An annual review of activities by governmental and non-governmental organizations concerning remedies for global pollution, together with scientific and technical reports containing surveys of pollution in the maritime environment.

This comprehensive yearbook is the only compendium, in any language, of policy, scientific and legal developments concerning the occurrence, regulation and control of marine pollution. The breadth of scope of the volume reflects the increasing concern at all levels of government, scientific enquiry and society with these issues. Comprehensive updates of marine-related legislation and the activities of a number of international and intergovernmental organisations are included. Forewords to each chapter are contributed by prominent politicans and experts in the field of environmental science. Over 200 references and numerous tables and illustrations augment the wealth of data within the text, including several case studies and coverage of recent conventions. In the light of increasing pressure on the marine environment from human activities, the yearbook provides a unique contribution to the study of marine pollution worldwide.

This volume is one of the most significant results of the conference "Science-Technology Synergy for Research in Marine Environment: Challenges for the XXI Century" held in Erice and Ustica, Italy, September 1999. It presents state of the art developments in technology and scientific research in sea floor observatories. Scientific conclusions of earth science and environmental studies obtained from these observatories as well as results from long term monitoring are provided. Descriptions of new technologies enabling deep sea long term observatories are offered and marine environment and risk assessment issues are discussed.This is the first work detailing recent and on going experiments world wide specifically devoted to deep sea multi disciplinary observation systems, the technology enabling sea floor observatories, and the presentation of first results from these systems.

This volume examines the deep sea ecosystem from a variety of perspectives. The initial chapters examine the deep-sea floor, the deep pelagic environment and the more specialised chemosynthetic environments of hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. These environments are examined from the perspective of the relationship of deep-sea animals to their physico-chemical environment.Later chapters examine the biogeography of the main deep oceans (Atlantic, Pacific and Indian) with particular attention to the downward flux of surface-derived organic matter and how this drives the processes within the deep-sea ecosystem. The peripheral deep seas including the polar seas and the marginal deep seas (inter alia the Mediterranean, Red, Caribbean and Okhotsk seas) are explored in the same context. The final chapters examine the processes occurring in the deep sea and include an analysis of why the deep sea has high species diversity, how the fauna respond to organic input and how species have adapted reproductive activity in the deep sea. The volume concludes with an analysis of the anthropogenic impact on the deep sea.

First published in 1981 as the Offshore Information Guide this guide to information sources has been hailed internationally as an indispensable handbook for the oil, gas and marine industries.