This book contains a comprehensive study of the internal ocean waves, which play a very important role in ocean physics providing mechanisms for ocean water mixing and circulation, as well as the transportation of gases, nutrients, and a very large number of marine organisms in the ocean body. In contrast to surface waves, the literature on internal waves is not so numerous, mainly due to the difficulties in experimental data collection and in the mathematical description of internal wave propagation. In this book, the basic mathematical principles, a physical description of the observed phenomena, and practical theoretical methods of determination of wave parameters as well as the original method of observation using moving sensors are presented. Special attention is paid to internal wave propagation over changing bottom topographies in shallow seas such as the Baltic Sea. The book is supplemented with an extended list of relevant and extended bibliographies, a subject index, and an author index.

The author participated in 38 sea going expeditions including the first manned-submersible project to explore the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the past 45 years of sea floor exploration. It summarizes the mineralogical and petrological composition of sea floor rocks, ocean floor volcanism in relation to the geological setting and the discovery of hydrothermal activity. In addition to learning about various scientific missions and their objectives, the reader is introduced to rift zones where the sea floor is being created, as well as to fracture zones, intraplate volcanoes, and the structural setting of subduction zones

The book presents a wide description of hydrographic conditions in the studied area of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. Variability of the Atlantic Water properties have been presented on the basis of time series obtained from oceanographic measurements performed each summer from 2000 to 2007 by the Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences. The warming observed in that period has been described in detail as well as cooling of the Atlantic Water flowing towards the Fram Strait in 2007. Furthermore, concepts regarding multi-branch structure of the West Spitsbergen Current have been presented, types of flows in individual branches as well as variability of the flows. Description of the structure, transports and variability of the sea currents is based mostly on hydrographic measurements and baroclinic calculations. The results confirm a leading role of the ocean in climate shaping and acknowledges the importance of the Thermohaline Circulation for the climate.

The book is structured into six core parts. The first part sets the scene and explains how the use of Aral basin water resources, primarily used for irrigation, have destroyed the Aral Sea. The team explains how spheres and events interact and the related problems. Part 2 examines the social consequences of the ecological catastrophe and the affect of the Aral Sea desiccation on cultural and economic conditions of near Aral region. Part 3 explores the scientific causes of the destruction using detailed analyses and data plus some of their own research spanning aquatic biology, terrestrial biology, hydrology, water management and biodiversity. They also share some of the latest archaeological discoveries and paleobotanical analysis to delineate past levels and characteristics of the Aral Sea. There is particular focus on modern remote sensing and GIS techniques and how they can monitor the Aral Sea and the environment. Part 4 discusses regional and international initiatives to mitigate human and ecological problems of the Aral Sea and the wider political and economic consequences. With thorough insight of the total environment cost, the final chapters of the book will provide lessons for the future. There are insightful case studies throughout. Multidisciplinary by nature, all titles in our new reference book series will explore significant changes within the Earth's ecosystems and to some extent, and will tackle ways to think about our changing environment.

Atoll Island States exist on top of what is perceived to be one of the planet's most vulnerable ecosystems: atolls. It has been predicted that an increase in the pace of sea level rise brought about by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere will cause them to disappear, forcing their inhabitants to migrate. The present book represents a multidisciplinary legal and engineering perspective on this problem, challenging some common misconceptions regarding atolls and their vulnerability to sea-level rise. Coral islands have survived past changes in sea levels, and it is the survival of coral reefs what will be crucial for their continued existence. These islands are important for their inhabitants as they represent not only their ancestral agricultural lands and heritage, but also a source of revenue through the exploitation of the maritime areas associated with them. However, even if faced with extreme climate change, it could theoretically be possible for the richer Atoll Island States to engineer ways to prevent their main islands from disappearing, though sadly not all will have the required financial resources to do so. As islands become progressively uninhabitable their residents will be forced to settle in foreign lands, and could become stateless if the Atoll Island State ceases to be recognized as a sovereign country. However, rather than tackling this problem by entering into lengthy negotiations over new treaties, more practical solutions, encompassing bilateral negotiations or the possibility of acquiring small new territories, should be explored. This would make it possible for Atoll Island States in the future to keep some sort of international sovereign personality, which could benefit the descendents of its present day inhabitants.

