The principal focus of this book is the physical processes in the World Ocean which regulate the interannual-to-multidecadal natural variability of the climate system, and some key atmospheric and marine manifestations of this variability. It analyses a number of Atlantic and Indo-Pacific signals, and describes their regional atmospheric and marine manifestations. The role of the Ocean in the recent hiatus of global warming and the probability of abrupt climate change due to thermohaline catastrophe are also assessed. The book pays special attention to the change of parameters of synoptic atmospheric disturbances over the Northern Hemisphere and its sub-regions in different phases of the natural quasi-periodical climatic signals. It will appeal to oceanographers, climatologists, meteorologists, hydrologist, geographers and the general reader interested in the problem of climate change all over the globe, especially with regards to Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.
The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System provides an overview of our contemporary understanding of the Indian Ocean (geology, atmosphere, ocean, hydrology, biogeochemistry) and its role in the climate system. It describes the monsoon systems, Indian Ocean circulation and connections with other ocean basins. Climatic phenomena in the Indian Ocean are detailed across a range of timescales (seasonal, interannual to multi-decadal). Biogeochemical and ecosystem variability is also described. The book will provide a summary of different tools (e.g., observations, modeling, paleoclimate records) that are used for understanding Indian Ocean variability and trends. Recent trends and future projections of the Indian Ocean, including warming, extreme events, ocean acidification and deoxygenation will be detailed. The Indian Ocean is unique and different from other tropical ocean basins due to its geography. It is traditionally under-observed and understudied, yet plays a fundamental role for regional and global climate. The vagaries of the Asian monsoon affect over a billion people and a third of the global population live in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean. It is also particularly vulnerable to climate change, with robust warming and trends in heat and freshwater observed in recent decades. Advances have recently been made in our understanding of the Indian Ocean's circulation, interactions with adjacent ocean basins, and its role in regional and global climate. Nonetheless, significant gaps remain in understanding, observing, modeling, and predicting Indian Ocean variability and change across a range of timescales. As such, this book is the perfect compendium to any researcher, student, teacher/lecturer in the fields of oceanography, atmospheric science, paleoclimate, environmental science, meteorology and geology, as well as policy managers and water resource managers. - Provides interdisciplinary content with a comprehensive overview for students and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines as well as for stakeholders - Presents a broad overview and background on the current state of knowledge of the variability, change, and regional impacts of the Indian Ocean - Includes links to animations, slideshows, and other educational resources
Explores climate and oceans, providing a look at the basics of climate, a descriptive overview of the oceans, a brief introduction to dynamics, and coverage of other related topics.
The World Ocean Assessment - or, to give its full title, The First Global Integrated Marine Assessment - is the outcome of the first cycle of the United Nations' Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects. The Assessment provides vital, scientifically-grounded bases for the consideration of ocean issues, including climate change, by governments, intergovernmental agencies, non-governmental agencies and all other stakeholders and policymakers involved in ocean affairs. Together with future assessments and related initiatives, it will support the implementation of the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly its ocean-related goals. Moreover, it will also form an important reference text for marine science courses.
Climate Change and the Oceans investigates the effects of climate change on the ocean environment and its implications for maritime activities, both globally and within the Asia Pacific region. This detailed work draws together informed opinion from a range of disciplines to examine the impacts of climate change on marine and coastal areas and review legal and policy responses to the rapidly changing ocean environment. Issues including the effects on fisheries and marine biodiversity in the Asia Pacific region, maritime security, global shipping, marine jurisdiction and marine geo-engineering are also explored. Examining the multiple impacts of climate change on the oceans and ocean based solutions to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change, this thought-provoking book will prove invaluable to academics, researchers and students in the fields of law, environment, ecology and political science. Oceans and marine environmental policymakers will also find this to be an essential resource.
Listen to the podcast with Nilufer Oral on 'Climate Change, Oceans and Gender' In Gender and the Law of the Sea a distinguished group of law of the sea and feminist scholars critically engages with one of the oldest fields of international law. While the law of the sea has been traditionally portrayed as a technical, gender-neutral set of rules, of concern to States rather than humans, authors in this volume persuasively argue that critical feminist perspectives are needed to question the underlying assumptions of ostensibly gender-neutral norms. Coming at a time when the presence of women at sea is increasing, the volume forcefully and successfully argues that legal rules are relevant to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women at sea, in an effort to render law for the oceans more inclusive. See inside the book.
What role does the ocean play in global climate change? Although not fully understood, there is general agreement that it is significant. Therefore, the scientific community has initiated large-scale research programs based on studies of the ocean and its relation to global climate and climate-related processes. This volume provides brief summaries and reports on the progress of the major oceanographic research programs. It looks at both programs that study processes that occur over periods ranging from days to hundreds of yearsâ€"the contemporary systemâ€"and those that seek to understand long-term variations ranging from thousands to millions of yearsâ€"the geological perspective.
Climate Change: Evidence and Causes is a jointly produced publication of The US National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society. Written by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked. Climate Change makes clear what is well-established and where understanding is still developing. It echoes and builds upon the long history of climate-related work from both national academies, as well as on the newest climate-change assessment from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It touches on current areas of active debate and ongoing research, such as the link between ocean heat content and the rate of warming.
Our desire to understand the global carbon cycle and its link to the climate system represents a huge challenge. These overarching questions have driven a great deal of scientific endeavour in recent years: What are the basic oceanic mechanisms which control the oceanic carbon reservoirs and the partitioning of carbon between ocean and atmosphere? How do these mechanisms depend on the state of the climate system and how does the carbon cycle feed back on climate? What is the current rate at which fossil fuel carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans and how might this change in the future? To begin to answer these questions we must first understand the distribution of carbon in the ocean, its partitioning between different ocean reservoirs (the "solubility" and "biological" pumps of carbon), the mechanisms controlling these reservoirs, and the relationship of the significant physical and biological processes to the physical environment. The recent surveys from the JGOFS and WOCE (Joint Global Ocean Flux Study and World Ocean Circulation Ex periment) programs have given us a first truly global survey of the physical and biogeochemical properties of the ocean. These new, high quality data provide the opportunity to better quantify the present oceans reservoirs of carbon and the changes due to fossil fuel burning. In addition, diverse process studies and time-series observations have clearly revealed the complexity of interactions between nutrient cycles, ecosystems, the carbon-cycle and the physical envi ronment.
Our oceans are hugely important, as a source of food and mineral wealth, as an environment for a vast variety of wildlife, for the role they play in climate regulation, and as part of the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements critical to life. Dorrik Stow explores what we know about how oceans originate and are maintained.
