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To Follow the Water: Exploring the Ocean to Discover Climate
In To Follow the Water , critically acclaimed author Dallas Murphy artfully recasts the story of human expansion and cultural development with the ocean playing the central role. Applying a novelist's eye for detail and a historian's drive for perspective, he connects the great ages of ocean exploration from Columbus, Magellan, and Cook to the development of modern oceanography. Letting scientists speak for themselves at sea and ashore, Murphy learns that oceanographers are not only observing and explaining the ocean's dynamic, global circulation, but also employing their skills, tools, and techniques to understand and predict climate change. To Follow the Water is an enlightening and entertaining voyage of discovery spanning the evolution of our relationship to the ocean, first as an impediment to human ambition, then as the pathway for Western expansion, and now, most important, as a subject of scientific study with immediate relevance to our future.
296 pages, Paperback
First published July 9, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 12, 2008
I want to like this book. Dallas Murphy tried a noble project, to explain to the general public how the ocean influences climate (answer: enormously, mainly by moving huge amounts of heat around the world) as well as how physical oceanographers learn about that (by measuring temperature and salinity of water from boats, and doing lots of math). The tone of the book, however, turned me off. The best science writers convey the excitement of research without sentimentality, whereas I think Murphy decided ahead of time that his time at sea with oceanographers would be a grand adventure and describes it accordingly.
December 8, 2014
“It’s not that simple.”
(Murphy, 2007, p. 67)
Such as a yarn ball unwinding secret twists and turns, Murphy illustrates the beauty of the raw unattained knowledge that is: the Ocean. Moreover, Murphy explains the complexities of climate change in relation to the Ocean; exploiting the flawed perception that has been talk of “Climate Change” without talk of the Oceans and the crucial role they play. Beforehand, my knowledge of climate change, ocean currents, and winds had been fairly surface level; somehow Murphy has the ability to express a deeper understanding in a much more simple way of understanding. Brilliantly the book To Follow the Water: Exploring the Ocean to Discover Climate, From the Gulf Stream to the Blue Beyond enhances the scientific knowledge without overburdening the reader with alienable terms.
Murphy organizes his book into sixteen different chapters, paying caution to blend in history for perception. This author places emphasis on the starting grounds of oceanography, and relatively, how little progress has been made in the grand scheme. Likely to a ball of yarn, the first few unwinds have only occurred since the first “recognizable oceanographic voyage aboard the leaky little sloop Paramore in 1700 to study tides and geomagnetism” (Murphy, 2007, p. 38). Though the purpose of reading this non-fiction work was to deepen my understanding of a class concept (such as climate, climate change, currents, wind, etc.), the end result of reading this was a much broader understanding of how oceanography has come to be, and the challenges faced-and conquered-since the human race started getting curious enough. Note should be given to Murphy for including all of the rich history of oceanography, however since it is not a direct correlation to the aforementioned topics, such note will be left to any other reader to explore. I urge you to take the time to hear the history of what we have been taught and the reality of what formed oceanography to what it is now.
Though particular people have played crucial roles and forming many of the theories we hold today (such as currents) the remaining focus of this book review will be not on the people, but the concepts that have given way to our understanding of the Oceans. First, Murphy argues that climate change centered arguments have for far too long ignored one of the largest players, the ocean. Arguing,
“[…] a concept of climate that ignores the ocean makes no more sense than one that excludes the air. Flowing great distances, like global blood vessels, ocean currents stabilize our climate by transporting heat from where there is too much to where there is too little.” (Murphy, 2007, p. 3)
That is to say that the Ocean currents move the stored heat pole ward from the equator, and in doing so, work in congruence with one another. Since “oceans are much denser than air, they are able to contain and store far more heat than the atmosphere” (Murphy, 2007, p. 232); undeniably one can see than that a discussion focused solely on the atmosphere makes no nous. That is not to say that a discussion about the atmosphere should be eliminated, as Murphy laments all of the Earth systems are interconnected on this issue.
Ultimately, both the atmosphere and ocean are driven by the same factor: the uneven heating of the sun. Murphy pays great detail in explaining how the winds are cut out of the fabric of uneven heating, and how they work to achieve equilibrium by flowing in the pattern that they do. Additionally, our attention is brought to how the Coriolis Effect is not exclusive to our atmosphere, but rather helps to shape our understanding of the Ocean Currents.
