Preface
When, in 1966, the Gennan Research Society directed the
attention of oceanographers in the Federal Republic of Germany to problems of marine pollution, I was not enthusiastic.
Emphasis on this problem area meant that other important
research plans had to be postponed. But the lectures at the
Third International Oceanographic Congress, September 1970,
in Tokyo, and at the FAO Conference on Marine Pollution and
its Effects on Living Resources and Fishing, December 1970,
in Rome, convinced me that research on problems of marine
pollution is a social obligation, and that the oceanographer has
to take a stand. I issued public warnings about the continuing
use of pesticides and had to defend myself against protests by
the fishing industry and many colleagues who were, in November 1970, unaware of the extent of the threat. Thus, I was
required by my profession to acquire an overview of the problems of ocean pollution.
In 1971 I only needed to familiarize myself with some one
hundred bibliographical items. In the interim, the flood of
data has risen dramatically, and in the year 1975, no fewer
than 868 publications under the heading of "Marine Pollution"
were reported (Table 1). It is, therefore, more and more difficult to distinguish new results of scientific research from the
many repetitions and variations, and I fear that from year to
year my efforts to illustrate the actual status of the problem at
a given moment will be subject to more gaps.
It will be apparent in my book that I was not a commission
member dealing with the questions of effluents and did not
serve as an advisor on legislation. My main concern was with
those long-term effects and dangerous materials which could
produce a global threat. I also witnessed the progress in the
field of marine pollution research, particularly associated with
the numerous insights which are presently revolutionizing
knowledge of marine chemistry and biology.
In recent years, I have given lectures on the problems of ocean
pollution at the Universities of Hamburg, Bremen, Copenhagen
and Buenos Aires. While doing so, I felt the lack of a detailed
textbook as keenly as did my audiences, who would have liked
v
When, in 1966, the Gennan Research Society directed the
attention of oceanographers in the Federal Republic of Germany to problems of marine pollution, I was not enthusiastic.
Emphasis on this problem area meant that other important
research plans had to be postponed. But the lectures at the
Third International Oceanographic Congress, September 1970,
in Tokyo, and at the FAO Conference on Marine Pollution and
its Effects on Living Resources and Fishing, December 1970,
in Rome, convinced me that research on problems of marine
pollution is a social obligation, and that the oceanographer has
to take a stand. I issued public warnings about the continuing
use of pesticides and had to defend myself against protests by
the fishing industry and many colleagues who were, in November 1970, unaware of the extent of the threat. Thus, I was
required by my profession to acquire an overview of the problems of ocean pollution.
In 1971 I only needed to familiarize myself with some one
hundred bibliographical items. In the interim, the flood of
data has risen dramatically, and in the year 1975, no fewer
than 868 publications under the heading of "Marine Pollution"
were reported (Table 1). It is, therefore, more and more difficult to distinguish new results of scientific research from the
many repetitions and variations, and I fear that from year to
year my efforts to illustrate the actual status of the problem at
a given moment will be subject to more gaps.
It will be apparent in my book that I was not a commission
member dealing with the questions of effluents and did not
serve as an advisor on legislation. My main concern was with
those long-term effects and dangerous materials which could
produce a global threat. I also witnessed the progress in the
field of marine pollution research, particularly associated with
the numerous insights which are presently revolutionizing
knowledge of marine chemistry and biology.
In recent years, I have given lectures on the problems of ocean
pollution at the Universities of Hamburg, Bremen, Copenhagen
and Buenos Aires. While doing so, I felt the lack of a detailed
textbook as keenly as did my audiences, who would have liked
v