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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere > Oceanography (seas)
The depths of the oceans are the last example of terra incognita on earth. Adamowsky presents a study of the sea, arguing that - contrary to popular belief - post-Enlightenment discourse on the sea was still subject to mystery and wonder, and not wholly rationalized by science.
The second edition of this concise, affordable textbook is ideal for curious undergraduate majors and non-majors taking a first course in meteorology. The first two chapters introduce readers to the main concepts and tools used to analyze weather patterns. Chapters 3-8 provide a foundational understanding of the fundamental processes taking place in the atmosphere, and in Chapters 9-12 these physical concepts are applied to specific weather phenomena. Weather concepts are then used in Chapters 13-15 to explain weather forecasting, air pollution, and the impact of climate change on weather. Key concepts are illustrated through a running case study of a single mid-latitude cyclone, providing students with an opportunity to progressively develop their understanding of weather phenomena with a familiar example approached from multiple perspectives. This edition includes expanded and updated coverage of precipitation types and formation, satellite and radar technology, tornadoes, and more. It also features thought-provoking end-of-chapter review questions, new visual analysis exercises, an expanded test bank and nearly 100 new figures.
'Like Sir David Attenborough, he has the rare ability to be an excellent communicator and has written an engaging book sprinkled with mind-blowing facts about the deep oceans' - Daily Express 'A new informed perspective on the wide, watery world we inhabit' - Coast magazine 'Book of the month' 'The gripping story of how ocean science has advanced in recent years is captivatingly told by Jon Copley in this introduction to the deep ocean' - China Dialogue 'Deftly conjures the wonders of a bathynaut's world' - Nature It is often said that we know more about space than we do our own oceans, but is that really the case? Or do we in fact know a great deal more about the oceans than many people realise. The wellbeing of our oceans and the life contained within and around them has never been more important. But to truly understand the vital role they play, we need to first understand how the oceans work, how we explore them and learn about the mysteries they hold, and what our effect is on them. Between these pages is everything you need to know about our oceans, explained in 25 questions. Combining untold history of ocean exploration and personal account of what it's like to be a 'bathynaut' diving in a mini-submarine, Ask an Ocean Explorer brings to light weird and wonderful deep-sea creatures and how the oceans and their future is connected to our everyday lives.
The heavily-revised Practical Handbook of Marine Science, Fourth Edition continues its tradition as a state-of-the-art reference that updates the field of marine science to meet the interdisciplinary research needs of physical oceanographers, marine biologists, marine chemists, and marine geologists. This edition adds an entirely new section devoted to Climate Change and Climate Change Effects. It also adds new sections on Estuaries, Beaches, Barrier Islands, Shellfish, Macroalgae, Food Chains, Food Webs, Trophic Dynamics, System Productivity, Physical-Chemical-Biological Alteration, and Coastal Resource Management. The Handbook assembles an extensive international collection of marine science data throughout, with approximately 1,000 tables and illustrations. It provides comprehensive coverage of anthropogenic impacts in estuarine and marine ecosystems from local, regional, and global perspectives. Maintaining its user-friendly, multi-sectional format, this comprehensive resource will also be of value to undergraduate and graduate students, research scientists, administrators, and other professionals who deal with the management of marine resources. Now published in full color, the new edition offers extensive illustrative and tabular reference material covering all the major disciplines related to the sea.