The vastness of the ocean is equally matched by the lack of knowledge that has been and continues to be sought. However, Murphy does well in explaining the reason as to why that is. The Ocean, as described by Murphy and the scientists he shadowed, is dangerously nimble, heating or cooling on the spot, increasing and decreasing in velocity in no particular fluctuation pattern, and the constant gyres. Everything in nature prefers a circle plate tectonics, ecosystems, weather, and ocean currents are not exempt. The most productive of shapes is the circle, and the ocean utilizes this shape to heat and cool particular regions of the world, delivering the climate to its assigned region. An example of El Nino was used to express the beauty, destruction, and ability to change not only climate in a region, but culture and human life as we know it.
Murphy helped me to understand how the Ocean will always win in the long term in comparison to the atmosphere, and because of that more research is required to better our understanding of not only climate change, but how our Earth operates. Additionally, my attention was brought to previous article that I had read regarding how the Ocean absorbs a majority of our Carbon Dioxide and other harmful chemicals. My thoughts immediately gravitated towards the potential repercussions of such. We have observed that the Ocean is nimble and it has the ability to change at a much more rapid rate than expected. Murphy showcases that if attention is not brought to our selfishness than the Ocean Currents will work against us, either plunging us into another ice age, or raising sea level and changing atmospheric conditions on a global scale, essentially changing climate. The call to action that Murphy incorporates is direct and supported:
“Perhaps even after we quit debating, we will still need to take the intellectual, if not spiritual step, to recognized that we, Homo sapiens, have so successfully expanded our capabilities since, say, the Little Ice Age that we have become a genuine geophysical force. There isn’t a forest in the world we can’t cut down, no river we can’t dam, no wetlands we can’t replace with real estate, but these are mere ecosystems and geographical features. Now we hold the capacity to change the entire world. […] It’s our choice.” (Murphy, 2007, p. 214-215)
The beauty of the book was that Murphy left us with hope after being blunt with knowledge. Additionally, Murphy left us with the solution to both take action, and to invest in knowing more about the variability of our oceans. Murphy encourages a program called RAPID/MOCHA to be implemented to understand how heat is transported by measuring the entire range of currents and gaining more human knowledge as to how we can work with or stop climate change. Overall, this book is highly recommended to anyone that has ever had a deep desire to know the history of oceanography and the complexities that surround our Oceans. Now, we must do what we do best: explore.
(Murphy, 2007, p. 67)
Such as a yarn ball unwinding secret twists and turns, Murphy illustrates the beauty of the raw unattained knowledge that is: the Ocean. Moreover, Murphy explains the complexities of climate change in relation to the Ocean; exploiting the flawed perception that has been talk of “Climate Change” without talk of the Oceans and the crucial role they play. Beforehand, my knowledge of climate change, ocean currents, and winds had been fairly surface level; somehow Murphy has the ability to express a deeper understanding in a much more simple way of understanding. Brilliantly the book To Follow the Water: Exploring the Ocean to Discover Climate, From the Gulf Stream to the Blue Beyond enhances the scientific knowledge without overburdening the reader with alienable terms.
Murphy organizes his book into sixteen different chapters, paying caution to blend in history for perception. This author places emphasis on the starting grounds of oceanography, and relatively, how little progress has been made in the grand scheme. Likely to a ball of yarn, the first few unwinds have only occurred since the first “recognizable oceanographic voyage aboard the leaky little sloop Paramore in 1700 to study tides and geomagnetism” (Murphy, 2007, p. 38). Though the purpose of reading this non-fiction work was to deepen my understanding of a class concept (such as climate, climate change, currents, wind, etc.), the end result of reading this was a much broader understanding of how oceanography has come to be, and the challenges faced-and conquered-since the human race started getting curious enough. Note should be given to Murphy for including all of the rich history of oceanography, however since it is not a direct correlation to the aforementioned topics, such note will be left to any other reader to explore. I urge you to take the time to hear the history of what we have been taught and the reality of what formed oceanography to what it is now.
