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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere > Oceanography (seas)
Coastal Acoustic Tomography begins with the specifics required for designing a Coastal Acoustic Tomography (CAT) experiment and operating the CAT system in coastal seas. Following sections discuss the procedure for data analyses and various application examples of CAT to coastal/shallow seas (obtained in various locations). These sections are broken down into four kinds of methods: horizontal-slice inversion, vertical-slice inversion, modal expansion method and data assimilation. This book emphasizes how dynamic phenomena occurring in coastal/shallow seas can be analyzed using the standard method of inversion and data assimilation. The book is relevant for physical oceanographers, ocean environmentalists and ocean dynamists, focusing on the event being observed rather than the intrinsic details of observational processes. Application examples of successful dynamic phenomena measured by coastal acoustic tomography are also included.
In this mesmerizing book of photography, acclaimed photographer David Liittschwager reveals the unnerving beauty of three notoriously mysterious sea creatures--the jellyfish, octopus, and seahorse--and how they perceive the world. The jellyfish, the octopus, and the seahorse are among the most wondrous species on Earth--as well as some of the most difficult to document using traditional photography methods. Enter celebrated photographer David Liittschwager, who has spent decades developing specialized portraiture techniques to capture these creatures' pulsating bioluminescence, translucent bodies, and ethereal movements. This luminous collection showcases 200 of Liittschwager's most revealing photographs, paired with penetrating essays that explain how a creature without a brain or without bones perceives the world. Bestselling science writers Elizabeth Kolbert, Jennifer Holland, and Olivia Judson explain the biology and advanced cognitive abilities of these spineless denizens of the deep, exquisitely evoking their unnerving yet undeniable charisma. In these pages, you'll glimpse a seahorse only half an inch tall, a moon jelly spinning off a snowflake-shaped clone, and the blinking comb jelly, which may be the most ancient living animal on Earth. Both enlightening and profound, this enchanting book documents the expanding frontiers of marine science, creating a powerful testament to the value and beauty of these little-seen--and endangered--species.
At the convergence of the land and sea, coastal environments are some of the most dynamic and populated places on Earth. This book explains how the many varied forms of spatial analysis, including mapping, monitoring and modelling, can be applied to a range of coastal environments such as estuaries, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Presenting empirical geographical approaches to modelling, which draw on recent developments in remote sensing technology, geographical information science and spatial statistics, it provides the analytical tools to map, monitor and explain or predict coastal features. With detailed case studies and accompanying online practical exercises, it is an ideal resource for undergraduate courses in spatial science. Taking a broad view of spatial analysis and covering basic and advanced analytical areas such as spatial data and geostatistics, it is also a useful reference for ecologists, geomorphologists, geographers and modellers interested in understanding coastal environments.
A concise reference on the structural composition and function of microbial communities in coastal environments, especially in relation to natural and anthropogenic impacts. Microbial Communities in Coastal Sediments presents twenty years of coastal microbiology research, grounding it as a vital development in the field of microbial ecology. It is the first book to focus exclusively on the complex microbial ecology and its function in rest of the marine environment. The book outlines the structure, function, and assessment of microbial communities in marine sediments while exploring practical methods of assessment. It is an invaluable resource to aquatic microbiologists, marine ecologists, marine microbiologists, aquatic researchers, and graduate students in this field. Microbial Communities in Coastal Sediments begins with an examination of nutrient sources in the coastal context with a focus on organic matter inputs. The quantity and quality of organic matter in coastal sediments and their impacts on the composition and formation of microbial communities is discussed. The book explores the consequences of anthropogenic changes and human activity on microbial ecology and nutrient cycling. Sections on nutrient availability, green house gas production and biodegradation of persistent organic pollutants provide essential details. Molecular research techniques and methods for assessing microbial community structure and function in coastal sediments are also covered.
