Today's greater public awareness of how climate affects our quality of life and environment has created an increasing demand for climatological information. Now this information is available in one convenient, accessible source, The Encyclopedia of Climatology. This comprehensive volume covers all the main subfields of climatology, supplies data on climates in major continental areas and explains what is known about the causes of climatic processes and changes. Contents include articles on bioclimatology, El Niño, climatic models, world regional climates, civilization and climate, climatic variations and the greenhouse effect.
Sandy beaches represent some of the most dynamic environments on Earth and examining their morphodynamic behaviour over different temporal and spatial scales is challenging, relying on multidisciplinary approaches and techniques. Sandy Beach Morphodynamics brings together the latest research on beach systems and their morphodynamics and the ways in which they are studied in 29 chapters that review the full spectrum of beach morphodynamics. The chapters are written by leading experts in the field and provide introductory level understanding of physical processes and resulting landforms, along with more advanced discussions. Includes chapters that are written by the world's leading experts, including the latest up-to-date thinking on a variety of subject areas Covers state-of-the-art techniques, bringing the reader the latest technologies/methods being used to understand beach systems Presents a clear-and-concise description of processes and techniques that enables a clear understanding of coastal processes
Waves critically affect man in coastal regions, including the open coasts and adjacent continental shelves. Preventing beach erosion, designing and building structures, designing and operating ships, providing marine forecasts, and coastal planning are but a few examples of projects for which extensive information about wave conditions is critical. Scientific studies, especially those in volving coastal processes and the development of better wave prediction models, also require wave condition information. How ever, wave conditions along and off the coasts of the United States have not been adequately determined. The main categories of available wave data are visual estimates of wave conditions made from ships at sea, scientific measurements of waves made for short time periods at specific locations, and a small number of long-term measurements made from piers or offshore platforms. With these considerations in mind, the National Ocean Survey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sponsored the Ocean Wave Climate Symposium at Herndon, Virginia, July 12-14, 1977. This volume contains papers presented at this symposium. A goal of the symposium was to establish the foundations for a com prehensive and far-sighted wave measurement and analysis program to fully describe the coastal wave climate of the United States. Emphasis was placed on ocean engineering and scientific uses of wave data, existing wave monitoring programs, and modern measure ment techniques which may provide currently needed data.
Early in 1979, a group of wave researchers proposed a wave model inter comparison study to clarify the interrelations existing among the various wave models which have been developed in past years for real-time wave forecasting, wave statistics compilations, or hindcast case studies. The idea was immediately welcomed by the wave modeling community, and, finally, nine wave modeling groups from the United States, Japan, and Europe participated in the exercise. The principal results of this work are presented here jointly by the Sea Wave Modeling Project (swAMP) Group (the members of which are listed in Appendix A). Descriptions of the models used in the study are given in Part II of this volume. A more complete documentation of the entire set of numerical experiments is given in Part 2 of the Sea Wave Modeling Project (SWAMP group, 1982). The main purpose of the intercomparison study was to test our present understanding of the physics of . wind-generated surface waves from the viewpoint of wave modeling. Specifically, we wished to clarify the basic interdependence between understanding the physics of surface waves, repre senting the physics numerically, and predicting quantitatively the detailed space-time evolution of a two-dimensional surface wave spectrum for a given wind field. It was not our intent to carry out a model competition. In this sense there were no winners or losers: all models could claim specific strong points, and all displayed weaknesses in some areas.
This book was published in 2004. The Interaction of Ocean Waves and Wind describes in detail the two-way interaction between wind and ocean waves and shows how ocean waves affect weather forecasting on timescales of 5 to 90 days. Winds generate ocean waves, but at the same time airflow is modified due to the loss of energy and momentum to the waves; thus, momentum loss from the atmosphere to the ocean depends on the state of the waves. This volume discusses ocean wave evolution according to the energy balance equation. An extensive overview of nonlinear transfer is given, and as a by-product the role of four-wave interactions in the generation of extreme events, such as freak waves, is discussed. Effects on ocean circulation are described. Coupled ocean-wave, atmosphere modelling gives improved weather and wave forecasts. This volume will interest ocean wave modellers, physicists and applied mathematicians, and engineers interested in shipping and coastal protection.
Waves critically affect man in coastal regions, including the open coasts and adjacent continental shelves. Preventing beach erosion, designing and building structures, designing and operating ships, providing marine forecasts, and coastal planning are but a few examples of projects for which extensive information about wave conditions is critical. Scientific studies, especially those in volving coastal processes and the development of better wave prediction models, also require wave condition information. How ever, wave conditions along and off the coasts of the United States have not been adequately determined. The main categories of available wave data are visual estimates of wave conditions made from ships at sea, scientific measurements of waves made for short time periods at specific locations, and a small number of long-term measurements made from piers or offshore platforms. With these considerations in mind, the National Ocean Survey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sponsored the Ocean Wave Climate Symposium at Herndon, Virginia, July 12-14, 1977. This volume contains papers presented at this symposium. A goal of the symposium was to establish the foundations for a com prehensive and far-sighted wave measurement and analysis program to fully describe the coastal wave climate of the United States. Emphasis was placed on ocean engineering and scientific uses of wave data, existing wave monitoring programs, and modern measure ment techniques which may provide currently needed data.
Ocean Wave Dynamics is the most up-to-date book of its kind on the three main processes responsible for the generation and evolution of ocean waves: (i) atmospheric input from the wind, (ii) wave breaking and (iii) nonlinear interactions.Ocean waves are important for many reasons. They are the major environmental impact on in the design of coastal or offshore structures. Ocean waves are also fundamental to the processes of coastal flooding and beach erosion. They will play a major role in storm related coastal flooding which will rise in frequency as a result of sea level rise. Ocean waves are also an important part of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system. They determine the roughness of the ocean surface and hence have an impact on winds, fluxes of energy, gases and heat to the ocean and even the stability of ice sheets.Containing the latest research on ocean waves, it is a valuable resource for an overview of knowledge in this important field.Related Link(s)
This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book offers a concise, practice-oriented reference-guide to the field of ocean wave energy. The ten chapters highlight the key rules of thumb, address all the main technical engineering aspects and describe in detail all the key aspects to be considered in the techno-economic assessment of wave energy converters. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book answers questions relevant to readers of different backgrounds, from developers, private and public investors, to students and researchers. It is thereby a valuable resource for both newcomers and experienced practitioners in the wave energy sector.
Waves in Oceanic and Coastal Waters describes the observation, analysis and prediction of wind-generated waves in the open ocean, in shelf seas, and in coastal regions with islands, channels, tidal flats and inlets, estuaries, fjords and lagoons. Most of this richly illustrated book is devoted to the physical aspects of waves. After introducing observation techniques for waves, both at sea and from space, the book defines the parameters that characterise waves. Using basic statistical and physical concepts, the author discusses the prediction of waves in oceanic and coastal waters, first in terms of generalised observations, and then in terms of the more theoretical framework of the spectral energy balance. He gives the results of established theories and also the direction in which research is developing. The book ends with a description of SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore), the preferred computer model of the engineering community for predicting waves in coastal waters.