Though particular people have played crucial roles and forming many of the theories we hold today (such as currents) the remaining focus of this book review will be not on the people, but the concepts that have given way to our understanding of the Oceans. First, Murphy argues that climate change centered arguments have for far too long ignored one of the largest players, the ocean. Arguing,
“[…] a concept of climate that ignores the ocean makes no more sense than one that excludes the air. Flowing great distances, like global blood vessels, ocean currents stabilize our climate by transporting heat from where there is too much to where there is too little.” (Murphy, 2007, p. 3)
That is to say that the Ocean currents move the stored heat pole ward from the equator, and in doing so, work in congruence with one another. Since “oceans are much denser than air, they are able to contain and store far more heat than the atmosphere” (Murphy, 2007, p. 232); undeniably one can see than that a discussion focused solely on the atmosphere makes no nous. That is not to say that a discussion about the atmosphere should be eliminated, as Murphy laments all of the Earth systems are interconnected on this issue.
Ultimately, both the atmosphere and ocean are driven by the same factor: the uneven heating of the sun. Murphy pays great detail in explaining how the winds are cut out of the fabric of uneven heating, and how they work to achieve equilibrium by flowing in the pattern that they do. Additionally, our attention is brought to how the Coriolis Effect is not exclusive to our atmosphere, but rather helps to shape our understanding of the Ocean Currents.
The vastness of the ocean is equally matched by the lack of knowledge that has been and continues to be sought. However, Murphy does well in explaining the reason as to why that is. The Ocean, as described by Murphy and the scientists he shadowed, is dangerously nimble, heating or cooling on the spot, increasing and decreasing in velocity in no particular fluctuation pattern, and the constant gyres. Everything in nature prefers a circle plate tectonics, ecosystems, weather, and ocean currents are not exempt. The most productive of shapes is the circle, and the ocean utilizes this shape to heat and cool particular regions of the world, delivering the climate to its assigned region. An example of El Nino was used to express the beauty, destruction, and ability to change not only climate in a region, but culture and human life as we know it.
Murphy helped me to understand how the Ocean will always win in the long term in comparison to the atmosphere, and because of that more research is required to better our understanding of not only climate change, but how our Earth operates. Additionally, my attention was brought to previous article that I had read regarding how the Ocean absorbs a majority of our Carbon Dioxide and other harmful chemicals. My thoughts immediately gravitated towards the potential repercussions of such. We have observed that the Ocean is nimble and it has the ability to change at a much more rapid rate than expected. Murphy showcases that if attention is not brought to our selfishness than the Ocean Currents will work against us, either plunging us into another ice age, or raising sea level and changing atmospheric conditions on a global scale, essentially changing climate. The call to action that Murphy incorporates is direct and supported:
“Perhaps even after we quit debating, we will still need to take the intellectual, if not spiritual step, to recognized that we, Homo sapiens, have so successfully expanded our capabilities since, say, the Little Ice Age that we have become a genuine geophysical force. There isn’t a forest in the world we can’t cut down, no river we can’t dam, no wetlands we can’t replace with real estate, but these are mere ecosystems and geographical features. Now we hold the capacity to change the entire world. […] It’s our choice.” (Murphy, 2007, p. 214-215)
The beauty of the book was that Murphy left us with hope after being blunt with knowledge. Additionally, Murphy left us with the solution to both take action, and to invest in knowing more about the variability of our oceans. Murphy encourages a program called RAPID/MOCHA to be implemented to understand how heat is transported by measuring the entire range of currents and gaining more human knowledge as to how we can work with or stop climate change. Overall, this book is highly recommended to anyone that has ever had a deep desire to know the history of oceanography and the complexities that surround our Oceans. Now, we must do what we do best: explore.
May 9, 2016
In To Follow The Water, Dallas Murphy tells the stories of ocean exploration and how it lead to discovering ocean currents, his own experience aboard a research vessel, and gives his brief opinion on climate change. The majority of the book discusses ocean currents and and the history of ocean exploration. A few mistakes were made in this book that I will now point out. The first mistake being a diagram showing air pressure distributions but showing the equator passing through Florida(p.60). The second mistake occurred during his recount of Fridtjof Nansen and how objects drifted from Siberia to Scandinavia through the use of an east-setting current (p.70). This is incorrect because an east-setting current would end up sending the objects towards Alaska. There were other issues with his text where he misled the reader through the use of exaggeration for dramatic effect.
