“Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change: Answers to Your Ocean and Atmosphere Questions” (book cover) OPINION: The wonders of weather, climate and the vast seas are explored and explained in “Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change: Answers to Your Ocean and Atmosphere Questions” by marine scientist Ellen Prager and meteorologist Dave Jones . This engaging book, written for curious readers young and old, plumbs the depths of the oceans and the expanse of the skies to address a range of inquiries about the Earth’s watery and airy environs. The intent of the book is “to provide short, easy-to-understand answers to common, interesting, and sometimes oddball questions.” So, if your interests include shark attacks, the dangers of stingrays and jellyfish (and whether urinating on a jellyfish sting helps), the human consumption capacity of whales, evidence for the lost city of Atlantis, the threats of tsunamis, the accuracy of hurricane forecasting, the long-term prediction of extreme weather events, the reliability of Farmers’ Almanac prognostications, the effects of climate change, and of course megalodons and mermaids, then “Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change” should be on your reading list. The book has a wealth of facts gleaned from the real-world experience of the authors and their colleagues. The lengthy treatment of the life and critical ecosystem importance of corals is one example. Although my career has focused on atmospheric science, I found the engaging discussion of corals fascinating. And if the topic of corals is captivating, imagine what the authors do with weird sky conditions such as St. Elmo’s fire, sprites, blue jets and elves, or curious ocean-atmosphere phenomenon like meteotsunamis. “Megalodons, Mermaids, and Climate Change” is augmented with rudimentary but effective cartoons to accompany the book’s exceptional readability. And ample references are provided to supplement the valuable material found in each chapter. The effects […]
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