Into the Great Wide Ocean

Life in the Least Known Habitat on Earth

Sönke Johnsen

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Princeton University Press
15 October 2024

Biology, life sciences; Evolution; Marine & freshwater mammals; Oceanography (seas)

A sea-going scientist explores how life thrives in one of the most mysterious environments on Earth

The open ocean, far from the shore and miles above the sea floor, is a vast and formidable habitat that is home to the most abundant life on our planet, from giant squid and jellyfish to angler fish with bioluminescent lures that draw prey into their toothy mouths. Into the Great Wide Ocean takes readers inside the peculiar world of the sea-going scientists who are providing tantalizing new insights into how the animals of the open ocean solve the problems of their existence.

Snke Johnsen vividly describes how life in the water column of the open sea contends with a host of environmental challenges, such as gravity, movement, the absence of light, pressure that could crush a truck, catching food while not becoming food, finding a mate, raising young, and forming communities. He interweaves stories about the joys and hardships of the scientists who explore this beautiful and mysterious realm, which is under threat from human activity and rapidly changing before our eyes.

Into the Great Wide Ocean presents the sea and its inhabitants as you have never seen them before and reminds us that the rules of survival in the open ocean, though they may seem strange to us, are the primary rules of life on Earth.

By: Sönke Johnsen
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780691181745
ISBN 10: 0691181748
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 15 October 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Snke Johnsen is professor of biology at Duke University. He is the author of The Optics of Life: A Biologist's Guide to Light in Nature and the coauthor of Visual Ecology (both Princeton). Marlin Peterson, who created original illustrations for this book, is an illustrator and muralist who teaches and illustrates in many styles and media. He also specializes in giant optical illusions such as his harvestmen mural below the Space Needle in Seattle, and his full portfolio can be found at marlinpeterson.com.