Flotsametrics and the floating world : how one man's obsession with runaway sneakers and rubber ducks revolutionized ocean science

by Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer

Other authorsEric Scigliano (Author)
Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Publication

New York : Smithsonian Books, c2009.

Description

"Ebbesmeyer's goal is noble and fresh: to show how the flow of ocean debris around the world reveals 'the music' of the world's oceans." --New York Times Book Review   Through the fascinating stories of flotsam, one of the Earth's greatest secrets is revealed. In Flotsametrics and the Floating World, maverick scientist Curtis Ebbesmeyer details how his obsession with floating garbage--from rubber ducks to discarded Nike sneakers--helped to revolutionize ocean science. Scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki, host of CBC TV's "The Nature of Things," calls Flotsametrics and the Floating World  "Science and storytelling at its very best." "A very enjoyable, if at times dark, book" (Nature), it is must reading for anyone interested in Oceanography, Environmental Science, and the way our world works.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member aulap
Just beautiful!!

the world as a finely tuned machine. the ocean currents as interrelated gears.
flotsam and jetsam as the indicators of ocean currents, and microcurrents, eddies---ginving us a read on those gears.

and all bets off as to what will happen when the ice melts....

a truely inspired
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scientist whose life has been one of going where his deep curiousity takes him.
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LibraryThing member satyridae
I always enjoy books written by passionate, obsessed science geeks. This is not a particularly linear book, but wow, it's interesting. It does point out in depressing detail just how badly we've screwed ourselves with plastics. I knew about part of the plastic problem in the oceans from reading the
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magnificent books of Carl Safina, but I didn't know that there are places in the ocean where look-alike particles of plastic outnumber plankton 50 to 1. Makes it hard to get a decent meal, if plankton is what one eats.

The work Ebbesmeyer has done on learning about and explicating the big gyres is simply fascinating. As is what washes up on the beach, and when, and how. The full story about the Nike spill is here, as well as the adorable tub toys that are still washing up. Thanks, Dr. Brazelton! *sigh*

The writing is hard to follow at some points, and wildly discursive at others. But worth it.
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Language

Barcode

2724
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