The Best New Oceanography Books To Read In 2025

Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review remains one of the most cited sources in marine science and oceanography. The ever-increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative refereed reviews summarizing and synthesizing the results of both historical and recent research. Five of the ten peer-reviewed contributions in Volume 62 are available to read Open Access via this webpage and on OAPEN.

If you are interested in submitting a review for consideration for publication in OMBAR, please email the new co-Editors in Chief, Dr Peter Todd (dbspat@nus.edu.sg) and Dr Bayden Russell (brussell@hku.hk). Supplementary material is provided online on the Support Materials tab, for Reviews 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Volume 62 features a review of the biology, ecology and conservation threats to the Iberian harbour porpoise; a look at the potential risk to Mediterranean cetaceans and sea turtles from floating marine macro litter; an overview of the recent history and physical environment of corals in the Andaman Sea; an exploration of the population biology of Snapper fish in South Australia; and a review of historical killings of small cetaceans in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, among others. An international Editorial Board ensures global relevance and expert peer review, with editors from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore and the UK. The series volumes find a place in the libraries of not only marine laboratories and oceanographic institutes, but also universities worldwide.

Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography: Fourth Edition provides a practical reference to established and modern data analysis techniques in earth and ocean sciences. In five sections, the book addresses data acquisition and recording, data processing and presentation, statistical methods and error handling, analysis of spatial data fields, and time series analysis methods. The updated edition includes new information on autonomous platforms and new analysis tools such as “deep learning” and convolutional neural networks.

A section on extreme value statistics has been added, and the section on wavelet analysis has been expanded. This book brings together relevant techniques and references recent papers where these techniques have been trialed. In addition, it presents valuable examples using physical oceanography data. For students, the sections on data acquisition are useful for a compilation of all the measurement methods. Includes content co-authored by scientists from academia and industry, both of whom have more than 30 years of experience in oceanographic research and field workProvides boxed worked examples that address typical data analysis problems, including examples with computer code (e.g., python code, MATLAB code)Presents brief summaries at the end of the more difficult sections to help readers looking for foundational information.

A Financial Times Best Science Book of 2023. A scientist’s exploration of the "ocean engine"―the physics behind the ocean’s systems―and why it matters. All of Earth’s oceans, from the equator to the poles, are a single engine powered by sunlight, driving huge flows of energy, water, life, and raw materials. In The Blue Machine, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski illustrates the mechanisms behind this defining feature of our planet, voyaging from the depths of the ocean floor to tropical coral reefs, estuaries that feed into shallow coastal seas, and Arctic ice floes.

Through stories of history, culture, and animals, she explains how water temperature, salinity, gravity, and the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates all interact in a complex dance, supporting life at the smallest scale―plankton―and the largest―giant sea turtles, whales, humankind. From the ancient Polynesians who navigated the Pacific by reading the waves, to permanent residents of the deep such as the Greenland shark that can live for hundreds of years, she introduces the messengers, passengers, and voyagers that rely on interlinked systems of vast currents, invisible ocean walls, and underwater waterfalls. Most important, however, Czerski reveals that while the ocean engine has sustained us for thousands of years, today it is faced with urgent threats. By understanding how the ocean works, and its essential role in our global system, we can learn how to protect our blue machine. Timely, elegant, and passionately argued, The Blue Machine presents a fresh perspective on what it means to be a citizen of an ocean planet.