At Every Depth - by Tessa Hill & Eric Simons (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

Winner, 2024 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

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.

Review Quotes

[This book] celebrate[s] the mystery of Earth's oceans and tally humanity's deepening impacts on them. -Yale Climate Connections-- "Yale Climate Connections"

At Every Depth . . . is an antidote to indifference, a call to deepened attention. . . . The authors convey something of the passionate attention that goes into the detailed understanding of a given aquatic ecosystem.-- "Inside Higher Ed"

Hill and Simons have balanced the hard truths of ocean climate science with overwhelming hope, and even courage. The book ends as it begins, by emphasizing the importance of listening and caring, and in doing so, we can create a new world of scientists, who do not operate in isolation and who listen to all the voices on our 'little blue planet.'-- "H-Environment"

This book is brilliant. It is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars.-- "MI Book Reviews"

What sets [this] account apart from previous efforts in the field is that [the authors] delve deeply into traditional knowledge of the marine realm that existed in indigenous coastal and island communities until these cultural links were destroyed by colonialism and modernisation.-- "Chemistry & Industry Magazine (C&I)"

[This book] surprised me with its fresh take on the effects that humans are having on the great bodies of water that cover our planet. [It] is a welcome addition to the conversation on climate change.-- "The Green Dispatch"

Provide[s] perspective on the changing oceans, letting us see how our relationships with the oceans are changing too.-- "Yale Climate Connections"

Well written, thoroughly researched and documented, this compilation would enhance any collection serving adult readers.-- "Choice Reviews"

A top 8 science book to look for in early 2024.-- "Book Riot"

An incisive look at a world in crisis. This troubling assessment of how humans are devastating the world's oceans hits home.-- "Publishers Weekly"

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.--Drew Harvell, author of Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease and A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschka's Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk

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.--Ellen Prager, author of Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime: The Oceans' Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter

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.--Angee Doerr, Oregon State University

About the Author

Tessa Hill is a professor in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of California, Davis, who teaches and researches oceanography and climate change. She is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and she was awarded the Rachel Carson Lecture by the American Geophysical Union.

Eric Simons is a science writer who was a longtime editor at Bay Nature magazine. He is the author of Darwin Slept Here (2009) and The Secret Lives of Sports Fans (2013). In addition to writing about science, nature, and the ocean, he teaches high school math.