The Long Island Sound Study announced Tuesday the publication of “Long Island Sound: Prospects for the Urban Sea,” describing it as “the most comprehensive review and synthesis of scientific research of the Long Island Sound in 35 years."

The book is published by Springer, a global publisher of science books. It was written by scientists, resource managers, and historians working with the Long Island Sound Study, who gathered nearly 1,500 research papers to summarize what is known about the historic and recent trends in the ecological health of Long Island Sound. Six technical chapters describe the Sound’s human history, geology, physical oceanography, geochemistry, pollutant history, biology and ecology. A seventh chapter details the cross-cutting issues and the complex interrelationships between different environmental and socio-economic trends to help provide guidance to planners, environmental managers, and policy makers on how to manage coastal waters such as the Sound.

“Synthesizing decades of research into one volume will be of enormous value for environmental managers and policy makers,” James Latimer, research scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency, and the lead editor on the volume, said in a news release. “They will have access to knowledge from the best research available about the Sound as they make critical decisions on protecting natural resources valued by citizens and vital to the region’s economy.”

The book addresses such issues as climate change, coastal development and use conflicts, fisheries management goals, emerging contaminants, invasive species and nutrient pollution.

The Science and Technical Advisory Committee of the Long Island Sound Study identified the need for a synthesis of new science on the Sound, and first developed an outline of the book at a workshop. The Long Island Sound Study is part of the National Estuary Program and is charged with restoring and protecting the Sound. It had developed a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan in 1994. But the science it was based on was approaching 20 years old and did not discuss issues such as climate change. The EPA provided funding for the development of the book through cooperative agreements with the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs.

Besides Latimer, the book’s other editors are: Mark Tedesco, director of the EPA Long Island Sound Office in Stamford; R. Lawrence Swanson, a professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University; Charles Yarish, a professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut in Stamford; Paul Stacey, a research coordinator at the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Durham, N.H.; and Corey Garza, a professor at the Division of Science and Environmental Policy at California State University in Monterey Bay, Calif.

The book is part of Springer’s series on environment and management. It is available in e-book either in its entirety or by individual chapter on the publisher’s website at: springer.com. The hardcover version can be pre-ordered on the Springer website or through other booksellers.