The World Ocean Assessment - or, to give its full title, The First Global Integrated Marine Assessment - is the outcome of the first cycle of the United Nations' Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects. The Assessment provides vital, scientifically-grounded bases for the consideration of ocean issues, including climate change, by governments, intergovernmental agencies, non-governmental agencies and all other stakeholders and policymakers involved in ocean affairs. Together with future assessments and related initiatives, it will support the implementation of the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly its ocean-related goals. Moreover, it will also form an important reference text for marine science courses.
'Astonishing ... beautiful, compelling and terrifying' Observer 'Wadhams' writing sparkles ... a lyrical sense of wonder at the natural world ... essential reading ... may be the best reader-friendly account of the greenhouse effect available to date' John Burnside, New Statesman Ice is beautiful and complex. It regulates our planet's temperature. And it is vanishing - fast. Peter Wadhams, the world's leading expert on sea ice, draws on his lifetime's research in the Arctic region to illuminate what is happening, what it means for the future, and what can be done. 'This most experienced and rational scientist states what so many other researchers privately fear but cannot publicly say' John Vidal, Guardian 'Wadhams brings huge expertise to his subject - and he is an excellent writer' Martin Rees 'Utterly extraordinary' Jonathon Porritt
"Since I first read, and then taught, Helmreich's extraordinary
essay on alien kinship and the biopolitics of gene transfer in
marine biology and biotechnology in 2003, I have been swimming
eagerly in his alien oceans, waiting for this book, eager to feast.
A multi-sited and deeply sounded ethnography of ocean
microbiologists and their subvisible critters, "Alien Ocean" dunks
the reader in seas of blue-green capital and rampant globalizing
viral traders in gene currency. Tangled in sentiment and science,
salty microbial webs infuse dreadful and promising figures of
aliens and familiars. In this rich study of microbial oceanography
we meet the extremeophiles of a mortal earth--an earth better named
ocean, where deep-sea dwelling, heat-loving archaea are dredged to
tell stories of unlikely kin, extraordinary technology, planktonic
globalizers, and Hawaiian indigenous activists. This is a book
about networks of loves and disciplines that is hard to put
down."--Donna Haraway
The oceans cover 71% of the planet, and pose a myriad of hazards to everyone from blue-water sailors to the casual beachcomber. From rip tides to rogue waves, the possibilities for some water-borne calamity seem endless, but in most cases a deadly outcome can be avoided or at least mitigated by having a better understanding of the risks involved. This book presents cautionary tales of the most dangerous aspects of oceans encounters, including hazardous sea life such as sharks and rays, the power of the tides, and high seas that can engulf an entire fleet of naval vessels. In each case the author provides actual examples of various ocean phenomena and the people who either survive or succumb to them, from competitive big-wave surfers to the passengers and crew of the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, severely damaged by a 95-foot wave that seemed to come out of nowhere in the middle of the night. The author also addresses several well-known maritime disasters and their causes, as well as such phenomena as the so-called Bermuda Triangle. Above all, The Ominous Oceans seeks t provide a better understanding of the perilous seas, so that we will be better prepared before taking that swim or venturing off to places unknown.
The first edition of Tsunami!, published in 1988, provided readers with a complete examination of the tsunami phenomenon in Hawai'i. This second edition adds many eye-witness accounts of the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960 and expands its coverage to include major tsunamis in the Mediterranean and off the coasts of Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Fiji, Alaska, California, Newfoundland, and the Caribbean. Dramatic photographs and accounts of experiencing a tsunami firsthand are placed within the framework of the how and why of tsunamis, our scientific understanding of these phenomena, and the current status of the Tsunami Warning System, which is widely used to forecast and measure tsunamis and prepare coastal areas for possible strikes.
