Trevor Days Exploring the Ocean - Book Report/Review Example

The author, Trevor Day, is an experienced and very skillful writer. Complex topics are clearly explained in an easy to understand fashion by the use of language, appropriate pictures, maps, drawings, and feature boxes, which highlight the specific relevant information. Volume 1 begins with an overview of the earth, identifying the five oceans with aid f a map. A feature table states the area, average depth, and volume of each ocean, and an illustration depicts the deepest trench and the highest mountain for comparison purposes.

The theory on the origin of the earth, oceans, life, and water as they are currently understood is explained in a clear and concise manner. Topics that describe changes that occur on earth and in the oceans include continental drift; formation of mountains, estuaries, and deltas; volcanoes; islands; sea levels; ocean and air currents; tides; and temperature.Volume 2 begins with the premise that life on earth began in the ocean and today it contains some of the smallest (cyanobacteria) as well as the largest (blue whale) creatures.

Evidence f population explosions and mass extinctions are explained in an easy-to-understand fashion.Life in shallow sea floors, open seas, and great depths, and along rocky shores, sandy beaches, and estuaries are described, along with the distribution, interactions, webs, and food chains.Because the sea surface covers 71 percent of the earth's surface and 90 percent of its living space, it is logical that marine life is diverse. These types include zooplankton, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Because of the varied habitat, animal life is not uniformly distributed. Some species must migrate to locate suitable food and others must do so for suitable breeding sites. Some now must live in threatened communities. Because of the many-colored pictures in this volume, youngsters will enjoy just looking at them.Volume 3 describes the two earliest use f the oceans. They were probably used as a highway and a source from which people could obtain food. These uses, plus many more, are still important today.

Once human beings learned that it was possible to walk over ice or float with a primitive raft or boat on the water, they began to explore and migrate to other lands. By today's standards, this exploration and migration occurred over a relatively short distance.Interest in travel and exploration led to the development of navigation devices and larger ships, including ships of war and submarines. Human beings' desires to know and understand the earth and oceans led them to develop the science of oceanography, research stations.

Volume 4 includes maps of the five oceans and feature boxes that summarize basic facts and figures, ocean currents, and sea routes. A comprehensive earth timeline lists 50 topics, beginning with the formation of the universe (13 billion years ago) and ending with topic number 50, the warmest decade (1990) on record. The author states that scientists do not agree on all of these specific points.