In the Environmental Journal section of the 11/29 Providence Journal, Peter B. Lord writes about a massive research project, an ocean census undertaken by 2,000 scientists from 62 countries to answer three huge questions about the world’s oceans.
- What once lived in the oceans?
- What is living in them now?
- What will be living in them in the future?
A book new about the census, “World Ocean Census: A Global Survey of Maritime Life”, was written by three Rhode Island based writers: Darlene Trew Crist, Gail Scrowcroft, and James Harding. The book is published by Firefly Books .
One valuable resource for scientists as they try to gain a historic view of oceans are whaler’s logbooks. The New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library has an unparalleled collection of 2,300 of these. A database of logbooks is available through the museum website.