259
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. J. Culver (ed.), Troubled Waters, Springer Climate,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52383-1_16
Chapter 16
Afterword: The Power of the Ocean
Stephen J. Culver
Abstract As a graduate student in coastal geology, one does not expect to strike
gas. This happened to the author in 1974 and the geologically unrelated aftermath
led to an unforgettable demonstration of the power of the ocean and how this power
can affect our coasts.
Keywords Swansea Bay · South Wales · Quaternary · Drilling · Gas strike · Tidal
range · Tidal currents · Erosion
In the Introduction to this book, I mentioned the awesome power of the ocean. The
waves, tides and currents that we can easily observe as characterizing the ocean
wherever we live are important agents of coastal erosion. Right at the very start of
my academic career I received an unforgettable, vivid, and unusual lesson in the
power of the ocean.
S. J. Culver (*)
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
e-mail: culvers@ecu.edu
The coast is an edgy place. Living on the coast presents certain
stark realities and a wild, rare beauty. Continent confronts
ocean. Weather intensifies. It’s a place of tide and tantrum; of
flirtations among fresh- and saltwaters, forests and shores; of
tense negotiations with an ocean that gives much but demands
more. Every year the raw rim that is this coast gets hammered
and reshaped like molten bronze. This place roils with power
and a sometimes terrible beauty. The coast remains youthful,
daring, uncertain about tomorrow. The guessing, the risk; in a
way, we’re all thrill seekers here.
Carl Safina
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. J. Culver (ed.), Troubled Waters, Springer Climate,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52383-1_16
Chapter 16
Afterword: The Power of the Ocean
Stephen J. Culver
Abstract As a graduate student in coastal geology, one does not expect to strike
gas. This happened to the author in 1974 and the geologically unrelated aftermath
led to an unforgettable demonstration of the power of the ocean and how this power
can affect our coasts.
Keywords Swansea Bay · South Wales · Quaternary · Drilling · Gas strike · Tidal
range · Tidal currents · Erosion
In the Introduction to this book, I mentioned the awesome power of the ocean. The
waves, tides and currents that we can easily observe as characterizing the ocean
wherever we live are important agents of coastal erosion. Right at the very start of
my academic career I received an unforgettable, vivid, and unusual lesson in the
power of the ocean.
S. J. Culver (*)
Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
e-mail: culvers@ecu.edu
The coast is an edgy place. Living on the coast presents certain
stark realities and a wild, rare beauty. Continent confronts
ocean. Weather intensifies. It’s a place of tide and tantrum; of
flirtations among fresh- and saltwaters, forests and shores; of
tense negotiations with an ocean that gives much but demands
more. Every year the raw rim that is this coast gets hammered
and reshaped like molten bronze. This place roils with power
and a sometimes terrible beauty. The coast remains youthful,
daring, uncertain about tomorrow. The guessing, the risk; in a
way, we’re all thrill seekers here.
Carl Safina