Flotsametrics and the Floating World - How One Man's Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks

Pioneering oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer tells of his lifelong struggle to solve the sea''s mysteries, and shares his most surprising discoveries. He recounts how flotsam has changed the course of history-leading Viking mariners to safe harbors, Columbus to the New World, and Japan to open up the West-and how it may even have made the origin of life possible. He explores the vast floating ''garbage patches'' and waste-heaped ''junk beaches'' that collect the flotsam and jetsam of industrial society. Finally, he reveals the music-like mathematical order in oceanic gyres and the threats that global warming and disintegrating plastic waste pose to the seas and to us.

About the author

Curtis Ebbesmeyer holds a Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Washington. Media worldwide have turned to his expertise on ocean currents and floating objects. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
Eric Scigliano, winner of Livingston and AAAS prizes for reporting, has written for Harper's, New Scientist, the New York Times, and many other publications. His books include Puget Sound, Michelangelo's Mountain, and Love, War, and Circuses.

Product details

• Authors: Curtis Ebbesmeyer, Ebbesmeyer Curtis, Eric Scigliano, Scigliano Eric
• Publisher: Harper Perennial USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 22.06.2010
• EAN: 9780061558429
• ISBN: 978-0-06-155842-9
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 202 mm x 17 mm
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > Miscellaneous; SCIENCE: General, SCIENCE: Earth Sciences / General, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: SCIENCE & NATURE, NATURE: Ecosystems & Habitats / Oceans & Seas, SCIENCE: History, SCIENCE: Earth Sciences / Geography, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING: History, NATURE: Rocks & Minerals