Underwater Research

Underwater Research is primarily a review of problems in underwater viewing and hearing and acoustics. The chapters in this book are papers collated from the symposia of the Underwater Association. This book explores the need for the further study of the physiological and psychological reactions of divers. The book also concludes that diving is still the best way in studying the benthic ecology and sunken wrecks and cities. The text is divided into 25 detailed chapters. Most of the topics in the text address the common problems encountered by divers such as in hearing and viewing. Specifically, problems in diver communication, depth estimation, color distinction are some of the topics covered. Other chapters deal with the psychological reactions such as anxiety, narcosis, and visual attention. Also, some chapters tackle solutions and experiments for the improvement of diving techniques and equipment. This reference is helpful to divers, students, and scientists involved in marine and environmental science.

This volume follows and updates AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON DIVING AND SUBMARINE MEDICINE published by Gordon and Breach, Science Publishers, Inc., in 1971. The time period covered is primarily the calendar years 1970 and 1971. Also included, however, is much material from the calendar years 1968 and 1969 not in the previous publication. A brief analysis of the sources of material precedes the citations and abstracts, which comprise the main section of the volume. The bibliography is followed by a permuted subject index and an author index. Also included, following the indexes, is a micro thesaurus. Although no attempt has been made to do a critical subject analysis, such an analysis could be accomplished through selecting a particular subject, looking up the appropriate key works in the rotated index, identifying the abstracts, analyzing them, obtaining complete copy as desired, and completing the critical review. David C. Weeks, Ph.D. Director, BSCP Washington, D.C.

Our Blue Planet provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of maritime and underwater archaeology. Situating the field within the broader study of history and archaeology, this book advocates that an understanding of how our ancestors interacted with rivers, lakes, and oceans is integral to comprehending the human past. Our Blue Planet covers the full breadth of maritime and underwater archaeology, including formerly terrestrial sites drowned by rising sea levels, coastal sites, and a wide variety of wreck sites ranging across the globe and spanning from antiquity to World War II. Beginning with a definition of the field and several chapters dedicated to the methods of finding, recording, and interpreting submerged sites, Our Blue Planet provides an entry point for all readers, whether or not they are familiar with maritime and underwater archaeology or archaeology in general. The book then shifts to a thematic approach with chapters exploring human interactions with the watery world, both along the coasts and by ship. These chapters discuss the relationships between culture, technology, and environment that allowed humans through time to spread across the globe. Because ships were the primary means for humans to interact with large bodies of water, they are the focus of several chapters on the development of shipbuilding technology, the lives of sailors, and the uses of ships in exploration, expansion, and warfare. The book ends with chapters on how and why the non-renewable submerged archaeological record should be managed, so that both current and future generations can learn from the achievements and failures of past societies, as well as on how anyone can become involved in maritime and underwater archaeology. Throughout, the reader benefits from the personal reflections of a number of leading figures in the field.

This volume is the third annotated bibliography on this subject area to be compiled by these authors. The first, published by Gordon and Breach, Science Publishers, in 1971, was entitled AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON DIVING AND SUBMARINE MEDICINE. It covered material published during the 1960's. The second volume, entitled UNDERWATER MEDICINE AND RELATED SCIENCES: A GUIDE TO THE LITERATURE, published in 1973 by Plenum Press, covered primarily material published during 1970 and 1971, with some material from 1968 and 1969. The present volume covers material published during 1972 and 1973, but here again some earlier material has been included. The purpose of these annotated bibliographies is to make available a large proportion of the published material, in abstract form, indexed in such a manner as to make it possible to compile a reasonably complete annotated bibliography on any specific subject area in the field. It is possible thus to learn where the work is being done, by whom, and how extensively. Also, it becomes obvious what areas of research are lacking or inadequate. These specific searches can also form a background of reference material on which to base further research, or from which to write monographs or state-of-the-art surveys. Papers, articles and reports listed here are in most cases readily available.