As we discover more about the role of the ocean in global changes and identify the effects of global change on the ocean, understanding its chemical composition and processes becomes increasingly paramount. However, understanding these processes requires a wide range of measurements in the vast ocean, from the sea surface to deep-ocean trenches, from the tropics to the poles. Practical Guidelines for the Analysis of Seawater provides a common analytical basis for generating quality-assured and reliable data on chemical parameters in the ocean. A source of practical know-how, the book covers sampling and storage, analytical methodology, and guidelines and procedures for quality assurance. It presents analytical methods with the step-by-step procedures that help practitioners implement these methods successfully into the laboratory, making them instantly applicable without consulting further literature. The book also contains essential information for developing or improving quality control and quality assurance programs in the laboratory. It includes the availability and measurement of standard reference materials, blank estimation and correction, control of recoveries, and statistical evaluation of quality assurance data. Analytical chemistry is a very active and fast moving area. Despite the development of innovative new analytical techniques for chemical trace element research, obtaining reliable data at ultra-trace levels remains a formidable challenge. A complete and practical guide, this book delineates proven methods that consistently yield reproducible data in routine work.
Climate research over recent decades has shown that the interaction between the ocean and atmosphere drives the global climate system. This engaging and accessible textbook focuses on climate dynamics from the perspective of the upper ocean, and specifically on the interaction between the atmosphere and ocean. It describes the fundamental physics and dynamics governing the behavior of the ocean, and how it interacts with the atmosphere, giving rise to natural climate variability and influencing climate change. Including end-of-chapter questions and turn-key access to online, research-quality data sets, the book allows readers the chance to apply their knowledge and work with real data. Comprehensive information is also provided on the data sets used to produce the numerous illustrations, allowing students to dive deeper into the data themselves. Providing an accessible treatment of physical oceanography, it is perfect for intermediate-advanced students wishing to gain an interdisciplinary introduction to climate science and oceanography.
* Chapters describe the impact of our reliance plastics in certain sectors and how they relate to microplastic pollution * Investigates emerging solutions to the microplastic pollution * Presents a multi-disciplinary perspective, covering topics such as analytical techniques, quantitative techniques, environmental monitoring and human health monitoring
Introduction to Ocean Circulation and Modeling provide basics for physical oceanography covering ocean properties, ocean circulations and their modeling. First part of the book explains concepts of oceanic circulation, geostrophy, Ekman, Sverdrup dynamics, Stommel and Munk problems, two-layer dynamics, stratification, thermal and salt diffusion, vorticity/instability, and so forth. Second part highlights basic implementation framework for ocean models, discussion of different models, and their unique differences from the common framework with basin-scale modeling, regional modeling, and interdisciplinary modeling at different space and time scales. Features: Covers ocean properties, ocean circulations and their modeling. Explains the centrality of a rotating earth and its implications for ocean and atmosphere in a simple manner. Provides basic facts of ocean dynamics. Illustrative diagrams for clear understanding of key concepts. Outlines interdisciplinary and complex models for societal applications. The book aims at Senior Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students and Researchers in Ocean Science and Engineering, Ocean Technology, Physical Oceanography, Ocean Circulation, Ocean Modeling, Dynamical Oceanography and Earth Science.
Plastiglomerate finds our world in the midst of environmental disaster: from plastic pollution and wrecked shipping to fires in the Amazon rainforest. Geographer-poet Tim Cresswell writes with the forensic eye of a professional, bending the hard vocabulary of science into a jagged but compelling lyric that telescopes from the vast to the cellular in the space of a line. Plastiglomerate completes a trilogy of poetry books that examines mankind's impact on the earth; its central poem recycles the British folk ballad 'The Twa Magicians' to make an ecological protest song fit for the Anthropocene age. But among powerful depictions of the natural world under threat - from beached whales to lost birds - it is the humanity of Cresswell's imagery that wins through: leaf-blowers in surgical masks, blue nail polish, the biro 'leaking in the heat of my pocket'. 'Engaging and unsettling poems that tell it like it is, looking unflinchingly at environmental beauty and disaster. There is redemption here too, in the warmth of human relationships - while this is indeed a world of 'ruin and plunder', it is also a place 'full of love and sap'. A powerful and memorable collection.' - Jean Sprackland
This volume discusses geological, biological and sustainability aspects of coastal, estuary and lake environments. It offers a comprehensive understanding of biotic, physico-chemical, sedimentological and socio-environmental factors associated with the sustainable development of these environments in areas vulnerable to climate change and other anthropogenic activities. The book is divided into several main sections, covering the geological and biological processes and dynamics of these environments, water quality and hydrological modeling, sediment characteristics, bio-indicators and ecological analysis, climate change impacts, geospatial applications, and sustainable development practices and scenarios. The book aims to be a useful resource for academics, scientists, coastal and marine practitioners, meteorologists, environmental consultants and computing experts working in the areas of earth and ocean sciences.
