Fjord Oceanography

Fjords are deep, glacia11y carved estuaries that are pecu1iar to certain coast1ines, and have severa1 characteristics that dist inguish them from sha110wer embayments. At higher latitudes they indent the western coast1ines of Scandinavia, North and South America, and New Zea1and. They are a1so a common feature of much of the arctic coast1ine. The papers contained in this vo1ume were presented at a workshop funded by the NATO Advanced Studies Institute in Victoria, British Co1umbia. It may seem curious to the reader that this specia1 c1ass of estuaries shou1d have attracted an international gathering of oceanographers from severa1 different discip1ines. The reas on for this interest stems from both practica1 and scientific considerations. On the one hand, fjords are a feature common to the coast1ines of severa1 countries that depend heavi1y on the oceans for communication, fisheries and other resources. The impact of man's activities on these coasts has created a demand for new know1edge of the physica1, bio10gica1 and chemica1 aspects of fjords. Sometimes man's inf1uence on the ocean is intentiona1 as, for examp1e, in the artificia1 contro1 of ice cover; often it is the more insidious bui1d-up of toxic wastes that is of concern. These prob1ems are particu1ar1y acute where the conf1icting demands of fisheries, industria1 deve10pment and re creation meet in a sing1e fjord; and indeed, this is a common occurence a10ng severa1 of the fjords in Scandinavia and Canada.

"The current volume brings together a selection of papers which have variously, but not exclusively, been presented in recent years at one of three international meetings on the theme of Fjords. The first of these meetings on 'Fjord environments: past, present and future' was held as a workshop ...The second meeting was convened as a formal session (CGC-13) entitles 'Fjords: climate and environmental change' ..The third of these meetings, the 2nd International workshop on the theme Fjord environments: past, present and future ..." --p. [1].

Fjords are both an interface and a buffer between glaciated continents and the oceans. They exhibit a very wide range in environmental conditions, both in dynamics and geography. Some are truly wonders of the world with their dizzying mountain slopes rising sharply from the ocean edge. Others represent some of the harshest conditions on earth, with hurricane winds, extremes in temperature, and catastrophic earth and ice movements. Fjords are unique estuaries and represent a large portion of the earth's coastal zone. Yet they are not very well known, given the increasing population and food pressures, and their present industrial and strategic importance. Temperate zone estuaries have had many more years of intense study, with multiyear data available. Most fjords have not been impacted by man but, if history repeats itself, that condition will not last long. Fjords present some unique environmental problems, such as their usually slow flushing time, a feature common to many silled environments. Thus there is presently a need for management guidelines, which can only be based on a thorough knowledge of the way fjords work. Fjords are, in many respects, perfect natural oceanographic and geologic lab oratories. Source inputs are easily identified and their resulting gradients are well developed. Throughout this book, we emphasize the potential of modeling pro cesses in fjords, with comparisons to other estuary, lake, shelf and slope, and open ocean environments.

Interest in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues continues to increase, creating a demand for authoritative reviews that summarize recent research. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review has catered to this demand since its foundation, by the late Harold Barnes, more than 40 years ago. It is an

'Introductory Dynamical Oceanography' 2nd ed provides an introduction to Dynamical Physical Oceanography at a level suitable for senior year undergraduate students in the sciences and for graduate students entering oceanography. It aims to present the basic objectives, procedures and successes and to state some of the present limitations of dynamical oceanography and its relations to descriptive physical oceanography. The first edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and the new work includes reference to the Practical Salinity Scale 1978, the International Equation of State 1980 and the beta-spiral technique for calculating absolute currents from the density distribution. In addition the description of mixed-layer models has been updated and the chapters on Waves and on Tides have been substantially revised and enlarged, with emphasis on internal waves in the Waves chapter. While the text is self-contained readers are recommended to acquaint themselves with the general aspects of descriptive (synoptic) oceanography in order to be aware of the character of the ocean which the dynamical oceanographer is attempting to explain by referring to Pickard and Emery's 'Descriptive Physical Oceanography' 4th edition.