This massive collection of interdisciplinary review articles about the coastal oceans is offered as a reference source for “researchers and policy makers with an interest in the marine environmental sciences, oceanography and marine engineering.” In sheer bulk the work is unsurpassed, the three volumes comprising 2352 pages and weighing in at 44 kg. The first two volumes contain 106 review chapters covering selected coastal, shelf and marginal seas in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Polar regions are not considered, a major omission. Volume three adds 29 review chapters on diverse cross-cutting themes such as coral reefs, seabirds, marine antifoulants, and tidal energy. According to the publisher’s promotional material, individual chapters are authored by “international experts and scientists working in the field.”

Brooks, D.A. 2002. Review of Seas at the Millennium: An Environmental Evaluation, edited by C. Sheppard. Oceanography 15(1):146–147, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2002.50.

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