In this amiable, in-depth examination of the most critical era for the development of modern oceanography, Rozwadowski devotes her attention to the mid–19th century, when British scientists joined a series of nationally sponsored, years-long, worldwide research cruises to explore the ocean deep. A historian and coordinator of maritime studies at the University of Connecticut, Rozwadowski integrates cultural factors—such as the developing seafaring literary genre, the rise of a moneyed elite with an interest in yachting and the economic and political pressures to develop a transatlantic telegraph cable—with the push to understand the nature of the oceans and convert this unknown environment into a moneymaking center. The two most basic aspects of data collection—calculating how deep the ocean is at various points and determining where various organisms live—presented almost insurmountable technical problems at first. Rozwadowski describes in great detail how sounding and dredging technology evolved so that reasonably accurate data could be acquired. She also discusses how the presence of scientists on British naval vessels helped transform the very nature of the British navy, in part by bringing middle-class sensibilities onboard. With so much technical detail, this book is unlikely to be popular with general readers, but it should do well with maritime buffs. 40 b&w photos.
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During the 19th century, the ocean became something more than just a body of water to be sailed over and began to be studied for itself. In this study of America's and Britain's growing public and scientific fascination with the ocean depths, Rozwadowski covers the beginnings of bathymetry, dredging, temperature and salinity measurements, current mapping, and the move from yachts to fishing vessels to large ships as scientific platforms. But this is not just an oceanographic history: the author also addresses the social, cultural, and political aspects of this newfound interest--from the development of home aquariums to the laying of the transatlantic cable. (Margaret Rioux
Library Journal 20061001)
In this amiable, in-depth examination of the most critical era for the development of modern oceanography, Rozwadowski devotes her attention to the mid-19th century, when British scientists joined a series of nationally sponsored, years-long, worldwide research cruises to explore the ocean deep. (
Publishers Weekly 20080731)
Fathoming the Ocean by Helen Rozwadowski chronicles the birth of deep-sea oceanography, from early observations by Benjamin Franklin to the voyage of HMS Challenger in the 1870s. She weaves a rich narrative from the world of renowned as well as lesser-known oceanographers. While unearthing the foundations of the subject, she reveals some striking parallels with modern research careers. (Jon Copley
Nature )
Fathoming the Ocean will clearly be welcomed as a serious contribution by historians of science, technology, and maritime culture. And in addition, as the foreword by marine biologist Sylvia Earle underscores, the story is also of immediate relevance to anyone who wonders when and how we came to understand--as we now urgently do--the ocean's importance to our blue planet. (Alistair Sponsel
Science )
An important academic contribution to the history of one of the most romantic branches of nineteenth-century science and a perceptive commentary on the social and cultural background from which modern observational oceanography sprang. (Richard Shelton
Times Literary Supplement )
Rozwadowski's account of these amateur oceanographers traveling on working vessels is a tremendous piece of historical retrieval, particularly in the way that the endless practical difficulties they faced while dredging for seafloor samples are used to illustrate the social impact a generation of landlubber naturalists had on the professional world of the sea...Oceanography remains a science of measurement and of arguments about measurement, and Rozwadowski is good at reconstructing the technical debates that so occupied its 19th-century founders. (Richard Hamblyn
London Review of Books )
Rozwadowski's wonderfully illustrated volume tackles British and American marine science in the mid-nineteenth century. This is a daunting task given the presence of the Challenger Expedition and the United States Exploring Expedition. Both receive fair and just treatment, but to Rozwadowski's credit, these grand exploring expeditions happen within the context of developments in industry, recreation,transportation, and science itself...Clearly, Rozwadowski is out to detail an important period in the nascent discipline of oceanography...
Fathoming the Ocean...will be of interest to historians of biology for a variety of reasons. (Gary Kroll
Journal of the History of Biology )
Rozwadowski creates informative reading in the years before acoustics, electronics, and other sophisticated materials could answer basic questions such as: "how deep is the ocean?" Most scientists refer to the HMS Challenger's global voyage from 1872-1876 as the beginning of modern oceanography. But Rozwadowski gives credit to the early explorers who dropped open-end metal boxes to discover what lay beyond their sight, or mapped out reefs and currents in small sailing ships. Others attempted to determine safe sailing routes and appropriate places to lay transoceanic cables. The book concentrates on the nineteenth century when only 5% of the ocean below a few hundred feet had been explored...Illustrations include dredges, beach combing, yacht sailing, sea animals, deep sea dredging, and early maps made by soundings. The book will satisfy the curiosity of everyone interested in this vast ocean of the world. (Florence Waszkielewicz-Clowes
Polish American Journal )
This book explores the birth of deep-sea oceanography in the nineteenth century, covering the breakthroughs in gathering data and the social impacts. It explains how the presence of researchers on naval vessels led to cultural shifts for scientists, sailors, and Western society. (
Nature )
