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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere > Oceanography (seas)
The text of the Persian poet Rum - - ?, written some eight centuries ago, and reproduced at the beginning of this book is still relevant to many of our pursuits of knowledge, not least of turbulence. The text illustrates the inability people have in seeing the whole thing, the 'big picture'. Everybody looks into the problem from his/her vi- point, and that leads to disagreement and controversy. If we could see the whole thing, our understanding would become complete and there would be no cont- versy. The turbulent motion of the atmosphere and oceans, at the heart of the observed general circulation, is undoubtedly very complex and dif?cult to understand in its entirety. Even 'bare' turbulence, without rotation and strati?cation whose effects are paramount in the atmosphere and oceans, still poses great fundamental ch- lenges for understanding after a century of research. Rotating strati?ed turbulence is a relatively new research topic. It is also far richer, exhibiting a host of distinct wave types interacting in a complicated and often subtle way with long-lived - herent structures such as jets or currents and vortices. All of this is tied together by basic ?uid-dynamical nonlinearity, and this gives rise to a multitude of phen- ena: spontaneous wave emission, wave-induced transport, both direct and inverse energy scale cascades, lateral and vertical anisotropy, fronts and transport barriers, anomalous transport in coherent vortices, and a very wide range of dynamical and thermodynamical instabilities.
Although there are some biological processes that are supported by
UV radiation, most organisms are stressed by it in various ways,
e.g. through DNA damage.
Everyone working in a problem as complex as continental drift, must at some time have feit the need for an objective data summary in fields other than his own. It is a scientific dilemma that, aIthough there is evident need for researchers with competence in many fields (the classical natural scientist), the time in volved in acquiring such broad experience is so great as to ren der the task largely impossible. The alternative seems to be the team approach, and we have espoused it in tbis volume. Editors and contributors alike have tried in this book to keep the accent upon factual information and to reduce interpretation to a minimum. Interpretation there must be, however, since without it science is but an inteHectual pastime comparable to pbilately. The librarian's need to classify results in the appearance of our names upon the spine oftbis volume, however, we would like to make it clear that the book has been a truly cooperative effort and could not have succeeded but for the active help of the individual contributors, whose assistance seldom was re stricted to their chapters. Special thanks must be given to our South American coHeagues, for the tolerance with which they viewed out editorial attempts, and to Dr. E. Machens, for his careful review of the translation of his manu script. We wish also to acknowledge the help of Dr. C. W."
This first volume in the treatise on the Physics of Lakes deals with the formulation of the mathematical and physical background. A large number of lakes on Earth are described, presenting their morphology as well as the causes of their response to the driving environment. Because the physics of lakes cannot be described without the language used in mathematics, these subjects are introduced first by using the simplest approach and with utmost care, assuming only a limited college knowledge of classical Newtonian physics, and continues with increasing complexity and elegance, starting with the fundamental equations of Lake Hydrodynamics in the form of 'primitive equations' and leading to a detailed treatment of angular momentum and vorticity. Following the presentation of these fundamentals turbulence modeling is introduced with Reynolds, Favre and other non-ergodic filters. The derivation of averaged field equations is presented with different closure schemes, including the k- model for a Boussinesq fluid and early anisotropic closure schemes. This is followed by expositions of surface gravity waves without rotation and an analysis of the role played by the distribution of mass within water bodies on the Earth, leading to a study of internal waves. The vertical structure of wind-induced currents in homogeneous and stratified waters and the Ekman theory and some of its extensions close this first volume of Physics of Lakes. The last chapter collects formulas for the phenomenological coefficients of water.
