03081cam a2200337 i 4500 771818750 TxAuBib 20210731120000.0 201117s2021||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2020051565 9780525509240 HRD 28.00 0525509240 HRD 28.00 DLC eng DLC rda DLC GCmBT NjBwBT TxAuBib rda Widder, Edith, author. Below the edge of darkness. Below the edge of darkness [Book] : a memoir of exploring light and life in the deep sea / Edith Widder, Ph.D.. First edition. New York : Random House, [2021] xx, 329 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-315) and index. Introduction: A different light -- Part I. Deep Seeing. Seeing -- Fiat lux -- First flash -- The stars below -- Strange illumination -- A bioluminescent minefield -- Seas sowed with fire -- Part II. To Know the Dark. Glorious puzzles -- Stories in the dark -- Plan B -- The language of light -- Part III. Here Be Dragons. The edge of the map -- The Kraken revealed -- Talking to cannibals -- Epilogue: A case for optimism. "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. Her focus turned to oceanic bioluminescence, a scientific frontier in our last earthly one, and with little promise of funding or employment she took a leap into the darkness. On her first visit to the deep ocean, in an experimental diving suit that took her to a depth of eight hundred feet,she turned off the suit's lights and witnessed breathtaking explosions of bioluminescent activity. Concerns about her career went out the window. She just wanted to know one thing: Why was there so much light down there? Below the Edge of Darkness takesreaders 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. In the process, she reveals hidden worlds and a dazzling menagerie of behaviors and animals, from microbes to leviathans, many never-before-seen or, like the legendary Giant Squid, never-before-filmed in its deep-sea lair. Alongside Widder, we experience life-and-death equipment malfunctions and witness breakthroughs in technology and understanding, all ofit set against a growing awareness of the deteriorating health of our largest and least understood ecosystem"-- Provided by publisher. 20210825. Widder, Edith. Marine scientists United States Biography. Women marine biologists United States Biography. Bioluminescence. Underwater exploration.