"Science Notebooks" covers a wide range

The review of reviews. Very few philosophers have been interested in the sea. "Plato saw it only as a terrifying world of the unknown, while Aristotle was mainly interested in the constitution of fish or corals," notes Roberto Casati, author of Philosophy of the Ocean (PUF, 2022), in an interview with Carnets de science . Philosophy can help us "change our view of the ocean" and forge new concepts to better safeguard it.

There is an urgent need, as demonstrated in June by the third United Nations Conference on the Ocean in Nice. The CNRS's biannual journal, designed to showcase its researchers, has therefore devoted its latest issue to "The Ocean, the Unknown."

Seabirds figure prominently among the endangered species. Estimated at 1 billion individuals in 1970, their numbers had already halved by the early 2010s. With the threat of overfishing and global warming, the worst is yet to come, warns science journalist Gaël Hautemulle. Finally, Salomé Tissolong takes stock of "who owns the ocean?"

In addition to this special issue, the CNRS journal presents a selection of other scientific advances. Its deputy editor-in-chief, Laure Cailloce, discusses infrasound, the unstoppable sound waves emitted by ocean swells, volcanic eruptions, and wind turbines alike. Mathieu Grousson explains that astrophysics and cosmology have entered an era of precision that allows us to get ever closer to the mystery of origins, thanks to new images and analysis techniques.

On the historical side, archaeologist Jean-Claude Golvin's work reconstructing Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquity is in the spotlight. Armed with pencils, ink, tracing paper, and a hairdryer, he brings Rome, Nîmes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria back to life through captivating watercolors. Although sometimes criticized, he has gained acceptance within the scientific community because his drawings allow for the testing of various hypotheses.

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