This open access book provides a cross-sectoral, multi-scale assessment of marine litter in Africa with a focus on plastics. From distribution, to impacts on environmental and human health, this book looks at what is known scientifically. It includes a policy analysis of the instruments that currently exist, and what is needed to help Africa tackle marine litter-including local and transboundary sources. Across 5 chapters, experts from Africa and beyond have put together a summary of the scientific knowledge currently known about marine litter in Africa. The context of the African continent and future projections form a backdrop on which the scientific knowledge is built. This scientific knowledge incorporates quantities, distributions, and pathways of litter into the marine environment, highlighting where the impacts of marine litter are most felt in Africa. These impacts have widespread effects, with ecological, social, economic, and human health repercussions. While containing detailed scientific information, this book provides a sound knowledge base for policymakers, NGOs and the broader public.
Seit zwanzig Jahren arbeiten Wissenschaftler durch Sammlung von Daten und Entwicklung komplexer Computermodelle an der Vorhersagemoglichkeit der Klimaentwicklung. Das Buch fuhrt vor allem durch die Darstellung der Klimageschichte der Erde in verstandlicher Form in die Problematik ein. Viele Fragen, die sich mit der zukunftigen Klimaentwicklung befassen, kommen zur Sprache.
The problems of making inferences about the natural world from noisy observations and imperfect theories occur in almost all scientific disciplines. This 2006 book addresses these problems using examples taken from geophysical fluid dynamics. It focuses on discrete formulations, both static and time-varying, known variously as inverse, state estimation or data assimilation problems. Starting with fundamental algebraic and statistical ideas, the book guides the reader through a range of inference tools including the singular value decomposition, Gauss-Markov and minimum variance estimates, Kalman filters and related smoothers, and adjoint (Lagrange multiplier) methods. The final chapters discuss a variety of practical applications to geophysical flow problems. Discrete Inverse and State Estimation Problems is an ideal introduction to the topic for graduate students and researchers in oceanography, meteorology, climate dynamics, and geophysical fluid dynamics. It is also accessible to a wider scientific audience; the only prerequisite is an understanding of linear algebra.
An accessible guide to the changes we can all make-small and large-to rid our lives of disposable plastic and clean up the world's oceans How to Give Up Plastic is a straightforward guide to eliminating plastic from your life. Going room by room through your home and workplace, Greenpeace activist Will McCallum teaches you how to spot disposable plastic items and find plastic-free, sustainable alternatives to each one. From carrying a reusable straw, to catching microfibers when you wash your clothes, to throwing plastic-free parties, you'll learn new and intuitive ways to reduce plastic waste. And by arming you with a wealth of facts about global plastic consumption and anecdotes from activists fighting plastic around the world, you'll also learn how to advocate to businesses and leaders in your community and across the country to commit to eliminating disposable plastics for good. It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully biodegrade, and there are around 12.7 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year. At our current pace, in the year 2050 there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish, by weight. These are alarming figures, but plastic pollution is an environmental crisis with a solution we can all contribute to.
