Understanding the Oceans brings together an internationally distinguished group of authors to consider the enormous advances in marine science that have been achieved since the voyages of HMS Challenger a century ago. The whole book draws inspiration from the seminal contribution made by the research conducted on those voyages, and each contributor considers the significance of the findings, relating them to the exciting developments of today and tomorrow. Covering the whole spectrum of the marine sciences, the book has been written and edited very much with the non-specialist reader in mind. Marine scientists, whether students or researchers, will welcome this authoritative sweep through the history of their subject through to the present day; other scientists will find the book to be an accessible and informative introduction to marine science and its historical roots.