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Marine science is an interdisciplinary field that supports research and general interest across many areas, including oceans, marginal seas, and estuaries. The scope of the science continues to progress, as more advances become known through technology, commerce, and legislation. Viva-Facts On File Encyclopedia of Marine Science is a comprehensive resources that concentrates on developments of more than a century, including treaties and legal issues, vessels, programs, organizations, and other topics. The encyclopedia features more than 600 cross-referenced entries that detail a subject’s significance and development in marine science and its relation to other disciplines. The book also includes 20 essays, interspersed throughout the text, that include biographical profiles on notable pioneers in marine science, as well as incisive accounts on issues relevant to marine science (for example, waste disposal, ocean platforms, acoustics, and deep-sea drilling). The encyclopedia also includes seven helpful appendixes – a bibliography of print and Web resources; selected major oceans, seas, gulfs, and bays worldwide; a classification of marine organisms; the Periodic Table of the Elements; the Geological Timescale; a list of marine laboratories; a map of the world’s oceans – and a detailed index. Viva –Facts On File Encyclopedia of Marine Science is an indispensable volume that will meet the specific demands of students, interested laypeople, and working professionals with an interest in this interdisciplinary field. About the Author C. Reid Nichols is the president of Marine Information Resources Corporation, a Maryland veteran-owned small business. A physical oceanographer with an M. S. from North Carolina State University, he has experience in commercial fishing, serving as a physical oceanographer for the NOAA, and providing applied oceanographic solutions to a variety of commercial and government customers. Nichols enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in 1977 as a combat engineer and was commissioned in 1982. A colonel, he presently serves as a reserve staff officer at Marine Forces Pacific. He has taught courses in physical oceanography at Townson University in Maryland. Robert G. Williams, Ph.D., is an oceanographer with extensive experience in the fields of marine meteorology and physical oceanography. He has served as an oceanographer for the U.S. Navy and the NOAA. As a senior scientist with Marine Information Resources Corporation, he provides basic and applied research solutions to resolve coastal oceanography issues for a variety of commercial and government customers. He routinely teaches introductory physics, astronomy, and meteorology part time at community colleges and has taught courses in oceanography and meteorology in Johns Hopkins University continuing education programs. Table of Author Introduction A note on measurements and conversions Entries A-Z Feature essays: Marine embedment anchors: A twist on anchors Undersea exploration: A biographical sketch of Jacques-Yves Cousteau Air-sea interactions: A biographical sketch of Vagn Walfrid Ekman Drill ship: Glomar Challenger The Sargasso sea: Sea of legends Cold seeps: It is not all hot stuff Antarctica’s tabletops: Bergs of note Icebreaking: A marine science perspective The joint global ocean flux study Radioactive waste disposal in the sea Oceanographic innovations: A biographical sketch of fridtjof nansen The national oceanic and atmospheric administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Sanctuary Program A brief history and current and future programs at the johns Hopkins university applied physics laboratory Ocean explorations: A biographical sketch of Dr. Robert D. Ballard Drill ship JOIDES Resolution Ocean platforms for research: The harvest platform Modern physical oceanographer: A biographical sketch of Walter Heinrich Munk The deep sea drilling project NOAA’s physical oceanographic real-time system (PORTS) Acoustic tide gauges: A sound way to measure water levels Appendixes