The world’s oceans are changing at a drastic pace. Beneath the waves and along the coasts, climate change and environmental degradation have spurred the most radical transformations in human history. In response, the people who know the ocean most intimately are taking action for the sake of our shared future. Community scientists track species in California tidepools. Researchers dive into the waters around Sydney to replant kelp forests. Scientists and First Nations communities collaborate to restore clam gardens in the Pacific Northwest.

In At Every Depth, the oceanographer Tessa Hill and the science journalist Eric Simons profile these and other efforts to understand and protect marine environments, taking readers to habitats from shallow tidepools to the deep sea. They delve into the many human connections to the ocean—how people live with and make their living from the waters—journeying to places as far-flung as coral reefs, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and the Arctic and Antarctic poles. At Every Depth shares the stories of people from all walks of life, including scientists, coastal community members, Indigenous people, shellfish farmers, and fisheries workers. It brings together varied viewpoints, showing how scientists’ research and local and Indigenous knowledge can complement each other to inform a more sustainable future. Poignantly written and grounded in science, this book offers a narrative perspective on the changing oceans, letting us see how our relationships to the oceans are changing too.

The oceanographer Tessa Hill and the science journalist Eric Simons profile efforts to understand and protect marine environments, taking readers to habitats from shallow tidepools to the deep sea.

Prologue
1. The Tide Pool
2. The Reef
3. The Forest
4. The Gardens
5. The Abundant Ocean
6. The Open Ocean
7. The Polar Worlds
8. The Deep
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index

An incisive look at a world in crisis. This troubling assessment of how humans are devastating the world’s oceans hits home.

At Every Depth takes us from rocky shore surveys to diminishing riches on coral reefs to the once trackless deep sea, chronicling the greatest discoveries and changes for every major habitat in the oceans. The riveting stories of Indigenous peoples, scientists, and explorers are essential for everyone who cares about the oceans.

The greatest strength of At Every Depth is its storytelling. Tales of scientific investigation join explorations of Indigenous peoples’ connection to the sea and how ocean changes affect tradition and communities. The authors at once provide information and inspire with emotion.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a really long time. Tessa Hill is an amazing scientist and Eric Simons is a very talented writer—together they’ve developed one heck of a book, interweaving personal narrative and scientific research in perfect balance.