The. Advanced Research Inst i tute (ARI) on Dynamic Processes in the Chemistry of the Upper OCean had its origins in discussions by the NATO Special Programme Panel on Marine Sciences during 1978 when a wide range of topics for future ARIs was being considered. What was then envisaged was a workshop on chemical aspects of the oceanic mixed layer, at which consider ation would be given to the inputs, cycling and removal of material, and the problems involved in the quantitative assessment of fluxes. It was realised that any attempt to model chemical processes would need the active collaboration of workers from other fields, especially physical oceano graphers concerned with air-sea interaction and turbulence, and biological oceano raphers with expertise in primary productivity and the cycling of particulate and dissolved organic material. As plans for the ARI developed further a somewhat different emphasis emerged, focused on the question as to how chemists should set about observing an environment as variable and dynamic as the upper ocean and selecting the appropriate scales for the framework of measurements to study a particular process, especially in the light of current knowledge of physical processes of transport and mixing. It was plain that the capabil ity of physical oceanographic methods to resolve differences on small spatial and temporal scales is considerably ahead of the capabilities of biologists and chemists who rely upon discrete sampling and complex lab oratory manipulations in order to obtain most of their data."
The phenomenon of sound transmissions through marine sediments is of extreme interest to both the United States civilian and Navy research communities. Both communities have conducted research within the field of this phenomenon approaching it from different perspectives. The academic research community has approached it as a technique for studying sedimentary and crustal structures of the ocean basins. The Navy research community has approached it as an additional variable in the predictability of sound trans mission through oceanic waters. In order to join these diverse talents, with the principal aim of bringing into sharp focus the state-of-the-science in the problems relating to the behavior of sound in marine sediments, the Office of Naval Research organized and sponsored an invited symposium on this subject. The papers published in this volume are the results of this symposium and mark the frontiers in the state-of-the-art. The symposia series were based on five research areas identified by ONR as being particularly suitable for critical review and for the appraisal of future research trends. These areas include: 1. Physics of Sound in Marine Sediments, 2. Physical and Engineering Properties of Deep-Sea Sediments, 3. The Role of Bottom Currents in Sea Floor Geological Processes, 4. Nephelometry and the Optical Properties of the Ocean I'laters, S. Natural Gases in Marine Sediments and Their Mode of Distribution. These five areas also form some of the research priorities of the ONR program in Marine Geology and Geophysics."
Waves critically affect man in coastal regions, including the open coasts and adjacent continental shelves. Preventing beach erosion, designing and building structures, designing and operating ships, providing marine forecasts, and coastal planning are but a few examples of projects for which extensive information about wave conditions is critical. Scientific studies, especially those in volving coastal processes and the development of better wave prediction models, also require wave condition information. How ever, wave conditions along and off the coasts of the United States have not been adequately determined. The main categories of available wave data are visual estimates of wave conditions made from ships at sea, scientific measurements of waves made for short time periods at specific locations, and a small number of long-term measurements made from piers or offshore platforms. With these considerations in mind, the National Ocean Survey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sponsored the Ocean Wave Climate Symposium at Herndon, Virginia, July 12-14, 1977. This volume contains papers presented at this symposium. A goal of the symposium was to establish the foundations for a com prehensive and far-sighted wave measurement and analysis program to fully describe the coastal wave climate of the United States. Emphasis was placed on ocean engineering and scientific uses of wave data, existing wave monitoring programs, and modern measure ment techniques which may provide currently needed data."
In the framework of the Diderot Mathematical Forum (DMF) of the European Mathematical Society (EMS), December 19-20, 1997, a Videoconference was held linking three teams of specialists in Amsterdam, Madrid and Venice respectively. The general subject of this videoconference, the second one of the DMF series, was Mathematics and Environment and more specifically, Problems related to Water. This volume contains the texts of the Madrid site contributions with important, new and unpublished, examples on the modeling, mathematical and numerical analysis and treatment of the associated control problems of relevant questions arising in Oceanography and Environment.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is 344 400 square kilometres in size and is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. This comprehensive guide describes the organisms and ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as the biological, chemical and physical processes that influence them. Contemporary pressing issues such as climate change, coral bleaching, coral disease and the challenges of coral reef fisheries are also discussed. In addition, the book includes a field guide that will help people to identify the common animals and plants on the reef, then to delve into the book to learn more about the roles the biota play. Beautifully illustrated and with contributions from thirty-three international experts, The Great Barrier Reef is a must-read for the interested reef tourist, student, researcher and manager. While it has an Australian focus, it can equally be used as a baseline text for most Indo-Pacific coral reefs.
