The Oceans: Their Physics, Chemistry and General Biology is an oceanographic textbook by Harald Sverdrup, Martin Johnson, and Richard Fleming. Originally written in 1942, it is commonly referred to as the first oceanographic textbook and fundamental in the history of the science.
Chapters of the text outline and synthesize the sub-domains of oceanography: Biological, chemical, physical, and geological oceanography.

Table of contents
Preface
I. Introduction
II. The Earth and the Ocean Basins
III. Physical Properties of Sea Water
IV: General Distribution of Temperature, Salinity, and Density
V. Theory of Distribution of Variables in the Sea
VI. Chemistry of Sea Water
VII. Organisms and the Composition of Sea Water
VIII. The Sea as a Biological Environment
IX. Populations of the Sea
X. Observations and Collections at Sea
XI. General Character of Ocean Currents
XII. Statics and Kinematics
XIII. Dynamics of Ocean Currents
XIV. Waves and Tides
XV. The Water Masses and Currents of the Oceans
XVI. Phytoplankton in Relation to Physical-Chemical Properties of the Environment
XVII. Animals in Relation to Physical-Chemical Properties of the Environment
XVIII. Interrelations of Marine Organisms
XIX. Organic Production in the Sea
XX. Marine Sedimentation
Appendix
Index

Reception
The text was considered of such military importance during World War II that its distribution outside of the United States was forbidden until the war had ended.
In 1945, George Deacon wrote that, the authors had "answered the demand for an up-to-date manual of oceanography."

External links
Full text at UC Press E-Books Collection

References