Tides : the science and spirit of the ocean

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Title:

Tides : the science and spirit of the ocean

Author:

White, Jonathan, 1956- author.

ISBN:

9781595348050

Personal Author:

White, Jonathan, 1956- author.

Physical Description:

xvi, 335 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm

Abstract:

"In Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. In the Arctic, White shimmies under the ice with an Inuit elder to hunt for mussels in the dark cavities left behind at low tide; in China, he races the Silver Dragon, a twenty-five-foot tidal bore that crashes eighty miles up the Qiantang River; in France, he interviews the monks that live in the tide-wrapped monastery of Mont Saint-Michel; in Chile and Scotland, he investigates the growth of tidal power generation; and in Panama and Venice, he delves into how the threat of sea level rise is changing human culture-the very old and very new. Tides combines lyrical prose, colorful adventure travel, and provocative scientific inquiry into the elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet's waters in constant motion. Photographs, scientific figures, line drawings, and sixteen color photos dramatically illustrate this engaging, expert tour of the tides"-- Provided by publisher.

"Combines lyrical prose, colorful adventure travel, and provocative scientific inquiry into tides--that elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet's waters in constant motion. Photographs, scientific figures, line drawings, and color photos dramatically illustrate this engaging, expert tour of the tides."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

In deep : an introduction -- The perfect dance : birds and big tides in the Bay of Fundy -- Star of our life : a meditation on tide history at Mont Saint-Michel -- Silver dragon : China's Qiantang River tidal bore -- The last magician : Sir Isaac Newton and the scientific revolution -- Big waves : surfing mavericks and nineteenth-century tide theories -- Fast water : how tidal currents slow the Earth and bend time -- Big tides and resonance : Fundy and Ungava -- Turning the tide : grinding wheat, powering homes -- Higher tides : sea level rise from Kuna Yala to Venice.

Added Author:

Matthiessen, Peter

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	GC301.2 .W54 2017	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

In Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean , writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. In the Arctic, White shimmies under the ice with an Inuit elder to hunt for mussels in the dark cavities left behind at low tide; in China, he races the Silver Dragon, a twenty-five-foot tidal bore that crashes eighty miles up the Qiantang River; in France, he interviews the monks that live in the tide-wrapped monastery of Mont Saint-Michel; in Chile and Scotland, heinvestigates the growth of tidal power generation; and in Panama and Venice, he delves into how the threat of sea level rise is changing human culture--the very old and very new. Tides combines lyrical prose, colorful adventure travel, and provocative scientific inquiry into the elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet's waters in constant motion. Photographs, scientific figures, line drawings, and sixteen color photos dramatically illustrate this engaging, expert tour of the tides.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Conservationist White (Talking on the Water) combines scientific investigation with personal memoir in this solid examination of the nature of tides and waves. He looks at how tides are affected regularly by the moon and how they in turn affect both humans and sea life. White grew up surfing, diving, sailing, and fishing in coastal waters, and for years navigated the Pacific Northwest archipelago aboard his schooner, Crusader. Setting out to learn more about the tides, he identifies four zones of tidal exposure: the splash zone and the high, middle, and low intertidal zones. Sections about monster swells near Half Moon Bay, Calif., prove especially fascinating. At a spot named Mavericks, 20-foot waves attract surfers from around the world every winter. White also describes the changing tide in Venice, Italy, where residents have for decades dealt with flooding in lower elevations and consider its vicissitudes a normal feature of life. With an eye on the future, White outlines ways in which tidal energy can be "harnessed as a source of heat and light," citing the importance of a supportive government and the need for strong renewable energy policies-ideals with which many readers will agree. Color photos. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

Anyone inclined to take the movement of the tides for granted will think twice after reading this wide-ranging study from a conservationist and avid sailor.White (Talking on the Water: Conversations about Nature and Creativity, 1994) chronicles his travels around the globe watching the tides go in and out, often pausing to reflect on the history of the still-incomplete human understanding of their workings. At the site of one of the highest tides in the world, close to the Arctic Circle in Canada, he ventured under the ice left behind by the retreating tide with an Inuit guide to hunt for mussels, finding himself in a "dreamlike stateinside the body of the ocean." In southern Chile, White was awed by the "seesaw" motion where two large oceans, whose tides are out of sync, meet. In England, he assisted at a "tidemill," where the movement of the tide is harnessed to grind grain, and he ponders the future use of "tide energy," which is still in its infancy. While intricate explanations of the mathematics and science behind the workings of the tides may leave some readers baffled, White always returns to the solid ground of personal experience. Graphs and line drawings illustrate the principles, and a series of photographs of places taken at both high and low tide serve as reminders of the dazzling power of this everyday change. If the author sometimes strays from his ostensible subject to focus on surfers riding enormous waves or to interview monks whose monastery is daily separated from the mainland by the tides, he always finds his way back to the dance between the sun, the moon, and the waters of Earth. White's heightened awareness of the planet's "cosmic beat" is bound to make readers more sensitive to the mysteries of what might otherwise seem commonplace. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Peter Matthiessen

Foreword	p. xiii
In Deep: An Introduction	p. 1
1 The Perfect Dance: Birds and Big Tides in the Bay of Fundy	p. 13
2 Star of Our Life: A Meditation on Tide History at Mont Saint-Michel	p. 44
3 Silver Dragon: China's Qiantang River Tidal Bore	p. 75
4 The Last Magician: Sir Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution	p. 97
5 Big Waves: Surfing Mavericks and Nineteenth-Century Tide Theories	p. 126
6 Fast Water: How Tidal Currents Slow the Earth and Bend Time	p. 159
7 Big Tides and Resonance: Fundy and Ungava	p. 191
8 Turning the Tide: Grinding Wheat, Powering Homes	p. 219
Higher Tides: Sea Level Rise from Kuna Yala to Venice	p. 252
Acknowledgments	p. 286
Image Credits	p. 289
Glossary	p. 290
Notes	p. 294
Sources	p. 309
Index	p. 325

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Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

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