Biological Oceanography: An Early History. 1870 - 1960

by Eric Mills

Overview

First published in 1989, Eric L. Mills’s comprehensive history of biological oceanography has been praised as ‘superb’ (BioScience) and ‘proof that history need not be dull’ (The Northern Mariner). This first history of the field, which chronicles the scientific work and creativity of its chief contributors, tells a riveting story that is far from narrowly scientific and thoroughly accessible to general readers.

Mills shows how the work and ideas of the main actors are inseparable from some seemingly unrelated factors, including Prussian imperialism, agricultural chemistry, microbiology, and the problems of German universities. Mills also illustrates the significant roles played in the field’s development by the failures of commercial fisheries, the development of analytical chemistry, the establishment of international scientific organizations, and sheer scientific curiosity.

This new edition of Biological Oceanography includes a fresh introduction by the author, as well as an original foreword by noted oceanographer John Cullen. It makes an excellent companion to Mills’s recent history of mathematical and physical oceanography, the multi-award-winning and widely acclaimed The Fluid Envelope of Our Planet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442663060
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	01/30/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Eric L. Mills is a professor emeritus in the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University and former director of the History of Science and Technology Program at the University of King’s College. He is the winner of the Jehuda Neumann Memorial Prize for the History of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from the Royal Meteorological Society.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Tables
Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Development of Biological Oceanography

PART 1 The Origin of Biological Oceanography in Germany and Scandinavia during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

1. "This Blood of the Sea": The Origin of Quantitative 9 Plankton Biology in Germany, 1870-1911
2. The Control of Metabolism in the Sea: Karl Brandt, the Nitrogen Cycle, and the Origin of Brandt's Hypothesis
3. International Oceanography, the Kiel School, and the Fate of Brandt's Hypothesis
4. "The Water Blooms": The Discovery of the Spring Bloom and Its Control
5. Hydrography and the Control of Plankton Abundance: Solving the Problem of Plankton Blooms
6. The End of an Era: The Demise of the Kiel Schoo

PART 2 Biological Oceanography in Britain and the United States, 1921-1960

1. Food from the Sea: The Origin of British Biological Oceanography
2. Surveying the Blue Pasture: Plankton Dynamics at Plymouth, 1921-1933
3. Plankton Production and Its Control: The Marine Ecosystem at Plymouth, 1934-1958
4. Appreciating Mathematics: The Origin of Plankton Modeling in the United States, 1934-1946
5. Disciplined Thinking in Biological Oceanography: Plankton Dynamics, Physical Oceanography, and Riley's "Synthetic Method"

Conclusion: The End of One Tale and the Beginning of Another

References

Index

Editorial Reviews

‘[A] superb treatise on the early history of biological oceanography … Mills has constructed an enormously appealing, readable, and intellectual history of biological oceanography that transcends the subject area and delves into the philosophy of science and its management.’—Christopher F. D’Elia, BioScience
‘The book is a must-read for everyone interested in biological oceanography and meets a high standard of scholarship.’—W.H. Berger, Science
‘A richly detailed and yet accessible look at the development of biological oceanography.’—Jane Maienschein, Isis
‘Eric L. Mills’s Biological Oceanography gives proof that history need not be dull … He writes with ease and grace, and with the characters at his disposal he tells a fine story.’—Frederick A. Aldrich, The Northern Mariner

From the Publisher

‘The book is a must-read for everyone interested in biological oceanography and meets a high standard of scholarship.’

Science - W.H. Berger

‘[A] superb treatise on the early history of biological oceanography … Mills has constructed an enormously appealing, readable, and intellectual history of biological oceanography that transcends the subject area and delves into the philosophy of science and its management.’

BioScience - Christopher F. D’Elia

‘A richly detailed and yet accessible look at the development of biological oceanography.’

Isis - Jane Maienschein

‘Eric L. Mills’s Biological Oceanography gives proof that history need not be dull … He writes with ease and grace, and with the characters at his disposal he tells a fine story.’

The Northern Mariner - Frederick A. Aldrich

‘Eric L. Mills’s Biological Oceanography gives proof that history need not be dull … He writes with ease and grace, and with the characters at his disposal he tells a fine story.’
— Frederick A. Aldrich

The Northern Mariner

‘A richly detailed and yet accessible look at the development of biological oceanography.’
— Jane Maienschein

Isis

‘The book is a must-read for everyone interested in biological oceanography and meets a high standard of scholarship.’
— W.H. Berger

Science

‘[A superb treatise on the early history of biological oceanography … Mills has constructed an enormously appealing, readable, and intellectual history of biological oceanography that transcends the subject area and delves into the philosophy of science and its management.’
— Christopher F. D’Elia

BioScience