An innovative survey of large-scale ocean circulation that links observations, conceptual models, numerical models, and theories.

This book presents the views of leading scientists on the knowledge of the global ocean circulation following the completion of the observational phase of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment. WOCE's in situ physical and chemical measurements together with satellite altimetry have produced a data set which provides for development of ocean and coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation models used for understanding ocean and climate variability and projecting climate change. This book guides the reader through the analysis, interpretation, modelling and synthesis of this data.

The book represents all the knowledge we currently have on ocean circulation. It presents an up-to-date summary of the state of the science relating to the role of the oceans in the physical climate system. The book is structured to guide the reader through the wide range of world ocean circulation experiment (WOCE) science in a consistent way. Cross-references between contributors have been added, and the book has a comprehensive index and unified reference list. The book is simple to read, at the undergraduate level. It was written by the best scientists in the world who have collaborated to carry out years of experiments to better understand ocean circulation. - Presents in situ and remote observations with worldwide coverage - Provides theoretical understanding of processes within the ocean and at its boundaries to other Earth System components - Allows for simulating ocean and climate processes in the past, present and future using a hierarchy of physical-biogeochemical models

This book presents an in-depth discussion of the biological and ecological geography of the oceans. It synthesizes locally restricted studies of the ocean to generate a global geography of the vast marine world.Based on patterns of algal ecology, the book divides the ocean into four primary compartments, which are then subdivided into secondary compartments.*Includes color insert of the latest in satellite imagery showing the world's oceans, their similarities and differences*Revised and updated to reflect the latest in oceanographic research*Ideal for anyone interested in understanding ocean ecology -- accessible and informative

Ocean Currents: Physical Drivers in a Changing World opens with a general introduction to the character, measurement, and simulation of ocean currents, leading to a physical and dynamical framework for understanding the wide variety of flows encountered in the oceans. The book comprises chapters covering distinct aspects of contrasting ocean currents: broad and slow, deep and shallow, narrow and swift, large scale and small scale, low latitudes and high latitudes, and moving in horizontal and vertical planes. Through this approach the authors cover a wide range of applications, from local to global, with considerable geographical context. - Provides analyses of ocean observations and numerical model simulations, highlighting the pathways and drift associated with ocean currents, around the World Ocean, linked to online exercises for instructors and students that extend this perspective - Presents applications to natural phenomena, showing how ocean currents shape marine ecosystems, helping researchers understand the distribution and adaptation of life in the oceans - Addresses societal challenges, specifically how ocean currents disperse pollutants (e.g. plastic) from coastal sources and how the global ocean circulation is central to our changing climate, helping students and researchers develop an interdisciplinary approach to global environmental change

Ocean Dynamics’ is a concise introduction to the fundamentals of fluid mechanics, non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the common approximations for geophysical fluid dynamics, presenting a comprehensive approach to large-scale ocean circulation theory. The book is written on the physical and mathematical level of graduate students in theoretical courses of physical oceanography, meteorology and environmental physics. An extensive bibliography and index, extensive side notes and recommendations for further reading, and a comparison with the specific atmospheric physics where applicable, makes this volume also a useful reading for researchers. Each of the four parts of the book – fundamental laws, common approximations, ocean waves, oceanic turbulence and eddies, and selected aspects of ocean dynamics – starts with elementary considerations, blending then classical topics with more advanced developments of fluid mechanics and theoretical oceanography. The last part covers the theory of the global wind-driven circulation in homogeneous and stratified regimes, the circulation and overturning in the Southern Ocean, and the global meridional overturning and thermohaline-driven circulation. Emphasis is placed on simple physical models rather than access to extensive numerical results, enabling students to understand and reproduce the complex theory mostly by analytical means. All equations and models are derived in detail and illustrated by numerous figures. The appendix provides short excursions into the mathematical background, such as vector analysis, statistics, and differential equations

An overview of the advances made in the last decade and a half in this field. Based on an advanced graduate level course, the book represents fundamental insights into the structure of the physical theory of the large-scale dynamics of the oceans. The author has maintained throughout a blend of analytical and numerical results so as to achieve as deep a physical understanding of the dynamics of the large-scale circulations as possible. The results of the theories are compared with observations and the success or inadequacies of the theories are highlighted. Topics of particular interest are: theory of the wind-driven circulation, the thermocline, the equatorial circulation and the abyssal circulation. Much of the material - previously scattered throughout the literature - has been collated here for the first time.