Summary
A scientific expedition into unknown parts of the Caribbean to study the tectonic plates of the region answers the intriguing question: Is there a language of fish? Gilles Fonteneau, a longtime colleague of the legendary Jacques Cousteaus Calypso team, fulfilled a lifelong dream when in 2001 he launched his own exploration, aboard the 45-foot catamaran Prince de Vende, into the silent world of the sea. Little did he know when he set out that his efforts to better understand the dynamics of the tectonic plates of the region would have such worldwide significance, as shown by the tsunami disaster of southeast Asia in December 2004. His second goal, sponsored by NASA and the Bacardi Family Foundation, to make acoustic recordings of the regions fish, produced startling results, which will go a long way toward understanding and protecting threatened species. As fascinating as it is scientifically revealing, Murmurs FROM THE DEEP sheds new light on the ever-mysterious underwater world.
Table of Contents
| Preface |
|
ix | |
|
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| Prologue: The Venezuelan Army Plays Waterworld |
|
xv | |
|
Las Aves: The Isle of Birds Is Sinking |
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|
1 | (28) |
|
Listening to the Silent World |
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|
29 | (16) |
|
The Clock of the Atlantic Ocean |
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|
45 | (16) |
|
The Thousand and One Surprises of Barbuda |
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|
61 | (34) |
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The Gannets of Dog Island |
|
|
95 | (14) |
|
Rose, Anegada, and Our Studio |
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|
109 | (20) |
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Fire, the Sword, and the Ever Blue Sea |
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129 | (24) |
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Of Rain, Bullets, and Bombs |
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|
153 | (18) |
|
Two Accursed Destinations |
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|
171 | (22) |
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|
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193 | (24) |
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The Cries of Fish and Men |
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|
217 | (16) |
| The Great Navigators and Their Ships |
|
233 | (4) |
| Acknowledgments |
|
237 | |