This book provides an example of a thorough statistical treatment of ocean wave data in space and time. It demonstrates how the flexible framework of Bayesian hierarchical space-time models can be applied to oceanographic processes such as significant wave height in order to describe dependence structures and uncertainties in the data. This monograph is a research book and it is partly cross-disciplinary. The methodology itself is firmly rooted in the statistical research tradition, based on probability theory and stochastic processes. However, that methodology has been applied to a problem in the field of physical oceanography, analyzing data for significant wave height, which is of crucial importance to ocean engineering disciplines. Indeed, the statistical properties of significant wave height are important for the design, construction and operation of ships and other marine and coastal structures. Furthermore, the book addresses the question of whether climate change has an effect of the ocean wave climate, and if so what that effect might be. Thus, this book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate on climate change, its implications and how to adapt to a changing climate, with a particular focus on the maritime industries and the marine environment. This book should be of value to anyone with an interest in the statistical modelling of environmental processes, and in particular to those with an interest in the ocean wave climate. It is written on a level that should be understandable to everyone with a basic background in statistics or elementary mathematics, and an introduction to some basic concepts is provided in the appendices for the uninitiated reader. The intended readership includes students and professionals involved in statistics, oceanography, ocean engineering, environmental research, climate sciences and risk assessment. Moreover, the book’s findings are relevant for various stakeholders in the maritime industries such as design offices, classification societies, ship owners, yards and operators, flag states and intergovernmental agencies such as the IMO.

This textbook develops a fundamental understanding of geophysical fluid dynamics by providing a mathematical description of fluid properties, kinematics and dynamics as influenced by earth's rotation. Its didactic value is based on elaborate treatment of basic principles, derived equations, exemplary solutions and their interpretation. Both starting graduate students and experienced scientists can closely follow the mathematical development of the basic theory applied to the flow of uniform density fluids on a rotating earth, with (1) basic physics introducing the "novel" effects of rotation for flows on planetary scales, (2) simplified dynamics of shallow water and quasi-geostrophic theories applied to a variety of steady, unsteady flows and geophysical wave motions, demonstrating the restoring effects of Coriolis acceleration, earth's curvature (beta) and topographic steering, (3) conservation of vorticity and energy at geophysical scales, and (4) specific applications to help demonstrate the ability to create and solve new problems in this very rich field. A comprehensive review of the complex geophysical flows of the ocean and the atmosphere is closely knitted with this basic description, intended to be developed further in the second volume that addresses density stratified geophysical fluid dynamics.

Edited in collaboration with TEN ECOPORT project, this volume contains the proceedings of the 1st International Conference on ‘Sustainable Development of the Sea-corridors and Coastal Waters’. The book highlights the advances of environmental pollution management on ports and coastal zones. Particular attention is given to water quality, issues that concern the marine environment of sea corridors and coastal waters, especially in regions surrounding ports. In addition to these topics the chapters explore novel methodologies and technologies, IT solutions, data and instrumentation of monitoring water quality. The book is organized into five parts: assessment, monitoring, sustainable management system, port processes and historical ports. TEN ECOPORT (Transnational ENhancement of ECOPORT8 network) is a project co-financed by the South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme.

Conservation for the Anthropocene Ocean: Interdisciplinary Science in Support of Nature and People emphasizes strategies to better connect the practice of marine conservation with the needs and priorities of a growing global human population. It conceptualizes nature and people as part of shared ecosystems, with interdisciplinary methodologies and science-based applications for coupled sustainability. A central challenge facing conservation is the development of practical means for addressing the interconnectedness of ecosystem health and human well-being, advancing the fundamental interdisciplinary science that underlies conservation practice, and implementing this science in decisions to manage, preserve, and restore ocean ecosystems. Though humans have intentionally and unintentionally reshaped their environments for thousands of years, the scale and scope of human influence upon the oceans in the Anthropocene is unprecedented. Ocean science has increased our knowledge of the threats and impacts to ecological integrity, yet the unique scale and scope of changes increases uncertainty about responses of dynamic socio-ecological systems. Thus, to understand and protect the biodiversity of the ocean and ameliorate the negative impacts of ocean change on people, it is critical to understand human beliefs, values, behaviors, and impacts. Conversely, on a human-dominated planet, it is impossible to understand and address human well-being and chart a course for sustainable use of the oceans without understanding the implications of environmental change for human societies that depend on marine ecosystems and resources. This work therefore presents a timely, needed, and interdisciplinary approach to the conservation of our oceans.

Requirements.- Motivation.- Basics of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics.- Long Waves in a Channel.- 2D Shallow-Water Modelling.- Rotational Effects.

Recent global events such as the devastating 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami, the 2004 Sumatran tsunami and the 2006 SE Asia undersea network cable failure underscore the societal and economic effects of submarine mass movements. These events call upon the scientific community to understand submarine mass movement processes and consequences to assist in hazard assessment, mitigation and planning. Additionally, submarine mass movements are beginning to be recognized as prevalent in continental margin geologic sections. As such, they represent a significant if not dominant role in margin sedimentary processes. They also represent a potential hazard to hydrocarbon exploration and development, but also represent exploration indicators and targets. This volume consists of a collection of the latest scientific research by international experts in geological, geophysical, engineering and environment aspects of submarine mass failures, focussed on understanding the full spectrum of challenges presented by submarine mass movements and their consequences.

