Below the Edge of Darkness: Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea

About the Author Edith Widder is an oceanographer, a marine biologist and the co-founder, CEO and senior scientist at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, a non-profit organisation where she is focusing her passion for saving the ocean into developing innovative technologies needed to preserve and protect the ocean's most precious real estate - its estuaries. She has given three TED talks and been awarded a prestigious MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as well as the Explorer's Club Citation of Merit and is the first recipient of the Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration established by the Marine Technology Society and the Society of Underwater Technology. Product Description A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean in this 'thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure' (The New York Times) Edith Widder grew up determined to become a marine biologist. But after complications from a surgery during college caused her to go temporarily blind, she became fascinated by light as well as the power of optimism. Below the Edge of Darkness explores the depths of the planet's oceans as Widder seeks to understand bioluminescence, one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviours and animals. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all of it set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem. 'A vivid account of ocean life' ROBIN MCKIE, GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY 'Edie's story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration and groundbreaking research. She's done things I dream of doing' JAMES CAMERON 'A book of marvels, marvellously written' RICHARD DAWKINS Review Luminous --the topic, the heroic journey, and the author herself. Dive in with Edith Widder, trail- blazing scientist and explorer, as she reveals the galaxy of light and life in the universe below the surface of the sea, out-shining sceptical male colleagues with dignity, grace and a robust sense of humour ― Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer in Residence; Founder, Mission Blue, Oceanographer Book Description A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean to understand bioluminescence, the language of light that helps life communicate in the darkness, and what it tells us about the future of life on Earth. From the Inside Flap A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean to understand bioluminescence - the language of light that helps life communicate in the darkness - and what it tells us about the future of life on Earth. Edith Widder's childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist was almost derailed during university, when complications from a surgery gone wrong caused temporary blindness. She became fascinated by the importance of light - as well as optimism. As her vision cleared, Widder found the intersection of her two passions in oceanic bioluminescence, a little-explored scientific field within Earth's last great unknown frontier: the deep ocean. She leapt at the first opportunity to train as a submersible pilot and dove into the darkness. Widder's first journey into the deep ocean, in a diving suit that resembled a suit of armour, took her to a depth of eight hundred feet. When she witnessed breathtaking underwater fireworks - explosions of bioluminescent activity - she only wanted to know one thing: Why was there so much light down there? Below the Edge of Darkness takes readers deep into our planet's oceans as Widder pursues her questions about one of the most important and widely used forms of communication in nature. She reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviors and animals, from microbes to leviathans, many never before seen or,