The Attacking Ocean (40 page)

After considerable debate, we (my editors and I) decided that we would use metric measurements in these pages, to simplify the narrative. This is because most science now employs metric conventions. For those who are bewildered, a mile is 1.6 kilometers, a foot is 0.3 meter, and an inch is 2.54 centimeters. An acre is 0.4 hectare. Doubtless I will hear in short order from those who refuse to think of their world in metric terms. It will only take you a few seconds with your calculator or computer to convert any measurement, however esoteric.

A knot (a nautical mile), commonly used on charts and in sailing directions, is 1.85 kilometers. I use it here to refer to boat speeds and to the velocity of currents and tides, the usual nautical practice.

All radiocarbon dates have been calibrated to dates in calendar years using the latest version of what is a constantly revised calibration curve. You can view the calibration curve at
www.calpal.de
.

Following common maritime convention, wind directions are described
by the direction they are blowing
from.
For example, a westerly wind blows from the west, and northeast trade winds from the northeast. Ocean currents and tides, however, are described by the direction they are flowing
toward
. Thus, a northerly wind and a northerly tide flow in opposite directions.

A Note on the Author

Brian Fagan is emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California–Santa Barbara. Born in England, he did fieldwork in Africa, and has written about North American and world archaeology and many other topics. His books on the interaction of climate and human society have established him as the leading authority on the subject; he lectures frequently around the world. He is the editor of
The Oxford Companion to Archaeology
and the author of
Beyond the Blue Horizon, Elixir, Cro-Magnon, The Great Warming, Fish on Friday
,
The Little Ice Age
, and
The Long Summer
, among many other titles.

Also by Brian Fagan

Beyond the Blue Horizon: How the Earliest Mariners Unlocked the
Secrets of the Oceans

Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind
Cro-Magnon: How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans
“Where We Saw a Whale”: The Story of Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
Fish on Friday: Feasting, Fasting, and the Discovery of the New World

From Stonehenge to Samarkand: An Anthology of Archaeological
Travel Writings
(editor)

Chaco Canyon: Archaeologists Explore the Lives of an Ancient Society
Before California: An Archaeologist Looks at Our Earliest Inhabitants

The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization
The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300–1850
Egypt of the Pharaohs
Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Niño and the Fate of Civilizations

Into the Unknown: Solving Ancient Mysteries

From Black Land to Fifth Sun: The Science of Sacred Sites
Eyewitness to Discovery: First-Person Accounts of More Than Fifty
of the World’s Greatest Archaeological Discoveries
(editor)
Oxford Companion to Archaeology
(editor)

Time Detectives: How Scientists Use Modern Technology to Unravel
the Secrets of the Past
Kingdoms of Jade, Kingdoms of Gold: The Americas Before Columbus

The Journey from Eden: The Peopling of Our World
Ancient North America
The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America

The Adventure of Archaeology
The Aztecs
Clash of Cultures
Return to Babylon: Travelers, Archaeologists, and
Monuments in Mesopotamia
Quest for the Past: Great Discoveries in Archaeology
Elusive Treasure: The Story of Early Archaeologists in the Americas
The Rape of the Nile: Tomb Robbers, Tourists, and Archaeologists in Egypt

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For information, write to Bloomsbury USA, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York, 10018

Published by Bloomsbury Press, New York

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Fagan, Brian M.

The attacking ocean : the past, present, and future of

rising sea levels / Brian Fagan.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN 978-1-60819-695-1

1. Sea level—History. 2. Ocean—History. I. Title.

GC89.F35 2013

551.45’8—dc23