This book presents an up-to-date analysis of ocean-atmosphere interaction. Well known experts examine diverse subjects such as ocean surface waves, air-sea exchange processes, ocean surface mixed layer, water-mass formation, as well as general circulation of the oceans, El Nino and Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the deep-ocean circulation. Other areas described are basic dynamics, data analysis techniques, numerical modelling, and remote sensing.

This book is primarily aimed at graduate and senior undergraduate courses in the area of ocean-atmosphere research.

This study analyzes carbon-cycle conditions controlling the state of the Arctic ecosystem and their seasonal variations. Territory covered includes the Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, East-Siberian and Chukchi Seas, considering inter-correlations between sources of organic carbon, their fluxes, recycling and burial in bottom sediments. All biological communities (phythoplankton, macrophythobenthos, microphythobentos, bacterioplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos) are taken into account regarding their participation in the carbon cycle.

Klaus-Peter Schwarz, lAG President The University of Calgary The Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Geodesy (lAG) was held from September 3 to 9, 1997 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in conjunction with the 18th Brazilean Congress of Carthography. This was the first time that one ofthe major lAG meetings took place in Brazil. It provided an opportunity to showcase the progress of geodetic work in South America through campaigns such as SIRGAS. It also provided an opportunity for a large group of international experts to present the state of the art in ge- odesy and geodynamis and to interact with their hosts on possibilities of future coopera- tion. For the lAG, it continued a trend, started in Beijing four years ago, to hold major geodetic meetings outside of Europe and North America. The International Geoid School which was held in Sao Paulo following this meeting showed another facet of this grow- ing internationalization ofIAG activities and services. The scientific program of the meeting consisted of three symposia and two special ses- sions, namely Symposium 1 : Advances in Positioning and Reference Frames Symposium 2: Gravity and Geoid Symposium 3: Geodynamics Special Session 1: lAG Services Special Session 2: Geodesy in Antartica. Papers presented at the first symposium are published in volume 1 of these proceedings, while papers of symposia 2 and 3 as well as special session 2 are contained in volume 2. Papers presented at special session 1 will be published separately.

Microbial systems in extreme environments and in the deep biosphere may be analogous to potential life on other planetary bodies and hence may be used to investigate the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. This book examines the mode and nature of links between geological processes and microbial activities and their significance for the origin and evolution of life on the Earth and possibly on other planets. This is a truly interdisciplinary science with societal relevance.

This book presents a global hydrographic description of the thermohaline circulation, an introduction to the theoretical aspects of this phenomenon, and observational evidence for the theory. The hydrographic description and the observational evidence are based on data sources available via internet, mainly from the World Oceanographic Experiment (WOCE). The book also offers an introduction to hydrographic analysis and interpretation.

This book fills a gap in knowledge of breaking waves and their influence on the generation of marine fluxes from ocean surfaces. Based on published data as well as on the author's experience, the text explores in detail the relationship chain of breaking waves, whitecaps coverage, rate of wave energy dissipation, amount of aerosol fluxes rising from a given sea basin, and possible seasonal variations.

Until the 1980s, a tacit agreement among many physical oceanographers was that nothing deserving attention could be found in the upper few meters of the ocean. The lack of adequete knowledge about the near-surface layer of the ocean was mainly due to the fact that the widely used oceanographic instruments (such as bathythermographs, CTDs, current meters, etc.) were practically useless in the upper few meters of the ocean. Interest in the ne- surface layer of the ocean rapidly increased along with the development of remote sensing techniques. The interpretation of ocean surface signals sensed from satellites demanded thorough knowledge of upper ocean processes and their connection to the ocean interior. Despite its accessibility to the investigator, the near-surface layer of the ocean is not a simple subject of experimental study. Random, sometimes huge, vertical motions of the ocean surface due to surface waves are a serious complication for collecting quality data close to the ocean surface. The supposedly minor problem of avoiding disturbances from ships' wakes has frustrated several generations of oceanographers attempting to take reliable data from the upper few meters of the ocean. Important practical applications nevertheless demanded action, and as a result several pioneering works in the 1970s and 1980s laid the foundation for the new subject of oceanography - the near-surface layer of the ocean.