An eye-opening introduction to the complexity, wonder, and vital roles of coral reefs "Part memoir, part popular science, part call to action on climate change, the book makes a compelling case for why coral reefs deserve more attention. Sale's argument is as simple as it is powerful: as coral reefs go, so goes the rest of the planet." -Bryan P. Galligan, Commonweal When mass coral bleaching and die-offs were first identified in the 1980s, and eventually linked to warming events, the scientific community was sure that such a dramatic and unambiguous signal would serve as a warning sign about the devastating effects of global warming. Instead, most people ignored that warning. Subsequent decades have witnessed yet more degradation. Reefs around the world have lost more than 50 percent of their living coral since the 1970s. In this book, distinguished marine ecologist Peter F. Sale imparts his passion for the unexpected beauty, complexity, and necessity of coral reefs. By placing reefs in the wider context of global climate change, Sale demonstrates how their decline is more than simply a one-off environmental tragedy, but rather an existential warning to humanity. He offers a reframing of the enormous challenge humanity faces as a noble venture to steer the planet into safe waters that might even retain some coral reefs.
The manufacture of plastic as well as its indiscriminate disposal and destruction by incineration pollutes atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems. Synthetic plastics do not break down; they accumulate in the environment as macro-, micro-, and nanoplastics. These particulate plastics are a major source of pollutants in soil and marine ecosystems. Particulate Plastics in Terrestrial and Aquatic Environments provides a fundamental understanding of the sources of these plastics and the threats they pose to the environment. The book demonstrates the ecotoxicity of particulate plastics using case studies and offers management practices to mitigate particulate plastic contamination in the environment. Features * Describes physical and chemical properties of particulate plastics in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems * Presents information on characteristics of particulate plastics as impacted by weathering processes * Provides numerous approaches for managing particulate plastic contamination * Identifies sources of particulate plastics in the environment; distribution and characteristics of particulate plastics; and management strategies of particulate plastics Written by a global team of scientists, this book is for researchers in the fields of environmental safety and waste management or individuals interested in the impact of particulate plastics on environmental health.
This book provides a cross-sectoral, multi-disciplinary assessment of different problems associated with estuarine acidification with special thrust on mangrove dominated Indian Sundarban estuaries. The arms of ocean acidification have extended to coastal and estuarine waters, where a wide spectrum of biodiversity thrives with unique adaptation extending several ecosystem services. Impact of acidification in these areas is a matter of concern as acidification potentially has more immediate effects on the health of estuaries and inshore regions as well as regional economies. Ground zero data collected for more than three decades have made the book stand on a strong base.
Since the Viking ascendancy in the Middle Ages, the Atlantic has shaped the lives of people who depend upon it for survival. And just as surely, people have shaped the Atlantic. In his innovative account of this interdependency, W. Jeffrey Bolster, a historian and professional seafarer, takes us through a millennium-long environmental history of our impact on one of the largest ecosystems in the world. While overfishing is often thought of as a contemporary problem, Bolster reveals that humans were transforming the sea long before factory trawlers turned fishing from a handliner's art into an industrial enterprise. The western Atlantic's legendary fishing banks, stretching from Cape Cod to Newfoundland, have attracted fishermen for more than five hundred years. Bolster follows the effects of this siren's song from its medieval European origins to the advent of industrialized fishing in American waters at the beginning of the twentieth century. Blending marine biology, ecological insight, and a remarkable cast of characters, from notable explorers to scientists to an army of unknown fishermen, Bolster tells a story that is both ecological and human: the prelude to an environmental disaster. Over generations, harvesters created a quiet catastrophe as the sea could no longer renew itself. Bolster writes in the hope that the intimate relationship humans have long had with the ocean, and the species that live within it, can be restored for future generations.
Chunyan Li is a course instructor with many years of experience in teaching about time series analysis. His book is essential for students and researchers in oceanography and other subjects in the Earth sciences, looking for a complete coverage of the theory and practice of time series data analysis using MATLAB. This textbook covers the topic's core theory in depth, and provides numerous instructional examples, many drawn directly from the author's own teaching experience, using data files, examples, and exercises. The book explores many concepts, including time; distance on Earth; wind, current, and wave data formats; finding a subset of ship-based data along planned or random transects; error propagation; Taylor series expansion for error estimates; the least squares method; base functions and linear independence of base functions; tidal harmonic analysis; Fourier series and the generalized Fourier transform; filtering techniques: sampling theorems: finite sampling effects; wavelet analysis; and EOF analysis.
