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Biological oceanographic processes
141
post-1966 Western contributions listed. Another Russian characteristic has been minimized: the suicidal impulse to put all the data on a single figure. Some gloriously cluttered figures still remain, such as figure 97, a mercator projection of the entire earth surface at 10 × 14 cm with seven different patterns of contact overlay and six other categories of information on a single map. In general, however, the figures are clear and have not been reduced (quite) to the level of illegibility. Typography, printing, and editing are the usual high AAPG-SEPM standard. Where Murray and Renard developed rather passive concepts of deep-sea sedimentation in situ, Lisitzin has explored the active transport and deposition aspects of the problem. Developing right now, thanks to the deep-sea drilling project of JOIDES, is the information to add still another dimension - geologic time - to our understanding of deep-sea sedimentation. Lisitzin's synthesis, however, is not likely soon to become obsolescent. It is comprehensive and well-balanced and will undoubtedly serve as a standard reference and text in advanced seminars for many years. It is very good to have this material readily accessible in a western language. F. F. WRIGHT (Anchorage, Alaska)
Biological Oceanographic Processes. T. R. Parsons and M. Takahashi. P e r g a m o n Press, O x f o r d , 1973, 186 pp., £ 4 . 0 0 T h e a u t h o r s o f this b o o k have i n t e n d e d t o write an i n t r o d u c t i o n to those biological o c e a n o g r a p h i c processes t h a t can generally be e x p l a i n e d in terms o f empirical e q u a t i o n s or t h r o u g h the use o f definite biological or chemical descriptions. In a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e emphasis p u t o n the biological aspects o f o c e a n o g r a p h y the t e x t starts w i t h a d e s c r i p t i o n o f the p l a n k t o n c o m m u n i t y in t e r m s o f its c o m p o s i t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f organisms. Chapter 1 covers v e r y s h o r t l y the variety o f species o f p h y t o p l a n k t o n and z o o p l a n k t o n , and gives some m o r e a t t e n t i o n t o spatial distributions, and p h e n o m e n a such as patchiness. T h e following c h a p t e r o n the chemical c o m p o s i t i o n encompasses b o t h t h a t o f sea water, the p h y t o - and z o o p l a n k t o n as well as detritus, and contains a w e a l t h o f i n f o r m a t i o n and references. A l t h o u g h it is m e n t i o n e d at various places in the t e x t t h a t the chemical c o m p o s i t i o n o f the organisms m a y vary c o n s i d e r a b l y in response to changing e n v i r o n m e n t a l conditions, all the impressive tables o n chemical m a k e u p o f p l a n k t o n m a y give the misleading impression t h a t we have a r a t h e r c o m p l e t e coverage in this field. The d y n a m i c s o f p l a n k t o n g r o w t h is t r e a t e d in the t h r e e following chapters which m a k e u p the m a j o r part o f the b o o k . F o l l o w i n g a few words on p h o t o synthesis in general, the a u t h o r s t r e a t in an extensive way the i n f l u e n c e o f light i n t e n s i t y and c o m p o s i t i o n on the p h o t o s y n t h e t i c process, and the influence o f n u t r i e n t s and t e m p e r a t u r e . T h e p h o t o s y n t h e s i s and g r o w t h o f
142 phytoplankton in the sea as well as the kinetics of nutrient uptake are given due attention. Heterotrophic processes are also covered in detail. Chapter 4 deals with plankton feeding and production, and provides much valuable information and lots of useful references to the literature on the importance of particle size and concentration for zooplankton feeding and on food requirements of zooplankton. The measurement of production and factors affecting the production and stability of the pelagic food web are given extensive treatment. This leads directly to the biological cycles treated in Chapter 5 which gives a concentrated review of the organic-carbon and energy cycles, the inorganic cycles and the transfer of organic compounds within the food chain. Two groups of practical problems in biological oceanography, namely problems in pollution and water-mass identification and some problems related to fish-stock recruitment make up the last chapter of the book. Biological Oceanographic Processes has been written for students (what students is not indicated), physical oceanographers, engineers, hydrologists, fisheries experts, and scientists who may require quantitative expressions of biological processes in the near-surface pelagic environment. It provides this information, often in great detail, and forms a very helpful entrance to the extensive literature. The compressed and detailed text sometimes makes it difficult to sort out general principles. When sometimes, however, the quantitative expressions seem to lack in precision and the models seem to fall short of completeness, it is not the fault of the authors. A review of a topic can hardly be expected to reflect more than the present status of that topic. The b o o k is useful for most of those potential readers for whom it has been written. ARNE JENSEN (Trondheim)
