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meq. This problem arises throughout the book, and although the electro- chemical section uses the IUPAC convention for the Nemst equation, the calculations in that section use “formal potentials”.

The instrumental section covers the main techniques of spectroscopy, electrochemistry and chromatography. These sections are generally up-to-date and the theoretical aspects of each topic are simply but thoroughly explained with the aid of clear diagrams. The aspect of quantitative analysis which is stressed in the rest of the book, however, is somewhat neglected in the instrumentation section. This is most apparent in the chapter on chroma- tography where no mention is made of internal standards and the only worked example assumes that each component of the mixture gives the same molar response in the detector. Useful computer programs in BASIC are included in the appendix.

Gillian M. Greenway

C. S. Giam and H. J.-M. DOU, Strategies and Advanced Techniques for Marine Pollution Studies: Mediterranean Sea. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1986 (ISBN 3-540-16083-3). xiii + 475 pp. Price DM 190.

This volume is a record of the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute held at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France, in 1984. It is a camera-ready collection of 27 papers primarily involved with the measurement and effects of hydrocarbon pollution in the marine environment. The papers cover a variety of subject areas, ranging from the publication statistics of marine chemistry, through the measurement of hydrocarbon pollution, to ultra- structural alterations in the digestive gland of mussels exposed to crude oil. It is inevitable in a book of this form that the included papers are of variable quality, but it is difficult to escape the feeling that, with the great emphasis being placed on the measurement of organic pollutants, the book might have been improved by the omission of some of the contributions. If it were not for the occasional mistake in the index, some of the odd entries would lead one to believe that it had been computer generated from the titles of the articles. After about page 440, the system completely breaks down and can- not be used.

These criticisms aside, many of the articles are of high quality and will be of great interest to those involved in the measurement of trace organics in the marine environment. Anyone contemplating the purchase of the volume should however be aware that the title is not an accurate reflection of the contents, and that there are few references to be found in it to studies of the Mediterranean Sea.

Alan Howard