This book deals with every aspect of oceanography in detail including various aspects of physical, chemical, geological, and biological discourse. ‘Earth and Planetary Science’ is perhaps the oldest, dynamic, and ever-evolving subject. Oceanography is one of its domains, which has become important in the present date, given the ubiquitous and undeniable climate change that we are experiencing. The subject domain of oceanography encompasses several environmental issues, which need serious attention from the present scientific community. Despite the ocean’s significant role in the collective well-being of the human race, a multitude of anthropogenic activities has drastically polluted and degraded several crucial oceanic ecosystems within a short span. This book aims to present a concise yet succinct introduction to Oceanography as a subject and at the same time highlight the cutting-edge topics of research encompassing marine pollution, coastal processes, and many other associated phenomena. Oceanography is an interdisciplinary emerging subject and students all over the world who come from varied disciplines are pursuing it as higher studies. Long sections are devoted to ocean–atmosphere interaction, tides, waves, and related coastal processes. The book represents a comprehensive idea of human activities bestowing the ocean with particular reference to Indian examples. This book helps to understand marine pollution and the behavior of oil, plastic, and other agents in the light of real-world examples and empirical models. Harnessing electricity from waves and tides is a technological advancement in the field of unconventional energy. The vast resources of the ocean like oil, mineral, methane hydrate, and their proper estimation and exploitation is the topic of discussion in the third part of the book. This book is designated to meet the essential needs of the students studying oceanography and marine science. It may be helpful to professional oceanographers also.

Describes the physics of the coastal ocean, for advanced students, researchers, urban planners, and environmental engineers.

Estuaries and their surrounding wetland regions are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, with more than half of humanity inhabiting their shores. Anthropogenic factors make estuaries highly susceptible to ecosystem degradation. Coastal waters are closely connected with human activity, and their dynamic processes may greatly affect coastal environments. This book provides a compendium of studies on estuarine dynamics, river plumes, and coastal water dynamics, studies that have investigated the changes in estuarine and coastal zones in response to sea-level rise and other environmental factors, and policy and management strategies to ensure the health and economy of coastal zones. This book aims to display novel frontiers in these fields and may help to inspire in-depth studies in the future.

The proliferation of harmful phytoplankton in marine ecosystems can cause massive fish kills, contaminate seafood with toxins, impact local and regional economies and dramatically affect ecological balance. Real-time observations are essential for effective short-term operational forecasting, but observation and modelling systems are still being developed. This volume provides guidance for developing real-time and near real-time sensing systems for observing and predicting plankton dynamics, including harmful algal blooms, in coastal waters. The underlying theory is explained and current trends in research and monitoring are discussed.Topics covered include: coastal ecosystems and dynamics of harmful algal blooms; theory and practical applications of in situ and remotely sensed optical detection of microalgal distributions and composition; theory and practical applications of in situ biological and chemical sensors for targeted species and toxin detection; integrated observing systems and platforms for detection; diagnostic and predictive modelling of ecosystems and harmful algal blooms, including data assimilation techniques; observational needs for the public and government; and future directions for research and operations.

The aim of the book is to present for non-specialist researchers as well as for experts a comprehensive overview of the background, key ideas, basic methods, implementation details and a selection of solutions offered by a novel technology for the optimisation of the location of dangerous offshore activities in terms of environmental criteria, as developed in the course of the BalticWay project. The book consists of two parts. The first part introduces the basic principles of ocean modeling and depicts the long way from the generic principles to the practical modeling of oil spills and of the propagation of other adverse impacts. The second part focuses on the techniques for solving the inverse problem of the quantification of offshore areas with respect to their potential to serve as a source of environmental danger to vulnerable regions (such as spawning, nursing or also tourist areas). The chapters are written in a tutorial style; they are mostly self-contained and understandable for non-specialist researchers and students. They are carefully peer-reviewed by international experts. The goal was to produce a book that highlights all key steps, methods, models and data sets it is necessary to combine in order to produce a practically usable technology and/or decision support system for a particular sea region. Thus the book is useful not only as a description and a manual of this particular technology but also as a roadmap highlighting the complicated technical issues of ocean modeling for practical purposes. It describes the approaches taken by the authors in an understandable way and thus is useful for educational purposes, such as a course in industrially and environmentally relevant applications of ocean modeling. ​

In multidisciplinary efforts to understand and manage our planet, contemporary ocean science plays an essential role. Volumes 13 and 14 of The Sea focus on two of the most important components in the field of ocean science today--the coastal ocean and its interactions with the deep sea, and coupled physical-biogeochemical and ecosystem dynamics.

The U.S. Gulf Coast provides a valuable setting to study deeply connected natural and human interactions and feedbacks that have led to a complex, interconnected coastal system. The physical landscape in the region has changed significantly due to broad-scale, long-term processes such as coastal subsidence and river sediment deposition as well as short-term episodic events such as hurricanes. Modifications from human activities, including building levees and canals and constructing buildings and roads, have left their own imprint on the natural landscape. This coupled natural-human coastal system and the individual aspects within it (physical, ecological, and human) are under increased pressure from accelerating environmental stressors such as sea level rise, intensifying hurricanes, and continued population increase with its accompanying coastal development. Promoting the resilience and maintaining the habitability of the Gulf Coast into the future will need improved understanding of the coupled natural-human coastal system, as well as effective sharing of this understanding in support of decision-making and policies. Understanding the Long-term Evolution of the Coupled Natural-Human Coastal System presents a research agenda meant to enable a better understanding of the multiple and interconnected factors that influence long-term processes along the Gulf Coast. This report identifies scientific and technical gaps in understanding the interactions and feedbacks between human and natural processes, defines essential components of a research and development program in response to the identified gaps, and develops priorities for critical areas of research.