Below the Edge of Darkness
Below the Edge of Darkness

Author: Edith Widder

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2021-07-20

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 0349011222

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A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean in this 'thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure' (New York Times) LONGLISTED FOR THE SNHN NATURAL HISTORY BOOK PRIZE Edith Widder grew up determined to become a marine biologist. But after complications from a surgery during college caused her to go temporarily blind, she became fascinated by light as well as the power of optimism. Below the Edge of Darkness explores the depths of the planet's oceans as Widder seeks to understand bioluminescence, one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviours and animals. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all of it set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem. 'A vivid account of ocean life' ROBIN MCKIE, GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY 'Edie's story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration and groundbreaking research. She's done things I dream of doing' JAMES CAMERON 'A book of marvels, marvellously written' RICHARD DAWKINS

Deep Waters
Deep Waters

Author: Alan Louis Kishbaugh

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press

Published: 2017-04-15

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 0826357539

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In the late 1960s, while heading up the Western operations for Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Alan Kishbaugh met the distinguished writer Frank Waters in Taos, New Mexico. From 1968 until Waters’s death almost thirty years later, the two wrote each other hundreds of letters. This annotated collection of their correspondence reveals Waters’s profound engagement with the land and cultures of the Southwest. A lively introduction to the breadth of Waters’s work, Deep Waters touches on themes of ecology, philosophy, pre-Columbiana, Eastern philosophy, Egyptology, American Indians, and a host of other subjects reflecting the great cultural shifts occurring at the time. Kishbaugh and Waters write of the women in their lives, mutual friends, writing and publishing challenges, and newly discovered books. Their letters offer new views of the legendary writers’ colonies of Santa Fe and Taos and the arrival of the counterculture in New Mexico.

Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Bioluminescence & Chemiluminescence
Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Bioluminescence & Chemiluminescence

Author: James F. Case

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 539

ISBN-13: 981024679X

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Light-emitting reactions occur in some living organisms, and are also now extensively exploited by industry and various branches of biomedical science. Luminescence from the natural world, particularly from marine organisms, is increasingly being harnessed by genetic and chemical manipulation to enhance the quality of human life. This volume contains cutting-edge contributions from most of the world's leading researchers in this field. It presents an up-to-date compilation of the range of biomedical, strategic and ecological applications of chemiluminescence and bioluminescence. It documents and highlights the rapid advance in knowledge concerning both the mechanisms and the uses of luminescence, and covers all the important developments of recent years.

The Chronology of Water
The Chronology of Water

Author: Lidia Yuknavitch

Publisher: Hawthorne Books

Published: 2011-04-01

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 0983304904

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This is not your mother’s memoir. In The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch, a lifelong swimmer and Olympic hopeful escapes her raging father and alcoholic and suicidal mother when she accepts a swimming scholarship which drug and alcohol addiction eventually cause her to lose. What follows is promiscuous sex with both men and women, some of them famous, and some of it S&M, and Lidia discovers the power of her sexuality to help her forget her pain. The forgetting doesn’t last, though, and it is her hard-earned career as a writer and a teacher, and the love of her husband and son, that ultimately create the life she needs to survive.

Drawn to the Deep
Drawn to the Deep

Author: Julie Hauserman

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780813056982

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Drawn to the Deep celebrates the life of an extraordinary adventurer who braved extreme danger to share the hidden beauty and environmental truths of the planet with others. Skiles felt a pull to the water as a child, captivated by the cobalt springs of Florida. His passion for diving and his innovative camera techniques earned him assignments with National Geographic and Outside. He also took part in creating over a hundred films, many of which won international awards and acclaim.

Luminous Creatures
Luminous Creatures

Author: Michel Anctil

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2018-05-30

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 0773554106

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Naturalists in antiquity worked hard to dispel fanciful ideas about the meaning of living lights, but remained bewildered by them. Even Charles Darwin was perplexed by the chaotic diversity of luminous organisms, which he found difficult to reconcile with his evolutionary theory. It fell to naturalists and scientists to make sense of the dazzling displays of fireflies and other organisms. In Luminous Creatures Michel Anctil shows how mythical perceptions of bioluminescence gradually gave way to a scientific understanding of its mechanisms, functions, and evolution, and to the recognition of its usefulness for biomedical and other applied fields. Following the rise of the modern scientific method and the circumnavigations and oceanographic expeditions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, biologists began to realize the diversity of bioluminescence's expressions in light organs and ecological imprints, and how widespread it is on the planet. By the end of the nineteenth century an understanding of the chemical nature and physiological control of the phenomenon was at hand. Technological developments led to an explosion of knowledge on the ecology, evolution, and molecular biology of bioluminescence. Luminous Creatures tracks these historical events and illuminates the lives and the trail-blazing accomplishments of the scientists involved. It offers a unique window into the awe-inspiring, phantasmagorical world of light-producing organisms, viewed from the perspectives of casual observers and scientists alike.

Cold-Water Coral Reefs of the World
Cold-Water Coral Reefs of the World

Author: Erik Cordes

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2024-01-28

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 3031408977

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Cold-water corals form reef structures in continental margin and seamount settings world-wide, making them more wide-spread and abundant than shallow-water reefs. Their role in these ecosystems is no less important than the influence that shallow-water coral reefs have on tropical systems. They create habitat structure, host endemic species, enhance elemental cycling, alter current flow, sequester carbon, and provide many other ecosystem services that we are just beginning to understand. The rapidly evolving state of knowledge of cold-water and deep-sea coral reefs has not been compiled in over 10 years. This volume synthesizes recent and historical information, reveals new findings from reefs that have been discovered only recently, and presents key avenues for future research. We are on the cusp of understanding the critical role that cold-water coral reefs play in the world’s oceans, and this book lays the foundation on which this knowledge will be built in the future.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep
A Letter to the Luminous Deep

Author: Sylvie Cathrall

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 2024-04-23

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 0316565547

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A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heartwarming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light, Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries and The House in the Cerulean Sea. “An underwater treasure-chest to be slowly unpacked, full of things I adore: nosy and loving families, epistolary romance, gorgeous worldbuilding, and anxious scholars doing their best to meet the world with kindness and curiosity.” —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other. Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.'s home, and she and Henerey vanish. A year later, E.'s sister Sophy, and Henerey's brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery, piecing together the letters, sketches and field notes left behind—and learn what their siblings’ disappearance might mean for life as they know it. Inspired, immersive, and full of heart, this charming epistolary tale is an adventure into the depths of a magical sea and the limits of the imagination from a marvelous debut voice. Praise for A Letter to the Luminous Deep “A shimmering, delicately crafted delight.” —H.G. Parry, author of The Magician's Daughter “A fascinating and charming story told in a uniquely elegant voice.” —Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches “Both the setting and the story are exquisite.” —Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

The Ecology of Marine Fishes
The Ecology of Marine Fishes

Author: Larry G. Allen

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 672

ISBN-13: 0520246535

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“A masterful accomplishment—Allen, Pondella and Horn have assembled a talented team of experts who produce authoritative, up-to-date accounts. This book will be used as the primary text in many fish biology courses and as a valuable reference elsewhere. Here is a wealth of data waiting to be mined by legions of graduate students as they generate the new ideas that will motivate marine ecology for years.”—Peter Sale, Editor of Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem "A copiously illustrated and comprehensive interpretation of the past, present, and future state of over 500 species of fishes in Californian waters. A compilation of virtually all the many important studies on the ecology of California marine fishes."—Bruce B. Collette, National Marine Fisheries Service and co-author of The Diversity of Fishes