post-1966 Western contributions listed. Another Russian characteristic has been minimized: the suicidal impulse to put all the data on a single figure. Some gloriously cluttered figures still remain, such as figure 97, a mercator projection of the entire earth surface at 10 × 14 cm with seven different patterns of contact overlay and six other categories of information on a single map. In general, however, the figures are clear and have not been reduced (quite) to the level of illegibility. Typography, printing, and editing are the usual high AAPG-SEPM standard. Where Murray and Renard developed rather passive concepts of deep-sea sedimentation in situ, Lisitzin has explored the active transport and deposition aspects of the problem. Developing right now, thanks to the deep-sea drilling project of JOIDES, is the information to add still another dimension - geologic time - to our understanding of deep-sea sedimentation. Lisitzin's synthesis, however, is not likely soon to become obsolescent. It is comprehensive and well-balanced and will undoubtedly serve as a standard reference and text in advanced seminars for many years. It is very good to have this material readily accessible in a western language. F. F. WRIGHT (Anchorage, Alaska)
Biological Oceanographic Processes. T. R. Parsons and M. Takahashi. P e r g a m o n Press, O x f o r d , 1973, 186 pp., £ 4 . 0 0 T h e a u t h o r s o f this b o o k have i n t e n d e d t o write an i n t r o d u c t i o n to those biological o c e a n o g r a p h i c processes t h a t can generally be e x p l a i n e d in terms o f empirical e q u a t i o n s or t h r o u g h the use o f definite biological or chemical descriptions. In a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e emphasis p u t o n the biological aspects o f o c e a n o g r a p h y the t e x t starts w i t h a d e s c r i p t i o n o f the p l a n k t o n c o m m u n i t y in t e r m s o f its c o m p o s i t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f organisms. Chapter 1 covers v e r y s h o r t l y the variety o f species o f p h y t o p l a n k t o n and z o o p l a n k t o n , and gives some m o r e a t t e n t i o n t o spatial distributions, and p h e n o m e n a such as patchiness. T h e following c h a p t e r o n the chemical c o m p o s i t i o n encompasses b o t h t h a t o f sea water, the p h y t o - and z o o p l a n k t o n as well as detritus, and contains a w e a l t h o f i n f o r m a t i o n and references. A l t h o u g h it is m e n t i o n e d at various places in the t e x t t h a t the chemical c o m p o s i t i o n o f the organisms m a y vary c o n s i d e r a b l y in response to changing e n v i r o n m e n t a l conditions, all the impressive tables o n chemical m a k e u p o f p l a n k t o n m a y give the misleading impression t h a t we have a r a t h e r c o m p l e t e coverage in this field. The d y n a m i c s o f p l a n k t o n g r o w t h is t r e a t e d in the t h r e e following chapters which m a k e u p the m a j o r part o f the b o o k . F o l l o w i n g a few words on p h o t o synthesis in general, the a u t h o r s t r e a t in an extensive way the i n f l u e n c e o f light i n t e n s i t y and c o m p o s i t i o n on the p h o t o s y n t h e t i c process, and the influence o f n u t r i e n t s and t e m p e r a t u r e . T h e p h o t o s y n t h e s i s and g r o w t h o f
142 phytoplankton in the sea as well as the kinetics of nutrient uptake are given due attention. Heterotrophic processes are also covered in detail. Chapter 4 deals with plankton feeding and production, and provides much valuable information and lots of useful references to the literature on the importance of particle size and concentration for zooplankton feeding and on food requirements of zooplankton. The measurement of production and factors affecting the production and stability of the pelagic food web are given extensive treatment. This leads directly to the biological cycles treated in Chapter 5 which gives a concentrated review of the organic-carbon and energy cycles, the inorganic cycles and the transfer of organic compounds within the food chain. Two groups of practical problems in biological oceanography, namely problems in pollution and water-mass identification and some problems related to fish-stock recruitment make up the last chapter of the book. Biological Oceanographic Processes has been written for students (what students is not indicated), physical oceanographers, engineers, hydrologists, fisheries experts, and scientists who may require quantitative expressions of biological processes in the near-surface pelagic environment. It provides this information, often in great detail, and forms a very helpful entrance to the extensive literature. The compressed and detailed text sometimes makes it difficult to sort out general principles. When sometimes, however, the quantitative expressions seem to lack in precision and the models seem to fall short of completeness, it is not the fault of the authors. A review of a topic can hardly be expected to reflect more than the present status of that topic. The b o o k is useful for most of those potential readers for whom it has been written. ARNE JENSEN (Trondheim)