Preface; 1. Introduction to the shelf seas; 2. Physical forcing of the shelf seas: what drives the motion of ocean?; 3. Response to forcing: the governing equations and some basic solutions; 4. Waves, turbulent motions and mixing; 5. Life in the shelf seas; 6. Seasonal stratification and the spring bloom; 7. Interior mixing and phytoplankton survival in stratified environments; 8. Tidal mixing fronts: their location, dynamics and biological significance; 9. Regions of freshwater influence (ROFIs); 10. The shelf edge system; 11. Future challenges in shelf seas; References; Index.
Provides a quantitative, accessible approach to the fundamental physics and biology of the coastal ocean, for undergraduate and graduate students.
John Simpson leads a research group in the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University in Wales, which is developing new methods to observe and model turbulence and the mixing that plays a crucial role in biological production. He is a seagoing physical oceanographer with a broad interest in shelf seas and estuaries and his research has focussed on the physical mechanisms which control the environment of the shelf seas. He has taught Physics of the Ocean at Bangor and other universities worldwide for more than 40 years and was responsible for establishing the first Masters-level course in Physical Oceanography within the UK. In 2008 Professor Simpson was awarded the Fridtjof Nansen Medal of the European Geosciences Union for his outstanding contribution to understanding the physical processes of the shelf seas and the Challenger Medal of the Challenger Society for his exceptional contribution to Marine Science. Jonathan Sharples holds a joint chair at the University of Liverpool and the UK Natural Environment Research Council's National Oceanography Centre and has taught courses in coastal and shelf oceanography at the universities of Southampton and Liverpool. He is an oceanographer whose research concentrates on the interface between shelf sea physics and biology. His work is primarily based upon observational studies at sea, combined with development of simple numerical models of coupled physics and biology. Professor Sharples has extensive seagoing experience off the NW European shelf and off New Zealand, having led several major interdisciplinary research cruises. His research has pioneered the use of fundamental measurements of turbulence in understanding limits to phytoplankton growth and controls on phytoplankton communities.
'This comprehensive and up-to-date book will be an ideal resource
for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in pursuit of an
all-round appreciation and understanding of the shelf seas. It
really bridges a gap in the literature and the authors themselves
pioneered much of the multidisciplinary research that has revealed
a delicate interplay between the physical environment and life in
the shelf seas.' Dr Robert Marsh, University of Southampton
'Simpson and Sharples have combined courses in coastal physical
dynamics and coastal biological oceanography to produce a textbook
that is much greater than the sum of the individual disciplinary
parts. Students and scientists alike will find the discussions of
sampling gear and deployment techniques an unusual and particularly
useful aspect of this book. The authors are leaders in the study of
the physics and biology of shelf seas and their experience and
expertise is abundantly clear.' Professor Peter J. S. Franks,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
'This text is [a] straightforward one-stop shop for students and
professionals with a biological background who want to understand
the basics of physical oceanography. It is very interesting and
readable, and a great introduction [to] the theoretical background
a biologist needs to understand the large-scale physical dynamics
of the world their organisms are inhabiting.' Professor Katherine
Richardson, Copenhagen University
'This book will prove to be a masterpiece with enduring value and
fills a significant gap in physical oceanography textbooks by
focusing on shallow seas. It reads well, is accessible to the
intelligent, scientifically trained non specialist and provides a
solid foundation by which ecologists can learn much about the
physical control of many ecological processes on shelf seas.'
Malcolm Bowman, Distinguished Professor, State University of New
York, Stony Brook
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