Excerpt from On the Surface Temperature of the North Sea and of the North Atlantic When we have defined, in regard to the main temperature wave, the mean-value and the half-range, we get, by addition or subtraction of this latter value from the former, to what we may call the Mean Maximum and the Mean Minimum temperatures. They are not strictly the mean maxima or mean minima of the year, for to determine these we should have to take into our calculations the influence of the half-yearly and other higher oscillations of temper ature. But as a rule even the half-yearly fluctuation is of no great magnitude, and the higher oscillations are very small indeed, so small that we can scarcely say whether they are real phenomena or (as is much more probable) are mere appearances due to our imperfect data. In any case, the approximate Mean Maxima and Minima, as we have defined them, - the maxima and minima, that is to say, of the fundamental Sine - wave, - are features of considerable interest, whose local variations are often well worth studying. Let us now begin, after this short introduction, to consider the main results of our temperature investigations. Our object is to understand the temperature phenomena of the North Sea, and of the waters which surround the other coasts of our own islands. But all our coastal waters are but a part of the great system of waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and we cannot properly understand any of our local phenomena without some preliminary knowledge of the ocean temperatures of the whole North Atlantic basin. The temperature phenomena of the ocean are closely inter connected with the system of ocean currents; and these in turn are correlated with the system of prevailing winds, and are greatly affected by the form itself of the ocean - basin. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The global environment is changing rapidly under the impact of human activities. An important element in this change is related to global climate modification. Experts from the natural and social sciences with a strong interest in history discussed common topics of great interest to society. Can the study of climate and history help in devising strategies for coping with this change? What might be the type of information most useful in this context? What are the pitfalls awaiting the unwary? These and similar questions were discussed during a four-day workshop. The resulting proceedings contain comprehensive papers of broad interest, thematic back-ground papers and reports of study groups. Apart from scientists, the papers should interest graduate students and lecturers.

" ... as soon as one has traversed the greater part of the wild sea, one comes upon such a huge quantity of ice that nowhere in the whole world has the like been known." "This ice is of a wonderful nature. It lies at times quite still, as one would expect, with openings or large fjords in it; but sometimes its movement is so strong and rapid as to equal that of a ship running before the wind, and it drifts against the wind as often as with it." Kongespeilet - 1250 A.D. ("The Mirror of Kings") Modern societies require increasing amounts influence on the water mass and on the resulting of scientific information about the environment total environment of the region; therefore, cer tain of its characteristics will necessarily be in whieh they live and work. For the seas this information must describe the air above the sea, included.

This is the first book to provide assessments of multidecadal changes in resources and environments of the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of the North Atlantic. Using the case study method, researchers examine the forces driving the changes and actions underway aimed at turning the corner from declining trends in biomass yields, toward recovery of depleted species populations and improvements in ecosystem integrity. Recently a distinguished group of 24 scientists argued eloquently that a new Sustainability Science was emerging that was focused on "meeting fundamental human needs while preserving the life support systems of planet Earth". The contributions contained in this volume are at the cutting edge of Sustainability Science and the results presented by the contributors are pertinent to one of the core questions: "How are long-term trends in environment and development, including consumption and population, reshaping nature-society interactions in ways relevant to sustainability?" (Science Vol. 292, 27 April 2001). The case studies demonstrate the utility of an ecosystem-based approach to the assessment and management of biomass yields and species sustainability. Movements toward ecosystem-based management have emerged from the case studies on the initiation of recoveries of several depleted groundfish stocks of the US Northeast Shelf LME; the collapse of the Newfoundland-Labrador Shelf cod; the assessment of physical and biological changes on the Scotian Shelf, West Greenland Shelf, Iceland Shelf LME, and the Faroe Plateau, the North Sea, and the Barents Sea LMEs. Uncertainties, with regard to environmental and human-generated forcing, are addressed in assessment of the states of the Iberian Coastal and Biscay-Celtic LMEs, and in broad-scale studies of the influences at the base of the food chain of climatic variability on the productivity and biodiversity of plankton communities of the North Atlantic. The volume concludes with an insightful perspective on the approaches used and the results reported by the eminent marine scientist and former President of ICES, Professor Gotthilf Hempel.