*Open University Course Team. 1998. The Ocean Basins: Their Structure and Evolution, 2nd Edition. Butterworth Heinemann: England.

The Open University textbooks set high standards for introductory oceanography textbooks, albeit ones intended for intermediate to advanced students.

*Wilcock, William S. D., Edward F. DeLong, Deborah S. Kelley, John A. Baross, and S. Craig Cary, editors. 2004. The Subseafloor Biosphere at Mid-Ocean Ridges. American Geophysical Union: Washington, DC.

This book compiles papers from a number of researchers who are engaged in studies of subseafloor communities.

*German, Christopher R., Jian Lin, and Lindsay Parsons. 2004. Mid-Ocean Ridges: Hydrothermal Interactions Between the Lithosphere and Oceans. American Geophysical Union: Washington DC.

These compilations from AGU often vary in quality and tone from article to article but they do provide a single-source reference on a topic about which much remains to be learned.

*Seibold, E. and W. H. Berger. The Sea Floor: An Introduction to Marine Geology, 3rd Edition. 1996. Springer, Berlin-Heidelberg-New York.

This is an excellent introductory to intermediate-level textbook focused on ocean basins and the seafloor.

*Wertenbaker, William. 1974. The Floor of the Sea: Maurice Ewing and the Search To Understand the Earth. Little, Brown and Company: NY.

Though little known outside scientific circles, Maurice Ewing deserves credit for much of the work that led to confirmation of plate tectonics. He helped to establish Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory and led it to prominence as an internationally recognized leader in geophysical research. This book recounts both Ewing’s efforts and the excitement of geologic research riding the wave of the “new” theory.

*Hess, H. H. 1962. History of Ocean Basins. In Petrologic Studies: A Volume to Honor A.F. Buddington. pp 599-620.

It was here that “geopoetry” was born. Hess’ article, placed at the end of the volume, seems like an afterthought. But what a revolution it sparked!

Reference for: Chapter 3, Historical Development of Plate Tectonics Theory

The Endless Voyage: The Ocean’s Memory (Episode 6). 2002 (VHS and DVD). Intelecom.

Professor Sean appeared in several of the episodes of this series and helped develop learning activities to support it. While some episodes are better than others, The Endless Voyage provides one of the most complete and up-to-date series on oceanography available