A practical guide to the latest remote and in situ techniques used to measure sediments, quantify seabed characteristics, and understand physical properties of water and sediments and transport mechanisms in estuaries and coastal waters. Covering a broad range of topics from global reference frames and bathymetric surveying methods to the use of remote sensing for determining surface-water variables, enough background is included to explain how each technology functions. The advantages and disadvantages of each technology are explained, and a review of recent fieldwork experiments demonstrates how modern methods apply in real-life estuarine and coastal campaigns. Clear explanations of physical processes show links between different disciplines, making the book ideal for students and researchers in the environmental sciences, marine biology, chemistry and geology, whose work relies on an understanding of the physical environment and the way it is changing as a result of climate change, engineering and other influences.
Understand the interaction between ocean waves and oscillating systems with this useful new edition. With a focus on linear analysis of low-amplitude waves, you are provided with a thorough understanding of wave interactions, presented to be easily accessible to non-specialist readers. Topics covered include the background mathematics of oscillations, gravity waves on water, the dynamics of wave-body interactions, and the absorption of wave energy by oscillating bodies and oscillating water columns. Featuring new content throughout, including three new chapters on oscillating-body wave energy converters, oscillating water columns and other types of wave energy converters, and wave energy converter arrays, this book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and engineers who are new to the subject of wave energy conversion, as well as those with more experience.
Marine Geo-Hazards in China, the first book to focus specifically on potential marine geological hazards in China, includes 19 chapters with varying focus on key issues surrounding the topic. Early chapters discuss the historical background, research progress, and geological environments in China's sea area. Next, multiple chapters present special topics on geological hazards in China's sea area, including its disaster pregnant environment, mechanisms of disaster change, the development regularity and disaster formation process, and existing or potential dangers and countermeasures. Final chapters present the latest information on the distribution, development, assessment, and risk analysis of marine geological hazards. This book is an important source of information for government and local policymakers, environmental and marine scientists, and engineers.
The "Blue Economy" is used to describe all of the economic activities related to the sea, with a special emphasis on sustainability. Traditional activities such as fisheries, but also undersea mining, tourism, and scientific research are included, as well as the phenomenal growth of aquaculture during the past decade. All of these activities, and the irresistible prospect of another new frontier, has led to enthusiastic and, most likely, overenthusiastic assessments of the possibilities to exploit the sea to feed the world, provide low-cost energy, become a new source of minerals, and other future miracles. This book makes sense of these trends and of the future of the blue economy by following our remote ancestors who gradually discovered the sea and its resources, describing the so-called fisherman's curse - or why fishermen have always been poor, explaining why humans tend to destroy the resources on which we depend, and assessing the realistic expectations for extracting resources from the sea. Although the sea is not so badly overexploited as the land, our demands on ecosystem services are already above the oceans' sustainability limits. Some new ideas, including "fishing down" for untapped resources such as plankton, could lead to the collapse of the entire marine ecosystem. How Neanderthals crossed the sea in canoes, how it was possible for five men on a small boat to kill a giant whale, what kind of oil the virgins of the Gospel put into their lamps, how a professor of mathematics, Vito Volterra, discovered the "equations of fishing," why it has become so easy to be stung by a jellyfish while swimming in the sea, and how to play "Moby Dick," a simple board game that simulates the overexploitation of natural resources are just some of the questions that you will be able to answer after reading this engaging and insightful book about the rapidly expanding relationship between humanity and the sea.
The 6e of "Descriptive Physical Oceanography" provides an
introduction to descriptive physical oceanography for advanced
undergraduates and graduate students. The emphasis is on
large-scale oceanography, based mainly in observations, with some
topics from waves and coastal oceanography also included. Topics
include the physical properties of seawater, heat and salt budgets,
instrumentation, data analysis methods, introductory dynamics,
oceanography and climate variability of each of the oceans and of
the global ocean, and brief introductions to the physical setting,
waves, and coastal oceanography.
We have long lorded over the ocean. But only recently have we
become aware of the myriad life-forms beneath its waves. We now
know that this delicate ecosystem is our life-support system; it
regulates the earth's temperatures and climate and comprises 99
percent of living space on earth. So when we change the chemistry
of the whole ocean system, as we are now, life as we know it is
threatened.