The continental shelf seas have an importance which is out of proportion to the rela tively small fraction of the area of the global ocean which they occupy. These shallow seas play an important role as the high energy boundary zones of the deep ocean where much of the ocean's tidal and wave energies are dissipated. They are highly productive biologically and are responsible for most of the world's fishery production. In many cases, they are also sources of economically important resources, notably hydrocarbons and they are frequently important as thorough fares for merchant shipping. Because they are the regions of the ocean closest to our centres of population and industrial activity, they have been the first to feel the impact of the increasing pressures imposed by large scale waste disposal into the ocean. The North Sea is an archetypal representative of such seas: we need to be able to understand its processes and predict them if we are to achieve a degree of rational management in the future, as the environmental threats increase. The understanding required extends through a wide range of processes that operate in the shelf seas from the fundamental physics to the chemistry and biology of the water column and the seabed sediments. These processes, and the interactions between them, cut across the traditional discipline boundaries within marine science and require a substantial inter disciplinary effort for their effective study.
One of the most crucial but still very poorly understood topics of oceanographic science is the role of ocean processes in contributing to the dynamics of climate and global change. This book presents a series of high level lectures on the major categories of ocean/atmosphere processes. Three of these major issues are the focus of the lectures: (1) air--sea interaction processes; (2) water mass formation, dispersion and mixing; (3) general circulation, with specific emphasis on the thermohaline component. Global examples in the world ocean are provided and discussed in the lectures. In parallel, the Mediterranean Sea is a laboratory basin in providing analogues of the above global processes relevant to climate dynamics. They include the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation with its own `conveyor belt'; intermediate and deep water mass formation and transformations, dispersion and mixing. No other book in the field provides a review of fundamental lectures on these processes, coupled with global examples and their Mediterranean analogues.
Optical remote sensing is of invaluable help in understanding the marine environment and its biogeochemical and physical processes. The Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), which operated on board the Nimbus-7 satellite from late 1978 to early 1986, has been the main source of ocean colour data. Much work has been devoted to CZCS data processing and analysis techniques throughout the 1980s. After a decade of experience, the Productivity of the Global Ocean (PGO) Activity - which was established in the framework of the International Space Year 1992 (ISY '92) by SAFISY, the Space Agency Forum of ISY - sponsored a workshop aimed at providing a reference in ocean colour science and at promoting the full exploitation of the CZCS historical data in the field of biological oceanography. The present volume comprises a series of state-of-the-art contributions on theory, applications and future perspectives of ocean colour. After an introduction on the historical perspective of ocean colour, a number of articles are devoted to the CZCS theoretical background, on radiative transfer and in-water topics, as well as on calibration, atmospheric correction and pigment concentration retrieval algorithms developed for the CZCS. Further, a review is given of major applications of CZCS data around the world, carried out in the past decade. The following part of the book is centered on the application of ocean colour to the assessment of marine biological information, with particular regard to plankton biomass, primary productivity and the coupling of physical/biological models. The links between global oceanic production and climate dynamics are also addressed. Finally, the last section is devoted to future approaches and goals of ocean colour science, and to planned sensors and systems. The book is required reading for those involved in ocean colour and related disciplines, providing an overview of the current status in this field as well as stimulating the debate on new ideas and developments for upcoming ocean colour missions.
