From outer space, Earth resembles a ball of azure liquid. With nearly 71 percent of its surface covered with water, the planet has been aptly called the "blue drifter." Even the white whorls of clouds that embroider the planet's atmosphere are va- porous extensions of the oceans below.
The seas have long piqued man's curiosity, and he has im- bued them with his fondest hopes and his most poignant fears. In the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, based on tales told nearly 5,000 years ago,...