This volume summarises the materials presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Sea-Dumped Chemical Munitions, held in Kaliningrad (Moscow Region), Russia, in January 1995. The conference was sponsored by the NATO Division of Scientific and Environmental Affairs in the framework of its outreach programme to develop co-operation between NATO member countries and the Cooperation Partner countries in the area of disarmament technologies. The problem of the ecological threat posed by chemical weapons (CW) dumped in the seas after the Second World War deserves considerable international attention: the amount of these weapons, many of them having been captured from the German Army, is assessed at more than three times as much as the total chemical arsenals reported by the United States and Russia. They were disposed of in the shallow depths of North European seas - areas of active fishing - in close proximity to densely populated coastlines, with no consideration of the long-term consequences. The highly toxic material have time and again showed up, for instance when retrieved occasionally in the fishing nets, attracting local media coverage only. Nevertheless, this issue has not yet been given adequate and comprehensive scientific analysis, the sea-disposed munitions are not covered by either the Chemical Weapons Convention or other arms control treaties. In fact, the problem has been neglected for a long time on the international level. Only recently were official data made available by the countries which admitted conducting dumping operations.
This second edition provides extensive information on the attributes of the Natural Gas Hydrate (NGH) system, highlighting opportunities for the innovative use and modification of existing technologies, as well as new approaches and technologies that have the potential to dramatically lower the cost of NGH exploration and production. Above all, the book compares the physical, environmental, and commercial aspects of the NGH system with those of other gas resources. It subsequently argues and demonstrates that natural gas can provide the least expensive energy during the transition to, and possibly within, a renewable energy future, and that NGH poses the lowest environmental risk of all gas resources. Intended as a non-mathematical, descriptive text that should be understandable to non-specialists as well as to engineers concerned with the physical characteristics of NGH reservoirs and their production, the book is written for readers at the university graduate level. It offers a valuable reference guide for environmentalists and the energy community, and includes discussions that will be of great interest to energy industry professionals, legislators, administrators, regulators, and all those concerned with energy options and their respective advantages and disadvantages.
This is a textbook for non-atmospheric specialists who work in the coastal zone. Its purpose will be to help coastal environmental, engineering, and planning professionals to understand coastal atmospheric processes. This in turn will allow more effective communication with climate modelers, atmospheric environmental consultants, and members of the media. The coastal environment is among the most intensively used and chronically abused components of the Earth-ocean-atmosphere system. It is also home to an ever-increasing proportion of humanity with their increasing development, trade, transportation, and industrial activities, amid increasing impacts of natural hazards. The atmosphere is an integral part of the system, with all of the above human activities affecting and being affected by atmospheric processes and hazards. Yet few of the specialists studying the coastal environment have expertise on atmospheric processes, this therefore presents a highly relevant textbook on coastal atmospheric processes.
The Whale in the Living Room follows the thrilling adventures of film-maker, John Ruthven, as he travels the globe, dives into our oceans and passionately recounts his life-affirming experiences. What creatures could remain undiscovered in the 95 per cent of the seas that have not been thoroughly explored? How vast, really, are our oceans? The surface of Mars and Venus are better known to us than Earth's seabed. Yet to map the world's ocean to even 100-metre blocks of accuracy, something that environmentalists say is essential for its protection, could take another 300 years. Even creatures that are known to us, like the giant squid, have proved too difficult to accurately capture on film. Quite literally immersed in his subject, John can help readers understand the magnitude of our planet's oceans and why it is so important for us to protect our seas and the creatures that inhabit them. He is the only producer to have worked full-time on both series of Blue Planet, as well as nearly fifty other films about the sea. Through his first-hand experience, John shows us the loneliness of whale calves in the deep blue, the fear of seals as they dodge great white sharks near the coast, or the curiosity of octopus staring back at us through the camera. His book takes us through the blue rings of South Pacific coral atolls, on submarine rides into the abyss with ancient life forms, and up close and personal encounters with singing humpback whales that make you feel the water around you. The Whale in the Living Room, like the proverbial 'elephant in the room', is also about how, until recently, we have been largely blind to our polluting of the seas. John, for example, explores how plastic 'went wild' in the ocean; tries to understand how we got into this mess; and see if we can ever untangle the oceans from its grip.
