The aim of this book is to present modern tidal ideas to those who are not tidal specialists, but for whom some knowledge of tides is involved in their professional or scientific field. These include hydrographers, marine and coastal engineers, geologists who specialize in beach or marine sedimentation processes, and biologists concerned with the ways in which living organisms adapt to the rhythms of the sea. Modern practical studies are concerned with problems of marine transport, coastal erosion and the design of coastal defences against flooding. Interest in mean sea-level changes has recently been focused on the possibility of significant increases over the coming century as a result of global warming. Examples of applications from North America, Europe and other parts of the world are included.
This book explores sea-level change on timescales from hours to centuries, its processes and its measurement techniques, for graduate students, researchers and policy-makers.
Tide gauges show that global sea level has risen about 7 inches during the 20th century, and recent satellite data show that the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating. As Earth warms, sea levels are rising mainly because ocean water expands as it warms; and water from melting glaciers and ice sheets is flowing into the ocean. Sea-level rise poses enormous risks to the valuable infrastructure, development, and wetlands that line much of the 1,600 mile shoreline of California, Oregon, and Washington. As those states seek to incorporate projections of sea-level rise into coastal planning, they asked the National Research Council to make independent projections of sea-level rise along their coasts for the years 2030, 2050, and 2100, taking into account regional factors that affect sea level. Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future explains that sea level along the U.S. west coast is affected by a number of factors. These include: climate patterns such as the El Niño, effects from the melting of modern and ancient ice sheets, and geologic processes, such as plate tectonics. Regional projections for California, Oregon, and Washington show a sharp distinction at Cape Mendocino in northern California. South of that point, sea-level rise is expected to be very close to global projections. However, projections are lower north of Cape Mendocino because the land is being pushed upward as the ocean plate moves under the continental plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. However, an earthquake magnitude 8 or larger, which occurs in the region every few hundred to 1,000 years, would cause the land to drop and sea level to suddenly rise.
Flooding of coastal communities is one of the major causes of environmental disasters world-wide. This textbook explains at a basic level, how sea levels are affected by astronomical tides, by weather effects that generate extreme flooding events, and over the longer term by ocean circulation and climate trends. It also indicates how sea level changes are related to changing risks, coastal dynamics, geology and biology; and outlines some of the economic and legal implications. Based on courses taught by the author in the UK and the USA, this book is aimed at undergraduate students at all levels, with the text developed in such a way that non-basic mathematics is confined to Appendices and a web site (http://publishing.cambridge.org/resources/0521532183/). Changing Sea Levels will also interest and inform professionals in many fields including hydrography, coastal engineering, geology, biology and also coastal planning and economics.
In June 2015 we held a workshop on the beautiful island of Mallorca, Spain with a focus on sea level variability and change. Over 120 sea level experts from around the world attended this workshop, from a range of different disciplines. The main aims of the workshop were to: 1.) Evaluate the current state-of-knowledge of sea level science; 2.) Identify gaps and unresolved questions in any aspect of sea level science; and 3.) Design future research to address these issue. All aspects of sea level changes were covered, from global to regional, observations and modelling, processes driving mean sea level changes and extremes, from the geological scale to the instrumental era and future projections and including impacts on the coastal zones. This E-Book presents papers that came out of that workshop. Overall, these papers illustrate the multi-disciplinary nature of sea level research, cross-cutting many fields of research including: oceanography, meteorology, geology, coastal morphodynamics, engineering and the social-economic aspects. Collectively, theses articles represent an interesting range of perspectives and original studies that contribute to understanding the dynamic nature of sea level and its impacts across a wide range of time and space scales. Enjoy reading them!
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
This open access book discusses the impact of human-induced global climate change on the regional climate and monsoons of the Indian subcontinent, adjoining Indian Ocean and the Himalayas. It documents the regional climate change projections based on the climate models used in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and climate change modeling studies using the IITM Earth System Model (ESM) and CORDEX South Asia datasets. The IPCC assessment reports, published every 6–7 years, constitute important reference materials for major policy decisions on climate change, adaptation, and mitigation. While the IPCC assessment reports largely provide a global perspective on climate change, the focus on regional climate change aspects is considerably limited. The effects of climate change over the Indian subcontinent involve complex physical processes on different space and time scales, especially given that the mean climate of this region is generally shaped by the Indian monsoon and the unique high-elevation geographical features such as the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Tibetan Plateau and the adjoining Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal. This book also presents policy relevant information based on robust scientific analysis and assessments of the observed and projected future climate change over the Indian region.
This new Encyclopedia of Coastal Science stands as the latest authoritative source in the field of coastal studies, making it the standard reference work for specialists and the interested lay person. Unique in its interdisciplinary approach. This Encyclopedia features contributions by 245 well-known international specialists in their respective fields and is abundantly illustrated with line-drawings and photographs. Not only does this volume offer an extensive number of entries, it also includes various appendices, an illustrated glossary of coastal morphology and extensive bibliographic listings.
The report contains an adaptation of a unique storm-surge forecasting technique developed by Dr. C.P. Jelesnianski. This technique results in a computed storm surge profile at the inner boundary of an artificial standard basin seaward of the coast. The profile is derived from nomograms based upon a standard storm passing over a standard basin. Thumb rules and guidelines are presented in the publication for subjectively modifying the computer storm surge height as it moves shoreward of the artificial basin boundary, to fit the natural conditions of a particular coastline. Major advantages of this system are its applicability to almost any locale, its adaptability to data normally available to the field forecaster and the speed with which the forecast may be modified to remain current with natural fluctuations of the storm.
