Swirling Currents tells the story behind the headlines. Sharks chasing seals chasing fish. Highly endangered right whales getting closer to their demise. Hundreds of cold-stunned sea turtles on frigid Cape Cod beaches. Fishing industry reduced to harvest by quotas but shellfish aquaculture expands. The Gulf Stream, driving the world’s climate, slowing down and the Gulf of Maine heating up faster than predicted with potentially grave global consequences. Swirling Currents describes what led to controversies, compromises and hope for the future as we live with dynamic coastal change.
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“Each chapter is an engaging mix of personal stories and scientific investigations, interwoven in a narrative of habitats and species that entertains as well as informs. The topics encompass not only the marine life, but also the geological processes, historical challenges, and social pressures that place the challenges of managing coastal environments today with historical perspectives of the past and the needs of the future. Although most of the examples are selected from Cape Cod, the Islands, and other regions of New England, the problems are universal in regions throughout the world. I have known Sandy in her role as a shellfish biologist over the past several decades, but I discovered her talents as a storyteller, historian, naturalist, and conservationist. The book has wide appeal and will engage a diverse audience eager to learn more about our changing coastal environments and how our history of the 20th century has influenced our environment.”
Dr. Judith McDowell, Woods Hole Sea Grant Director, Emeritus
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