At a time when the polar regions are undergoing rapid and unprecedented change, understanding exchanges of momentum, heat and salt at the ice-ocean interface is critical for realistically predicting the future state of sea ice. By offering a measurement platform largely unaffected by surface waves, drifting sea ice provides a unique laboratory for studying aspects of geophysical boundary layer flows that are extremely difficult to measure elsewhere. This book draws on both extensive observations and theoretical principles to develop a concise description of the impact of stress, rotation, and buoyancy on the turbulence scales that control exchanges between the atmosphere and underlying ocean when sea ice is present. Several interesting and unique observational data sets are used to illustrate different aspects of ice-ocean interaction ranging from the impact of salt on melting in the Greenland Sea marginal ice zone, to how nonlinearities in the equation of state for seawater affect mixing in the Weddell Sea.

The book s content, developed from a series of lectures, may be appropriate additional material for upper-level undergraduates and first-year graduate students studying the geophysics of sea ice and planetary boundary layers."

This multifaceted study explores new directions for plate tectonic research, especially as a guide for future geodynamic modelling of the earth. In particular, it equips readers with a plate-tectonic toolbox (with derivations and ANSI-C code) for applications and reconstruction analysis, including new continuous calculation methods. Pilger's Geokinematics shows how to apply these tools to Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic kinematics, with a focus on hotspot reference frames, and for empirical analysis of continental stress histories, including fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs. Supported by solid arguments and data, the book integrates theoretical developments of expanded plate kinematic theory and an ensemble of critical observations into a grand model, with the new concept of mesoplates playing a key role.

This book studies the history and gives an analysis of extreme climate change on Earth. In order to provide a long-term perspective, the first chapter briefly reviews some of the wild gyrations that occurred in the Earth s climate hundreds of millions of years ago: snowball Earth and hothouse Earth. Coming closer to modern times, the effects of continental drift, particularly the closing of the Isthmus of Panama are believed to have contributed to the advent of ice ages in the past three million years. This first chapter sets the stage for a discussion of ice ages in the geological recent past (i.e. within the last three million years, with an emphasis on the last few hundred thousand years).

The second chapter discusses geological evidence for ice ages how geologists surmised their existence prior to actual subsurface data that proved the theory. The following two chapters look at ice cores (primarily from Greenland and Antarctica). Chapter 3 discusses how ice core data is processed and Chapter 4 summarizes data obtained from ice cores. Chapter 5 discusses the processing of data obtained from ocean sediments, and summarizes the results, while the following chapter discusses data from other sources, such as "Devil s Cave."

Chapter 7 summarizes the experimental results from Chapters 4, 5, and 6. It provides the foundation for comparison with theories in later chapters. In a perfect world, this data would be totally separate and disconnected from theory. Unfortunately, as the author shows, dating of much of the data was accomplished by "tuning" to the astronomical theory, which introduces circular reasoning.

Chapter 8 provides a brief overview of the various theories that have been devised to "explain" the patterns of alternating ice ages and interglacials that have occurred over the past three million years. This serves as an introduction to the following three chapters which presents the astronomical theory in its various manifestations,

compare the astronomical theory with data, and then compare other theories with data. Finally, Chapter 12 summarizes what we think we know about ice ages and, more importantly, what we don t know. "

This work brings together previously unpublished notes contributed by participants of the IUTAM Symposium on Hamiltonian Dynamics, Vortex Structures, Turbulence (Moscow, 25-30 August 2006). The study of vortex motion is of great interest to fluid and gas dynamics: since all real flows are vortical in nature, applications of the vortex theory are extremely diverse, many of them (e.g. aircraft dynamics, atmospheric and ocean phenomena) being especially important.

This book is a research monograph on high-Frequency Seafloor Acoustics. It is the first book in a new series sponsored by the Office of Naval Research on the latest research in underwater acoustics. It provides a critical evaluation of the data and models pertaining to high-frequency acoustic interaction with the seafloor, which will be of interest to researchers in underwater acoustics and to developers of sonars. Models and data are presented so as to be readily usable, backed up by extensive explanation. Much of the data is new, and the discussion in on two levels: concise descriptions in the main text backed up by extensive technical appendices.

The authors of this timely reference provide an updated and global view on ocean wave energy conversion and they do so for wave energy developers as well as for students and professors. The book is orientated to the practical solutions that this new industry has found so far and the problems that any device needs to face. It describes the actual principles applied to machines that convert wave power to electricity and examines state-of-the-art modern systems.