"Cephalopods are often misunderstood creatures. Three biologists set the record straight."--Science News Largely shell-less relatives of clams and snails, the marine mollusks in the class Cephalopoda--Greek for "head-foot"--are colorful creatures of many-armed dexterity, often inky self-defense, and highly evolved cognition. They are capable of learning, of retaining information--and of rapid decision-making to avoid predators and find prey. They have eyes and senses rivaling those of vertebrates like birds and fishes, they morph texture and body shape, and they change color faster than a chameleon. In short, they captivate us. From the long-armed mimic octopus--able to imitate the appearance of swimming flounders and soles--to the aptly named flamboyant cuttlefish, whose undulating waves of color rival the graphic displays of any LCD screen, there are more than seven hundred species of cephalopod. Featuring a selection of species profiles, Octopus, Squid, and Cuttlefish reveals the evolution, anatomy, life history, behaviors, and relationships of these spellbinding animals. Their existence proves that intelligence can develop in very different ways: not only are cephalopods unusually large-brained invertebrates, they also carry two-thirds of their neurons in their arms. A treasure trove of scientific fact and visual explanation, this worldwide illustrated guide to cephalopods offers a comprehensive review of these fascinating and mysterious underwater invertebrates--from the lone hunting of the octopus, to the social squid, and the prismatic skin signaling of the cuttlefish.
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP: 2000-2013) has provided crucial records of past and present processes and interactions within and between the biosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. Research in IODP encompasses a wide range of fundamental and applied issues that affect society, such as global climate change, biodiversity, the origin of life, natural hazards involving the study of earthquakes processes, and the internal structure and dynamics of our planet. This compilation of major findings from the 2003-2013/14 phase of IODP, focusing on scientific results rather than description of data acquisition and early inferences, provides invaluable information. Anyone wondering what scientific drilling can achieve will gain quick understanding of the range of questions that are uniquely addressed with this methodology and the ways these data dovetail with other regional information. The excitement of breakthrough findings that occasionally accompanies a drilling project will be evident. IODP obtained unique records from the global ocean basins during the 2003-2013 program phase. This book highlights findings in three theme areas: Subseafloor life and the marine biosphere; Earth's changing environments; and Dynamics of the solid Earth. Each core or borehole log provides a window revealing insights that no other data achieve.
Oceanography calls for a wide variety of mathematical and
statistical techniques, and this accessible treatment provides the
basics every oceanographer needs to know, including Written by an oceanographer and based on his successful course
at the University of Hawaii, the volume is well suited to a
two-semester course at the graduate level. The book reviews the
necessary calculus, clarifies statistical concepts, and includes
end-of-chapter problems that illustrate and expand the various
topics. Tips on using MATLAB(r) software in matrix operations
complement chapters that deal with the formulation of relationships
in terms of matrices.
"Geology of the China Seas" represents the first English-language synthesis of the available research into the geology of the South and East China Seas. Among the marginal basins worldwide, these areas have been the focus of extensive research activities in the last three decades, and are now among the global hot spots in hydrocarbon explorations and scientific investigations. The region is experiencing rapid economic development with the offshore petroleum industry providing approximately one third of the domestic hydrocarbon production for mainland China. Gas hydrates have been successfully recovered from the China Seas for the first time. Over the years, many volumes on the geology of the China Seas
have been published in Chinese. Although an increasing number of
papers in English have appeared recently, the majority deal with
local or regional paleo-environment and sedimentology, and are
scattered in different journals. This book brings together this
rich data in one resource, particularly that generated by Chinese
marine geologists and petroleum geologists, and provides the very
first synthesis of the geology off China. |
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