Ocean Currents (eBook)

Ocean Currents of the World: Physical Drivers in a Changing World opens with an introduction to ocean currents, covering basic principles of cause and effect, measurement and modeling, etc. The book is made up of a sequence of 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 range of applications, from local to global, with considerable geographical context. Each chapter concludes with an assignment and accompanying resource, thus helping readers apply the information.

• Presents applications to natural phenomena, showing how ocean currents shape marine ecosystems
• Helps researchers understand the distribution and adaptation of life in the oceans
• Addresses societal challenges, specifically how ocean currents contribute to climate change impacts and disperse pollutants (e.g., plastic)
• Includes end-of-chapter assignments, suggesting how students might apply their understanding of ocean currents

Professor Robert Marsh holds a Chair in Oceanography and Climate at the University of Southampton. With disciplinary expertise in Physical Oceanography, he has a wide range of experience across ocean and climate science, and specifically an in-depth knowledge of ocean currents. Examples of applied studies include the influences of ocean currents on sea turtle hatchlings, volcanic pumice and icebergs. He has extensive experience of undergraduate and postgraduate oceanography teaching, both in the classroom and in the field. He is lead or co-author of 76 peer-reviewed publications, with an h-index of 30 (Web of Science, October 2017).

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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