Recent decades have seen a degradation of the environmental quality in semi-enclosed seas, which are particularly sensitive to population pressures due to their naturally low flushing rates related to their geometry. The North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Black Sea are amongst the most seriously threatened seas in the Euro-Asian region. Each semi-enclosed sea has a distinct pattern of circulation, transport, mixing, associated with the particular geometry, topography, boundary processes, interior stratification, atmospheric forcing, ice fonnation, straits / sill controls, and the specific inputs of freshwater, nutrients and pollutants. The workshop investigated the distinctive physical and ecological characteristics of the three seas in a comparative manner, in order to identify the types of driving forces and dynamic controls operating on productivity, nutrient cycling, physical transport and mixing mechanisms. A comparative study of these controlling mechanisms would allow us to better understand ecosystem sensitivity in these different environments. The workshop presentations highlighted the complexity of the semi-enclosed seas related to the interaction amongst the physical, chemical and biological fields, and differences in time and space scales in each of the systems. Further, a strong climate signal exists in these systems, manifest in the interannual, interdecadal and longer term variability. Part of the variability appears connected with background climatic variability.
The book presents current research into the effect that environmental conditions have on volcanic eruptions and the subsequent emplacement of volcanic products. This is accomplished through a series of chapters that investigate specific environments - both terrestrial and extraterrestrial - and the expression of volcanic materials found within those settings. Current state-of-the-art numerical, analytical and computer models are used in most chapters to provide robust, quantitative insights into how volcanoes behave in different environmental settings. Readership: Upper level undergraduates and new graduates. The book is primarily a presentation of research results rather than a tutorial for the general public. Textbook or supplementary reading for courses in volcanology or comparative planetology at college/university level.
Discussing all aspects of offshore surveying in a single volume, this book provides all algorithms necessary to develop complete software suites, and gives a large number of quality control criteria. It is invaluable to professional surveyors, offshore engineers and geophysicists, providing them with a wealth of data in a single volume. It is also a valuable reference work for hydrographic surveyors, seismic navigators and operations geophysicists. This book brings together information on spheroids, datums, projections and binning; gives a complete listing of UKOOA P1/90 and P2/91 formats for data transfer; a field guide to the calibration of radio navigation systems and compasses, acoustic and laser measuring devices; GPS, including calibration, use and differential techniques; field manual for quality control of all aspects of offshore surveying; listing of typical specifications for inclusion in survey contracts; and a comprehensive glossary of relevant terms for offshore surveying.
This volume is one outcome of the 6th International Conference on Paleoceano graphy (ICP VI). The conference was held August 23-28, 1998 in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting followed the traditional format of a small number of invited oral presentations complemented by a large number ofcontributed posters. Over 550 participants attended, representing thirty countries and nearly 450 posters were presented. The invited speakers addressed the main themes of the 5oral sessions. The session topics were: Polar-Tropical and Interhemisphere Linkages; Does the Ocean Cause, or Respond to, Abrupt Climatic Changes?; Biotic Responses to Major Paleoceanographic Changes; Past Warm Climates; and Innovations In Monitoring Ocean History. This is the first time in ICP history that the Conference Proceedings are published. The aim of the organisers with the publication of this book is two-fold: to provide a useful review of the field and to document the ideas/controversies raised during the con ference that may stimulate future work. The book reflects the initial intentions of the conference, but it is not a conven tional conference proceedings, given that the papers have been reviewed by formal exter nal referees. Each of the conference topics is introduced by a review article designed to summarize the state of the art in each theme followed by articles prepared by the invited speakers. As with most conference proceedings, each theme is covered heterogenously. Some topics have all the expected contributions, others are less well covered."
Fifteen years ago NATO organised a conference entitled 'Ocean Acoustic Modelling'. Many of its participants were again present at this variability workshop. One such participant. in concluding his 1975 paper, quoted the following from a 1972 literature survey: ' ... history presents a sad lack of communications between acousticians and oceanographers' Have we done any better in the last 15 years? We believe so, but only moderately. There is still a massive underdeveloped potential for acousticians and oceanographers to make significant progress together. Currently, the two camps talk together insufficiently even to avoid simple misun derstandings. such as those in Table 1. Table 1 Ocsanographic and acoustic jargon (from an idea by Pol/ardi Jargon Oceanographic use Acoustic use dbordB decibar (depth in m) decibel (energy level) PE primitive equations parabolic equations convergence zone converging currents converging rays (downwelling water) (high energy density) front thermohaline front wave, ray or time front speed water current speed sound propagation speed 1 The list goes on.