Engineers dreams and fossil energy replacement schemes can come true. Man has been tapping the energy of the sea to provide power for his industries for centuries. Tidal energy combined with that of waves and marine winds rank among those most successfully put the work. Large scale plants are capital intensive but smaller ones, particularly built in China, have proven profitable. Since the initiation of the St Malo project in France, similar projects have gone into active service where methods have been devised to cut down on costs, new types of turbines developed and cost competitiveness considerably improved. Tidal power has enormous potential. The book reviews recent progress in extracting power from the ocean, surveys the history of tidal power harnessing and updates a prior publication by the author."

Oceans and the Atmospheric Carbon Content, presents an interdisciplinary overview of the role of the oceans as a carbon sink and its relation with pH increasing trends and climate change. This volume discusses topics such as: climate variability during the last deglaciation, based on a high-resolution pollen analysis; the potential impact of CO2 from large metropolitan areas over the adjacent coastal zones and the importance of having high resolution atmospheric CO2 data to estimate accurately air-sea CO2 exchanges; present- day CO2 fluxes in the coastal ocean and their potential feedbacks under global climate change; phytoplankton community responses to climate change with emphasis on decreasing pH trends in sea water and its ecological effects; pH decrease and its effects on sea-water chemistry from a ten year time-series; the effect of acidification on metal bioaccumulation; the effects of increasing temperatures and acidification on contaminant dynamics and availability to biota; the prevention of potential environmental impacts related to the geological sequestration of CO2. The book provides an updated synthesis of current concerns related to global change trends in the oceans with a strong emphasis on acidification. The content draws attention to the importance of dealing with observed global change trends and their effects upon the oceans using an interdisciplinary approach due to their complexity and interlinks between different areas of knowledge.

We are only now beginning to understand the climatic impact of the remarkable events that are now occurring in subarctic waters. Researchers, however, have yet to agree upon a predictive model that links change in our northern seas to climate. This volume brings together the body of evidence needed to develop climate models that quantify the ocean exchanges through subarctic seas, measure their variability, and gauge their impact on climate.

The book addresses a weakness of current methodologies used in extreme value assessment, i.e. the assumption of stationarity, which is not given in reality. With respect to this issue a lot of new developed technologies are presented, i.e. influence of trends vs. internal correlations, quantitative uncertainty assessments, etc. The book not only focuses on artificial time series data, but has a close link to empirical measurements, in order to make the suggested methodologies applicable for practitioners in water management and meteorology.

Caribbean Tsunamis - A 500-Year History from 1498-1998 broadly characterizes the nature of tsunamis in the Caribbean Sea, while bearing in mind both scientific aspects as well as potential interest by the many governments and populations likely to be affected by the hazard. Comprehension of the nature of tsunamis and past effects is crucial for the awareness and education of populations at risk.
Audience: This book provides a thorough, yet highly accessible review of tsunamis in the Caribbean. It is of interest not only to tsunami and natural hazards specialists at academia and governmental institutes, but also to policy makers and to the general public.

Coastal zones play a key role in Earth System functioning and form an "edge for society" providing a significant contribution to the life support systems. Goods and services derived from coastal systems depend strongly on multiple transboundary interactions with the land, atmosphere, open ocean and sea bottom. Increasing demands on coastal resources driven by human habitation, food security, recreation and transportation accelerate the exploitation of the coastal landscape and water bodies. Many coastal areas and human activities are subject to increasing risks from natural and man-induced hazards such as flooding resulting from major changes in hydrology of river systems that has reached a global scale. Changes in the hydrological cycle coupled with changes in land and water management alter fluxes of materials transmitted from river catchments to the coastal zone, which have a major effect on coastal ecosystems. The increasing complexity of underlying processes and forcing functions that drive changes on coastal systems are witnessed at a multiplicity of temporal and spatial scales.