This book presents a concise description of the acoustics of ocean sediment acoustics, including the latest developments that address the discrepancies between theoretical models and experimental measurements. This work should be of interest to ocean acoustic engineers and physicists, as well as graduate students and course instructors. The seabed is neither a liquid nor a solid, but a fluid saturated porous material that obeys the wave equations of a poroelastic medium, which are significantly more complicated than the equations of either a liquid or a solid. This volume presents a model of seabed acoustics with input parameters that allow the model to cover a wide range of sediment types. The author includes example reflection and transmission curves which may be used as typical for a range of sediment types. The contents of this book will allow the reader to understand the physical processes involved in the reflection, propagation, and attenuation of sound and shear waves in ocean sediments and to model the acoustic properties for a wide range of applications.

The aim of the book is to present for non-specialist researchers as well as for experts a comprehensive overview of the background, key ideas, basic methods, implementation details and a selection of solutions offered by a novel technology for the optimisation of the location of dangerous offshore activities in terms of environmental criteria, as developed in the course of the BalticWay project. The book consists of two parts. The first part introduces the basic principles of ocean modeling and depicts the long way from the generic principles to the practical modeling of oil spills and of the propagation of other adverse impacts. The second part focuses on the techniques for solving the inverse problem of the quantification of offshore areas with respect to their potential to serve as a source of environmental danger to vulnerable regions (such as spawning, nursing or also tourist areas). The chapters are written in a tutorial style; they are mostly self-contained and understandable for non-specialist researchers and students. They are carefully peer-reviewed by international experts. The goal was to produce a book that highlights all key steps, methods, models and data sets it is necessary to combine in order to produce a practically usable technology and/or decision support system for a particular sea region. Thus the book is useful not only as a description and a manual of this particular technology but also as a roadmap highlighting the complicated technical issues of ocean modeling for practical purposes. It describes the approaches taken by the authors in an understandable way and thus is useful for educational purposes, such as a course in industrially and environmentally relevant applications of ocean modeling.

This book is one out of 8 IAEG XII Congress volumes, and deals with the processes occurring on the coastal zone, which represents a critical interface between land and sea, as the contribution of the ocean to the provision of energy and mineral resources will likely increase in the coming decades. Several related topics fit into this volume, such as: coastal developments and infrastructures; dredging and beach re-nourishment; sediment erosion, transport and accumulation; geohazard assessment; seafloor uses; seabed mapping; exploration and exploitation of the seafloor, of the sub-seafloor, and of marine clean energies and climatic and anthropogenic impacts on coastal and marine environments. Examples of specific themes are coastal management and shore protection, taking into account storm-related events and natural and anthropogenic changes in the relative sea level, planning of waste disposal, remedial works for coastal pollution, seafloor pipeline engineering, slope stability analysis, or tsunami propagation and flooding. The Engineering Geology for Society and Territory volumes of the IAEG XII Congress held in Torino from September 15-19, 2014, analyze the dynamic role of engineering geology in our changing world and build on the four main themes of the congress: environment, processes, issues and approaches. The congress topics and subject areas of the 8 IAEG XII Congress volumes are: 1. Climate Change and Engineering Geology 2. Landslide Processes River Basins 3. Reservoir Sedimentation and Water Resources 4. Marine and Coastal Processes Urban Geology 5. Sustainable Planning and Landscape Exploitation 6. Applied Geology for Major Engineering Projects 7. Education, Professional Ethics and Public Recognition of Engineering Geology 8. Preservation of Cultural Heritage.

This book presents a comprehensive summary of research on tropical cyclone variability at various time scales, from intraseasonal and interannual to interdecadal and centennial. It covers the fundamental theory, statistics and numerical modelling techniques used when considering climate variability in relation to tropical cyclone activity. Major climate oscillations including the Madden-Julian, El Nino, Atlantic Meridional Mode, and Pacific Decadal oscillations are covered, and their impacts on tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are discussed. Hurricane landfalls in the United States, Caribbean and East Asia are also considered. Climate models and numerical simulations are used to show how prediction models of tropical cyclones are developed, while looking to the future, particular attention is paid to predicting how tropical cyclones will change in response to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. This book ideal for researchers and practitioners in atmospheric science, climatology, oceanography and civil and environmental engineering.

