Preface
Marine science today is an area of rapid expansion. Scientific activity is increasing, and a growing number of scientists are involved in one or more of its
disciplines. For a thorough understanding of the marine environment, for its
exploration, exploitation, and management, background knowledge of more
than one discipline is required. A clear need therefore exists for a concise multidisciplinary oceanographic encyclopedia.
The initiative for this book was taken by the Netherlands Institute of Sea
Research, NIOZ, Texel, a multidisciplinary institute, founded in 1876.
The second edition of this Encyclopedia contains some 1980 entries, 210 of
which in (bio)chemistry, 330 in (bio)physics, 350 in geology, and 970 in biology, while the remaining 120 are general terms, with 60 on oceanographic expeditions. Concepts, terminology, and methods of the various disciplines are
briefly explained and, especially in the description of marine processes, the
book tries to be more than a glossary or a dictionary. It attempts to provide a
succinct overview of the major topics in marine science. Students, teachers and
scientists as well as interested laymen may use it to find an explanation of
oceanographic terms outside their own fields. The manuscript of the first edition was read by a variety of potential users, whose comments have been used
to improve and clarify the descriptions.
The second edition has benefited from the comments by several reviewers.
Based on their comments, omissions and errors have been corrected and the
encyclopedia has been extended with entries on fishery biology and oceanographic expeditions. The taxonomy of organisms and the description of taxonomical groups has been revised and updated. The five kingdoms classification (Margulis and Schwartz 1987) is used throughout this edition. For one of
these kingdoms, the Protoctista, the system of Margulis et al. (1990) is followed. However, taxonomy is a living science, and different views about the
major classifications of organisms do exist and are used in textbooks. Our
approach induced some major changes in comparison with the first edition,
especially within the unicellular groups. Some major group names of older or
other classification systems are still preserved in the list. The descriptions of
the different taxonomical groups had to be kept general and short, and could
not include exceptions to the general pattern.
We appreciated the good cooperation with Springer-Verlag, and trust that
this concise Encyclopedia will be useful for educational and general purposes.
Of course, an encyclopedia is never complete. We hope we have made a relevant selection of entries, but will be happy to receive comments and additions
for possible future editions.
The Editors
Marine science today is an area of rapid expansion. Scientific activity is increasing, and a growing number of scientists are involved in one or more of its
disciplines. For a thorough understanding of the marine environment, for its
exploration, exploitation, and management, background knowledge of more
than one discipline is required. A clear need therefore exists for a concise multidisciplinary oceanographic encyclopedia.
The initiative for this book was taken by the Netherlands Institute of Sea
Research, NIOZ, Texel, a multidisciplinary institute, founded in 1876.
The second edition of this Encyclopedia contains some 1980 entries, 210 of
which in (bio)chemistry, 330 in (bio)physics, 350 in geology, and 970 in biology, while the remaining 120 are general terms, with 60 on oceanographic expeditions. Concepts, terminology, and methods of the various disciplines are
briefly explained and, especially in the description of marine processes, the
book tries to be more than a glossary or a dictionary. It attempts to provide a
succinct overview of the major topics in marine science. Students, teachers and
scientists as well as interested laymen may use it to find an explanation of
oceanographic terms outside their own fields. The manuscript of the first edition was read by a variety of potential users, whose comments have been used
to improve and clarify the descriptions.
The second edition has benefited from the comments by several reviewers.
Based on their comments, omissions and errors have been corrected and the
encyclopedia has been extended with entries on fishery biology and oceanographic expeditions. The taxonomy of organisms and the description of taxonomical groups has been revised and updated. The five kingdoms classification (Margulis and Schwartz 1987) is used throughout this edition. For one of
these kingdoms, the Protoctista, the system of Margulis et al. (1990) is followed. However, taxonomy is a living science, and different views about the
major classifications of organisms do exist and are used in textbooks. Our
approach induced some major changes in comparison with the first edition,
especially within the unicellular groups. Some major group names of older or
other classification systems are still preserved in the list. The descriptions of
the different taxonomical groups had to be kept general and short, and could
not include exceptions to the general pattern.
We appreciated the good cooperation with Springer-Verlag, and trust that
this concise Encyclopedia will be useful for educational and general purposes.
Of course, an encyclopedia is never complete. We hope we have made a relevant selection of entries, but will be happy to receive comments and additions
for possible future editions.
The Editors