	p. 26
For the first time in history, the majority of the world's people live and work in towns and cities.
Urbanized Coastlines: Sub-Saharan Africa	p. 28
Eroding Shorelines	p. 30
Coastal erosion is a natural phenomenon, aggravated by human activities.
Major Threats to Ocean Resources	p. 32
Marine Ecosystems Under Threat	p. 34
Human impacts over the last 60 years have led to a decline in the viability of coastal and ocean ecosystems.
Ocean Dead Zones	p. 36
The number of coastal dead zones has doubled every decade since 1962.
Ocean Dead Zones: The Baltic Sea	p. 38
Ocean Dead Zones: The Northwest Pacific	p. 40
Key Coastal Environments at Risk	p. 42
Coastal wetlands, estuaries, and seagrass meadows perform vital ecological functions on which human safety and wellbeing depend.
Key Coastal Environments at Risk: Seagrasses	p. 44
Key Coastal Environments at Risk: Mangroves	p. 46
Coral Reefs in Danger	p. 48
Coral reefs provide valuable coastal protection, and play a vital role in the health and ecology of the oceans.
The Empty Ocean	p. 50
The rising global demand for seafood is leading to over-exploitation of fish stocks.
Trade, Commerce, and Tourism	p. 52
Major Shipping Lanes	p. 54
The overwhelming majority of world trade travels by ship to key seaports.
Energy From the Sea: Oil and Gas	p. 56
The quantity of oil extracted from offshore fields is expected to increase, posing an increasing hazard to the marine environment.
Energy From the Sea: Wind	p. 58
Energy From the Sea: Tides and Waves	p. 60
Coastal and Marine Tourism	p. 62
Coastal and marine tourism are the fastest growing sectors of the travel and leisure industry.
Coastal and Marine Tourism: Mediterranean Sea	p. 64
Farming the Sea	p. 66
Farmed fish and shellfish are meeting most of the rising demand for seafood from the developing economies of Asia and Latin America.
Farming the Sea: Asia and Indo-Pacific	p. 68
Climate Change	p. 70
The Ocean Conveyor Belt	p. 72
The world's oceans play an important role in shaping the earth's climate
Rising Seas	p. 74
As the world's climate changes sea levels are rising. If current trends continue, the world could face catastrophic coastal inundations.
Rising Seas: Small Island Developing States (SIDS)	p. 76
Extreme Weather Events	p. 78
Extreme weather events are increasingly linked to climate change.
Ocean Acidification	p. 80
Rising carbon dioxide emissions are leading to increasing acidification of the oceans.
Disappearing Arctic	p. 82
The extent of Arctic sea ice is shrinking as the polar temperature increases.
Antarctic: Losing Ice Cover	p. 84
The West Antarctic ice sheet is losing volume and a number of floating ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula have already broken up.
Seas in Conflict	p. 86
Contested Islands	p. 88
Contested islands pose the risk of igniting regional conflict between countries with competing claims.
Piracy: A Recent Growth Industry	p. 90
Global piracy is on the increase, putting shipping in some areas in jeopardy.
Management of Coastal and Marine Areas	p. 92
Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management	p. 94
Coastal management efforts have accelerated since the 1970s, but debate continues as to what constitutes a credible plan.
International Management Plans	p. 96
Virtually every sea now has a management program in place, unfortunately, only a handful have been implemented.
International Management Plans: The Mediterranean	p. 98
Marine Protected Areas	p. 100
Marine protected areas represent less than one percent of ocean area - too small an area to protect marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs)	p. 102
LMEs account for the majority of the world's fish catches, as well as receiving most of the pollution entering the seas.
Marine Ecosystems and Species in Peril	p. 104
Our collective failure to act to protect the seas leaves many marine ecosystems and species critically endangered.
Coasts and Oceans Data	p. 106
Sources	p. 116
Index	p. 126
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