Although the United States and other affluent nations havemore than an adequate food supply, other nations daily facethe specter of starvation. The world now has a critical population/food dilemma of potentially major proportions. Production fromthe sea and the land is not keeping pace with a world populationthat is doubling every thirty-five years. Unless this age-oldMalthusian problem is solved, millions face starvation and ultimatelydeath.The situation has stimulated substantial international interestin the sea as a source of food and raw materials. The potentialof the sea-not as a panacea, but as an important source of proteinto augment the world's food supplies and thereby as a meansof mitigating the crises we face-is a continuing theme throughoutthis book. At present, fish provide approximately 9 percentof the world's protein. Fish are sought not only for food butalso for recreation and pleasure. What forces determine the presentsupply and demand for fishery products? More important,what steps are needed to utilize the full potential of the sea asa source of food and recreation? This book explores these forcesand thus provides an insight into food potential from the sea.
The heavily-revised Practical Handbook of Marine Science, Fourth Edition continues its tradition as a state-of-the-art reference that updates the field of marine science to meet the interdisciplinary research needs of physical oceanographers, marine biologists, marine chemists, and marine geologists. This edition adds an entirely new section devoted to Climate Change and Climate Change Effects. It also adds new sections on Estuaries, Beaches, Barrier Islands, Shellfish, Macroalgae, Food Chains, Food Webs, Trophic Dynamics, System Productivity, Physical-Chemical-Biological Alteration, and Coastal Resource Management. The Handbook assembles an extensive international collection of marine science data throughout, with approximately 1,000 tables and illustrations. It provides comprehensive coverage of anthropogenic impacts in estuarine and marine ecosystems from local, regional, and global perspectives. Maintaining its user-friendly, multi-sectional format, this comprehensive resource will also be of value to undergraduate and graduate students, research scientists, administrators, and other professionals who deal with the management of marine resources. Now published in full color, the new edition offers extensive illustrative and tabular reference material covering all the major disciplines related to the sea.
When people hear the word “migration,” they think of animals that move from a feeding area to a breeding area and back each year. But the greatest migration on Earth happens twice every night. The movement is largely vertical and performed by plankton followed by predatory fish, squid, octopus and other species that have acquired a taste for plankton. The migration starts deep in the waters of the ocean at sunset. As they move, the plankton nibble on plant plankton and other tasty morsels in the water and, eventually, some on each other. The feeding ends just before dawn when the plankton retreat to the depths of the ocean to hide during the day until the next evening, when they migrate back up the water column. In Planktonia, Erich Hoyt invites readers to dive into the dazzling nighttime ocean. Countless microscopic plankton — larval creatures such as ornate ghost pipefish, left-handed hermit crabs and bony-eared assfish — ascend to the upper waters to feed, returning to the depths before sunrise. These tiny planktonic creatures are delicate and beautiful; some look terrifying; and most look nothing like the creatures they will become as adults. This great vertical migration attracts larger adult creatures, too, from the solitary 6-inch (15 cm) bigfin reef squid and the fierce and hungry 6½ foot (2 m) female blanket octopus, which is up to 40,000 times heavier than her male mate. Everyone comes here for the midnight feast, and they are all ravenously hungry. Chapters in this book include: Hawai’i: From Bluewater to Blackwater; Awesome Anilao; The Gulf Stream Procession of Life; Blackwater White Sea; Precious Life of Plankton; Blackwater Unlimited; From Blackwater Passion to Protection. All life in the ocean depends on plankton. Plankton plays a key role in sequestering carbon against climate change. The great nightly vertical migration highlights the importance of protecting not only ocean species but also ecosystems that embrace ocean processes from the depths of the sea to surface waters. |
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