The benthic boundary layer is the zone of water and sediment immediately adjacent to the bottom of a sea, lake, or river. This zone is of considerable interest to biologists, geochemists, sedimentologists, and engineers because of very strong gradients of energy, dissolved and solid chemical components, suspended matter, and the number of organisms that live there. It is, for example, the sink for anthropogenic substances and the home of microscopic plant life that provides the nutrients that determine fish populations--and ultimately the size of the fisheries. This book of original chapters edited by Professors Boudreau and Jorgensen, both leading researchers in the field, will meet the need for an up-to-date, definitive text/reference on measurements, techniques, and models for transport and biochemical processes in the benthic boundary layer. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of a selected field, with illustrated examples from the authors' own work. The book will appeal to professionals and researchers in marine biology, marine chemistry, marine engineering, and sedimentology.

The Conference on the Benthic Boundary Layer was held under the auspices of the NATO Science Committee as part of its continuing effort to promote the useful progress of science through international cooperation. Science Committee Conferences are deliberately designed to focus attention on unsolved problems, with carefully selected participants invited to provide complementary expertise from a variety of relevant disciplines. Through inten sive discussion in small groups they seek to reach a consensus on assessments and recommendations for future research emphasis, which it is hoped will be of value to the larger scientific community. The subjects treated over the past few years have been as varied as science itself-e.g., computer software engineering, chemical catalysis, and materials and energy research. The present effort evolved from informal discussions between marine geolo gists, chemists, and biologists which underlined the desirability of improved communication among those concerned with the benthic layer. In both scien tific and technological terms this is an exciting frontier, rich in promise but poorly understood at present. It is particularly striking to realize that there are at least as many definitions of the benthic layer as there are disciplines involved, and it seemed clear that there was much to be gained by a detailed exchange of views on research capabilities, trends, and priorities. The results of the meeting appear to have confirmed the hopes of the sponsors.

The subject of ocean turbulence is in a state of discovery and development with many intellectual challenges. This book describes the principal dynamic processes that control the distribution of turbulence, its dissipation of kinetic energy and its effects on the dispersion of properties such as heat, salinity, and dissolved or suspended matter in the deep ocean, the shallow coastal and the continental shelf seas. It focuses on the measurement of turbulence, and the consequences of turbulent motion in the oceanic boundary layers at the sea surface and near the seabed. Processes are illustrated by examples of laboratory experiments and field observations. The Turbulent Ocean provides an excellent resource for senior undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as an introduction and general overview for researchers. It will be of interest to all those involved in the study of fluid motion, in particular geophysical fluid mechanics, meteorology and the dynamics of lakes.

Bivalve filter-feeding mollusks are important components of coastal ecosystems because they remove large quantities of suspended material from the water and excrete abundant amounts of reactive nutrients. These animals are also major prey for numerous predators including birds, fish, mammals, and invertebrates; furthermore, they are significant food resources for humans. While studies on the organismic and population level have dominated bivalve ecology, the recent focus on the ecosystem roles of filter feeding systems has led to larger-scale investigations. With this approach the specific topics of physiology, grazing, predation, nutrient cycling, physical environment, computer simulation modeling, and environmental management are combined into a meaningful whole.

The oceans cover 70% of the Earth’s surface, and are critical components of Earth’s climate system. This new edition of Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Six Volume Set summarizes the breadth of knowledge about them, providing revised, up to date entries as well coverage of new topics in the field. New and expanded sections include microbial ecology, high latitude systems and the cryosphere, climate and climate change, hydrothermal and cold seep systems. The structure of the work provides a modern presentation of the field, reflecting the input and different perspective of chemical, physical and biological oceanography, the specialized area of expertise of each of the three Editors-in-Chief. In this framework maximum attention has been devoted to making this an organic and unified reference. Represents a one-stop. organic information resource on the breadth of ocean science research Reflects the input and different perspective of chemical, physical and biological oceanography, the specialized area of expertise of each of the three Editors-in-Chief New and expanded sections include microbial ecology, high latitude systems and climate change Provides scientifically reliable information at a foundational level, making this work a resource for students as well as active researches