This book contributes to the current discussion on global environmental changes by discussing modifications in marine ecosystems related to global climate changes. In marine ecosystems, rising atmospheric CO2 and climate changes are associated with shifts in temperature, circulation, stratification, nutrient input, oxygen concentration and ocean acidification, which have significant biological effects on a regional and global scale. Knowing how these changes affect the distribution and abundance of plankton in the ocean currents is crucial to our understanding of how climate change impacts the marine environment. Ocean temperatures, weather and climatic changes greatly influence the amount and location of nutrients in the water column. If temperatures and currents change, the plankton production cycle may not coincide with the reproduction cycle of fish. The above changes are closely related to the changes in radiative forcing, which initiate feedback mechanisms like changes in surface temperature, circulation, and atmospheric chemistry.

This study describes the fundamentals of assessing the vulnerability of coral islands, as well as environmental management and resource exploitation. Using seabird subfossils, such as bones, guano, eggshells etc., which have been well preserved on the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, the author identifies the influences of climate change and human activity on seabird populations and diets. Understanding the past is of great importance for predicting the future, and seabird subfossils provide valuable information, which can be used to study changes in seabird ecology, paleoceanography and palaeoclimate. Furthermore, this study proposes examining the biogeochemical cycling of some elements present in the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. Dr. Liqiang Xu works at the Hefei University of Technology, China.

This book surveys key projects that have seen the construction of large floating structures or have attained detailed conceptual designs. This compilation of key floating structures in a single volume captures the innovative features that mark the technological advances made in this field of engineering and will provide a useful reference for ideas, analysis, design and construction of these unique and emerging urban projects to offshore and marine engineers, urban planners, architects and students.

This book presents geomorphological and sedimentological aspects of Holocene boulder ridges along the coastline of western Ireland (the Aran Islands and Galway Bay). Given these boulders' size, extent and altitude, they are among the most spectacular deposits moved by marine forces worldwide and have challenged researchers to solve their enigmatic history. In particular, the question of how their features were formed (by storm waves or by tsunamis) is a matter of heated debate. The documentation is based on the authors' own field research, including observations on the boulder transport capacity of six extremely strong winter storms in the 2013/14 season. Discussing the arguments published to date and using more than 130 images for clarity, the book addresses the character, setting and extraordinary size of these boulders moved on land, comparing them with the situation along other exposed coastlines of the world.

Major natural hazards have sparked growing public concern worldwide. This book provides new information on Typhoon Impact and Crisis Management using satellite remote sensing technology, linking the natural sciences and social sciences in typhoon studies. It examines remote sensing observations of typhoons (hurricanes), typhoon impacts on the environment, typhoon impacts on marine ecosystems, typhoon impacts and global changes, typhoon (hurricane) impacts on economics, and crisis management for typhoon (hurricane) disasters.

In this wide-ranging and comprehensive review of the historical development and current status of ocean circulation models, the analysis extends from simple analytical approaches to the latest high-resolution numerical models with data assimilation. The authors, both of whom are pioneer scientists in ocean and shelf sea modelling, look back at the evolution of Western and Eastern modelling methodologies during the second half of the last century. They also present the very latest information on ocean climate modelling and offer examples for a number of oceans and shelf seas.

The book includes a critical analysis of literature on ocean climate variability modelling, as well as assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the best-known modelling techniques. It also anticipates future developments in the field, focusing on models based on a synthesis of numerical simulation and field observation, and on nonlinear thermodynamic model data synthesis.

One key uncertainty in predictions of future climate is caused by the lack of knowledge of transport processes in the air-water interface; this poses the main transfer resistance between oceans and atmosphere. This book reviews recent progress in the domains of experimental process studies as well as computer stimulation. It represents an early approach of merging insights gained in both fields and broadens our understanding of air-water gas and heat exchange.

The Asia and Pacific region is home to the world's largest concentration of coral reefs and mangroves. It accommodates two-thirds of the world's human population and its economic activities have the highest growth rate in the world. This book gives an overview of the state-of-the-art understanding on the drivers, state, and responses to the coastal environmental changes in the Asia and Pacific region. It provides important perspectives on the subject for researchers.

Ecological Informatics promotes interdisciplinary research between ecology and computer science on elucidation of principles of information processing in ecosystems, ecological sustainability by informed decision making, and bio-inspired computation. The 2nd edition of the book consolidates the scope, concepts, and techniques of this newly emerging discipline by a new preface and additional chapters on cellular automata, qualitative reasoning, hybrid evolutionary algorithms and artificial neural networks. It illustrates numerous applications of Ecological Informatics for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, image recognition at micro- and macro-scale as well as computer hardware design. Case studies focus on applications of artificial neural networks, evolutionary computation, cellular automata, adaptive agents, fuzzy logic as well as qualitative reasoning. The 2nd edition of the book includes an index with novel evolutionary algorithms for the discovery of multiple nonlinear functions and rule sets as well as parameter optimisation in complex ecological data.