In the same way GIS has helped make analysis and mapping of the Earth's surface more accessible and powerful, GIS technology allows experts to see that large portion of the planet that is underwater. This collection of works from experts in marine biology, oceanography, aquatic resource management, and other fields charts the ways in which GIS is beginning to help improve understanding of the oceans. Issues discussed are efforts to map the sea's floor, tracking the journeys of whales and tuna to preserve species in threatened areas, developing new kinds of nautical charts to give mariners an astonishing three-dimensional view of their progress through the water, and how GIS might be used to more efficiently track the location of sunken vessels. Includes a companion CD-ROM containing an interactive view of this progress.

Dawn Wright is a professor in the Department of Geosciences, and an adjunct professor in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, at Oregon State University. She also coedited the book Marine and Coastal Geographical Information Systems. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon.

Sylvia Earle is one of the world's most respected marine biologists and was named one of Time magazine's Heroes of the Planet in 1998. Earle was one of the first scientists to research marine ecosystems, holds numerous diving records, having spent more than 6,000 hours underwater. She is also the former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and has written more than 100 scientific and popular publications, and three books, including Wild Ocean: America's Parks Under the Sea, and Dive: My Adventures in the Deep Frontier.