Although this book was an easy read, I did not find it an enjoyable one. Dallas Murphy, a novelist and playwright, tried far too hard to combine his talent for using descriptive words with his love for the ocean and the gulf stream. The purpose of the book was said in the introduction but not mentioned again until page 211 (out of 256 pages) and only discussed for 3 pages out of the entire book. Because it was mentioned so early on, I had forgotten what the purpose was. But he finally reveals that this book is about how humans are being stupid for disregarding global warming in a very verbose and obviously mad manner. This book has very little organization, no clear purpose for having been written, and only two parts of the book have some sense of science connected to it. I would not recommend this book as a whole. I would only recommend the parts that talk about exploration (if you are too lazy to do better research) because that seems to be the best written parts.
Although this book was an easy read, I did not find it an enjoyable one. Dallas Murphy, a novelist and playwright, tried far too hard to combine his talent for using descriptive words with his love for the ocean and the gulf stream. The purpose of the book was said in the introduction but not mentioned again until page 211 (out of 256 pages) and only discussed for 3 pages out of the entire book. Because it was mentioned so early on, I had forgotten what the purpose was. But he finally reveals that this book is about how humans are being stupid for disregarding global warming in a very verbose and obviously mad manner. This book has very little organization, no clear purpose for having been written, and only two parts of the book have some sense of science connected to it. I would not recommend this book as a whole. I would only recommend the parts that talk about exploration (if you are too lazy to do better research) because that seems to be the best written parts.
September 7, 2008
Before oceanographers had more sophisticated tools to measure ocean currents:
"...30,910 pairs of Nike athletic shoes--remained afloat.
Six months later, shoes by the hundreds began washing up in wearable condition on west-facing beaches from British Columbia to Oregon. The trouble was that right-feet shoes had never been attached to their left-feet mates. As shoes continued to wash ashore, beachcombers placed ads in local newspapers for matches, and swap meets were held up and down the coast. Oceanographers, noticing the footwear furor, placed ads of their own requesting finders to notify research organizations where and when they came by their shoes."
I picked this up because I knew nothing about oceanography, and can't say I'm vastly enlightened, but anecdotes such as the above entertained while educating.
"...30,910 pairs of Nike athletic shoes--remained afloat.
Six months later, shoes by the hundreds began washing up in wearable condition on west-facing beaches from British Columbia to Oregon. The trouble was that right-feet shoes had never been attached to their left-feet mates. As shoes continued to wash ashore, beachcombers placed ads in local newspapers for matches, and swap meets were held up and down the coast. Oceanographers, noticing the footwear furor, placed ads of their own requesting finders to notify research organizations where and when they came by their shoes."
I picked this up because I knew nothing about oceanography, and can't say I'm vastly enlightened, but anecdotes such as the above entertained while educating.
October 27, 2008
Excellent book by Dallas. The oceans are extremely interesting entities, and all life has sprung from them over the eons.
Murph reports on efforts by NOAA and WHOI to map and track several currents in the Atlantic ocean.
Like his previous book on rounding Cape Horn, this one also combines scientific information along with entertaining tales of history and oceanography.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in the oceans.
Murph reports on efforts by NOAA and WHOI to map and track several currents in the Atlantic ocean.
Like his previous book on rounding Cape Horn, this one also combines scientific information along with entertaining tales of history and oceanography.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in the oceans.
January 8, 2009
Very readable with very clear descriptions of the forces at play in how the geology and climate interact. This is told in the context of discovery and personal interactions with both crew and scientists aboard the research vessels. Provides insight into the people doing the work, what it means to them, and what the work is.
Want to Read
November 14, 2007I picked this up at my Bookcrossing meeting. It is an advance uncorrected proof, so it has a different title: "To Follow The Water: Exploring the Ocean to Discover Climate From the Gulf Stream to the Blue Beyond." I look forward to reading it.
February 18, 2008
The copy of my book has the title "To Follow the Water, Exploring the Ocean to Discover Climate", but the ISBN matches. This is a easy-to-read but detailed exploration of how ocean makes climate and how ocean exploration has advanced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2009
Murphy has constructed a wonderful introduction to physical oceanography and how it relates to climate change. Not a scientist himself, he is able to avoid the technicalities that sometimes makes science writing inaccessible. A light, entertaining, and certainly informative text.
Currently Reading
August 8, 2010I had an keen interest in oceanography when I was younger. But never really pursued it. This book shows a bit of the history, the characters and the science (very legibly) about this young science.
January 29, 2017
Brilliant I loved this book Will read it again.
A fantastic story of the ocean currents.
A fantastic story of the ocean currents.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews