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The Oceanographic Literature

This is a descriptive list of the oceanographic literature. It includes descriptions of and/or links to hardcopy and electronic encyclopedias, books, papers, and whatever else it seems felicitous to include as pertaining to the reasonably broad field of oceanography. I hope to eventually have a reasonably complete list (annotated, of course) of textbooks, be they in or out of print, that have some relevance to the field. (An even niftier goal would be to have electronic, online versions of all of the classic texts that are out of print, but that would take both more hands and time than I have.) I've also got a fairly good collection of review articles in the field that I'll be posting bit by bit as I get time. Enjoy.

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Encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.

The Encyclopedia of Oceanography
A list of the subject headings in this book is available.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
A list of the subject headings in this book is available.

Ocean World Encyclopedia
A list of the subject headings in this book is available.

Encyclopedia of Oceans and Islands
A list of the subject headings in this book is available.

Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology
This includes terms pertaining to ecology, environmental pollution and conservation and relevant terms from biogeography, animal behavior, evolutionary theory, and taxonomy. It also contains terms from plant and animal physiology, climatology, meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, pedology, glaciology, and geomorphology along with the odd biographical sketch or fifty. [ISBN 0-19-286160-3 (pbk)]

Meteorological Glossary
This glossary covers all aspects of meteorology, e.g. dynamic, synoptic, observational, etc. and also includes the bits of oceanography that interest meteorologists. It was compiled by D. H. McIntosh and first published by her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1916. The 4th edition, which I've got hold of, was printed in 1963.

Encyclopedia of Exploration Geophysics
The subjects covered by this short (260 pages) encyclopedia include several that pertain to oceanography, i.e. signal processing (time-series analysis, etc.), geology, general science. It was compiled by R. E. Sheriff and first published by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists in 1973, with my printing being the 8th in 1982. [ISBN 0-931830-03-6]

Glossary of Geology (2nd Edition)
This glossary, edited by Robert L. Bates and Julia A. Jackson, contains short definitions or descriptions of over 36,000 terms from any and every field even remotely related to geology, including oceanography, meteorology, paleoclimatology, and the obvious other suspects. It was published by the American Geological Institute in Falls Church, Virginia in 1980. [ISBN 0-913312-15-0]

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Papers

Here you'll find technical papers pertaining to oceanography. They'll be mostly those that are of a review nature, but I'll likely include some classic papers that really aren't reviews but are significant to the history of the subject. As with the book section, I'll also not strictly stick to heavy technical papers chock full of equations but will include the occasional Scientific American-type of article.

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Last checked or updated: Jan. 20, 1996

S. Baum
Dept. of Oceanography
Texas A&M University

baum@astra.tamu.edu