"It came from nowhere, snapping giant ships in two. No one believed the survivors . . . until now" -New Scientist magazine cover, June 30, 2001 Rogue waves are the focus of this book. They are among the waves naturally - served by people on the sea surface that represent an inseparable feature of the Ocean. Rogue waves appear from nowhere, cause danger, and disappear at once. They may occur on the surface of a relatively calm sea and not reach very high amplitudes, but still be fatal for ships and crew due to their unexpectedness and abnormal features. Seamen are known to be unsurpassed authors of exciting and horrifying stories about the sea and sea waves. This could explain why, despite the increasing number of documented cases, that sailors' observations of "walls of - ter" have been considered ctitious for a while. These stories are now addressed again due to the amount of doubtless evidence of the existence of the phenomenon, but still without suf cient information to - able interested researchers and engineers to completely understand it. The billows appear suddenly, exceeding the surrounding waves by two times their size and more, and obtaining many names: abnormal, exceptional, extreme, giant, huge, s- den, episodic, freak, monster, rogue, vicious, killer, mad- or rabid-dog waves, cape rollers, holes in the sea, walls of water, three sisters, etc.

The transfer across the surface of environmental waters is of interest as an important phase in the geophysical and natural biochemical cycles of numer ous substances; indeed it governs the transition, one way or the other, be tween the dissolved state in the water and the gaseous state in the atmo sphere. Especially with increasing population and industrialization, gas transfer at water surfaces has become a critical factor in the understanding of the various pathways of wastes in the environment and of their engineering management. This interfacial mass transfer is, by its very nature, highly complex. The air and the water are usually in turbulent motion, and the interface be tween them is irregular, and disturbed by waves, sometimes accompanied by breaking, spray and bubble formation. Thus the transfer involves a wide variety of physical phenomena occurring over a wide range of scales. As a consequence, scientists and engineers from diverse disciplines and problem areas, have approached the problem, often with greatly differing analytical and experimental techniques and methodologies."

This book provides extensive insight on remote sensing of coastal waters from aircraft and space-based platforms. The primary focus of the book is optical remote sensing using passive instruments, to measure and analyze the coastal aquatic environment. The authors have gathered information from a variety of sources, to help non-specialists grasp new techniques and technology, to quickly produce useful data

Recent studies suggest that tropical cyclones are more powerful than in the past with the most dramatic increase in the North Atlantic. The increase is correlated with an increase in ocean temperature. A debate concerns the nature of these increases with some scientists attributing them to a natural climate fluctuation and others suggesting climate change related to anthropogenic increases in forcing from greenhouse gases.

A Summit on Hurricanes and Climate Change was held during the spring of 2007 on the island of Crete that brought together leading academics and researchers on both sides of the scientific debate to discuss new research and express opinions about what will happen in the future with regard to hurricane activity. This proceedings volume highlights the state-of-the-science research into various aspects of the hurricane-climate connection. It is likely that the science presented here will lead to new research that will help answer crucial questions about our sustainable future.

Spatial and temporal averaging of observational data is widely used in many problems of meteorology, hydrology and related sciences. Several averaging methods have been proposed by various scientists and are used on a regular basis to obtain data averaged in space orfand in time, to yield data which are less influenced by random factors than initial point data are. The significance of averaging meteorological fields has substantially increased nowadays in connection with the problem of global climate change. However important as such change may be, it is very small as compared with the natural variability of atmospheric fields. An accurate averaging is absolutely necessary in order to discover a small climate change signal on the background of strong natural variability that acts as a random noise in this context. It is highly desirable not only to determine the averaged values themselves, but also to estimate the accuracy with which these values are known. To evaluate the accuracy of averaging is not a simple task mainly because the initial point values are not independent from each other, and interconnections between them substantially influence the averaging accuracy.

This book is a collection of the lectures, held at the International Summer School ISSAOS-2000 in L'Aquila (Italy), given by invited lecturers coming from both Europe and the USA. The goal of the book is to provide a broad panorama of spaceborne remote sensing techniques, at both microwave and visible-infrared bands and by both active and passive sensors, for the retrieval of atmospheric and oceanic parameters. A significant emphasis is given to the physical modeling background, instrument potential and limitations, inversion methods and applications. Topics on international remote sensing programs and assimilation techniques into numerical weather forecast models are also touched.

The main purpose of the book is to offer to young scientists, Ph.D. or equivalent students, and to all who would like to have a broad-spectrum understanding of spaceborne remote sensing capabilities, introductory material to each remote sensing topic written by the most qualified experts in the field.