Despite their importance to mankind, the earth sciences have traditionally lagged behind the laboratory sciences. Perhaps the most backward subdivision of the earth sciences has been the obscure subject of oceanography, in which an attempt is made to advance our understanding of one particular part of our environment, namely the large fraction of our globe that is covered with salt water.
This volume is adapted for younger readers from the original Life Nature Library volume of 1961 (revised 1963), as part of the Young Readers Nature Library.