The Oceans in the Nuclear Age: Legacies and Risks

The advent of the nuclear age in 1945 fundamentally altered the course of human events. The oceans are not the focus of the nuclear age, but the affairs of the oceans are deeply woven into the history of that age. Knowledge of what the nuclear age has meant for the oceans, however, is highly fragmented and there exists a surprising gap in research on the impact of the nuclear age on the oceans and on ocean law and policy. Ranging from dumped wastes to transportation to security, this study frames the complex multidimensional set of relationships between the oceans and the nuclear age and illuminates patterns of impact and response in ocean law.

David D. Caron, Dr. jur. (1990) in International Law, Leiden University, is the C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He published extensively on the law of the sea, international environmental law and international dispute resolution.

Harry N. Scheiber, Ph.D (1961) in History, Cornell University, is the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Professor of Law and History at the University of California at Berkeley. He published extensively on the law of the sea, U.S federalism and constitutional law and economic history.