Carbon dioxide and other `greenhouse' gases are increasing in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels, the destruction of rain forests, etc., leading to predictions of a gradual global warming which will perturb the global biosphere. An important process which counters this trend toward potential climate change is the removal of carbon dioxide from the surface ocean by photosynthesis. This process packages carbon in phytoplankton which enter the food chain or sink into the deep sea. Their ultimate fate is a `rain' of organic debris out of the surface-mixed layer of the ocean. On a global scale, the mechanisms and overall rate of this process are poorly known. The authors of the 25 papers in this volume present their state-of-the-art approaches to quantifying the mechanisms by which the `rain' of biogenic debris nourishes deep ocean life. Prominent deep sea ecologists, geochemists and modelers address relationships between data and models of carbon fluxes and food chains in the deep ocean. An attempt is made to estimate the fate of carbon in the deep sea on a global scale by summing up the utilization of organic matter among all the populations of the abyssal biosphere. Comparisons are made between these ecological approaches and estimates of geochemical fluxes based on sediment trapping, one-dimensional geochemical models and horizontal (physical) input from continental margins. Planning interdisciplinary enterprises between geochemists and ecologists, including new field programs, are summarized in the final chapter. The summary includes a list of the important gaps in understanding which must be addressed before the role of the deep-sea biota in global-scale processes can be put in perspective.
This symposium continues a long tradition for IUGGjIUTAM symposia going back to "Fundamental Problems in Thrbulence and their Relation to Geophysics" Marseille, 1961. The five topics that were emphasized were: turbulence modeling, statistics of small scales and coherent structures, con vective turbulence, stratified turbulence, and historical developments. The objective was to consider the ubiquitous nature of turbulence in a variety of geophysical problems and related flows. Some history of the contribu tions of NCAR and its alumni were discussed, including those of Jackson R Herring, who has been a central figure at NCAR since 1972. To the original topics we added rotation, which appeared in many places. This includes rotating stratified turbulence, rotating convective turbulence, horizontal rotation that appears in flows over terrain and the role of small scale vorticity in many flows. These complicated flows have recently begun to be simulated by several groups from around the world and this meeting provided them with an excellent forum for exchanging results, plus inter actions with those doing more fundamental work on rotating stratified and convective flows. New work on double diffusive convection was given in two presentations. The history of Large Eddy Simulations was presented and several new approaches to this field were given. This meeting also spawned some interesting interactions between observational side and how to inter pret the observations with modeling and simulations around the theme of particle dispersion in these flows.
Lake Mendota has often been called "the most studied lake in the world. " Beginning in the "classic" period of limnology in the late 19th century and continuing through the present time, this lake has been the subject of a wide variety of studies. Although many of these studies have been published in accessible journals, a significant number have appeared in local monographs and reports, ephemeral documents, or poorly distributed journals. To date, there has been no attempt at a synthetic treatment ofthe vast amount of work that has been published. One intent of the present book is to present a com prehensive compilation of the major early studies on Lake Mendota and to examine how they impinge on important present-day biological questions. In addition, this book presents a summary of field and laboratory work carried out in my own laboratory over a period of about 6 years and shows where correlations with earlier work exist. The book should be ofinterest to limnologists desiring a ready reference to data and published papers on this important lake, to biogeochemists, ocean ographers, and low-temperature geochemists interested in lakes as model sys tems for global processes, and to lake managers interested in understanding short-term and long-term changes in lake systems. Although the major thrust ofthe present book is ecologicaland environmental, sufficient background has been presented on other aspects ofLake Mendota's limnology so that the book should also be useful to nonbiologists."
Sedimentary coasts with their unique forms of life and productive
ecosystems are one of the most threatened parts of the
biosphere. |
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