Waves In The Ocean And Atmosphere

A study of the fundamental theory of waves appropriate for first year graduate students in oceanography, meteorology and associated sciences. Starting with an elementary overview of the basic wave concept, specific wave phenomena are then examined, including: surface gravity waves, internal gravity waves, lee waves, waves in the presence of rotation, and geostrophic adjustment. Each wave topic is used to introduce either a new technique or concept in general wave theory. Emphasis is placed on connectivity between the various subjects and on the physical interpretation of the mathematical results. The book contains numerous exercises at the end of the respective chapters.

Written by a leading specialist in the area of atmosphere/ocean science (AOS), the book presents an excellent introduction to this important topic. The goals of these lecture notes, based on courses presented by the author at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, are to introduce mathematicians to the fascinating and important area of atmosphere/ocean science (AOS) and, conversely, to develop a mathematical viewpoint on basic topics in AOS of interest to the disciplinary AOS community, ranging from graduate students to researchers. The lecture notes emphasize the serendipitous connections between applied mathematics and geophysical flows in the style of modern applied mathematics, where rigorous mathematical analysis as well as asymptotic, qualitative, and numerical modeling all interact to ease the understanding of physical phenomena. Reading these lecture notes does not require a previous course in fluid dynamics, although a serious reader should supplement these notes with material such The book is intended for graduate students and researchers working in interdisciplinary areas between mathematics and AOS. It is excellent for supplementary course reading or independent study.

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.

With both the growing importance of integrating studies of air-sea interaction and the interest in the general problem of global warming, the appearance of the second edition of this popular text is especially welcome. Thoroughly updated and revised, the authors have retained the accessible, comprehensive expository style that distinguished the earlier edition. Topics include the state of matter near the interface, radiation, surface wind waves, turbulent transfer near the interface, the planetary boundary layer, atmospherically-forced perturbations in the oceans, and large-scale forcing by sea surface buoyancy fluxes. This book will be welcomed by students and professionals in meteorology, physical oceanography, physics and ocean engineering.

Atmosphere-Ocean Dynamics deals with a systematic and unified approach to the dynamics of the ocean and atmosphere. The book reviews the relationship of the ocean-atmosphere and how this system functions. The text explains this system through radiative equilibrium models; the book also considers the greenhouse effect, the effects of convection and of horizontal gradients, and the variability in radiative driving of the earth. Equations in the book show the properties of a material element, mass conservation, the balance of scalar quantity (such as salinity), and the mathematical behavior of the ocean and atmosphere. The book also addresses how the ocean-atmosphere system tends to adjust to equilibrium, both in the absence and presence of driving forces such as gravity. The text also explains the effect of the earth's rotation on the system, as well as the application of forced motions such as that produced by wind or temperature changes. The book explains tropical dynamics and the effects of variation of the Coriolis parameter with latitude. The text will be appreciated by meteorologists, environmentalists, students studying hydrology, and people working in general earth sciences.

This book fills a gap in knowledge of breaking waves and their influence on the generation of marine fluxes from ocean surfaces. Based on published data as well as on the author's experience, the text explores in detail the relationship chain of breaking waves, whitecaps coverage, rate of wave energy dissipation, amount of aerosol fluxes rising from a given sea basin, and possible seasonal variations.

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 describes a recent effort combining interdisciplinary expertise within the Collaborative Research Centre “Energy transfers in atmosphere and ocean” (TRR-181), which was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Energy transfers between the three dynamical regimes – small-scale turbulence, internal gravity waves and geostrophically balanced motion – are fundamental to the energy cycle of both the atmosphere and the ocean. Nonetheless, they remain poorly understood and quantified, and have yet to be adequately represented in today’s climate models. Since interactions between the dynamical regimes ultimately link the smallest scales to the largest ones through a range of complex processes, understanding these interactions is essential to constructing atmosphere and ocean models and to predicting the future climate. To this end, TRR 181 combines expertise in applied mathematics, meteorology, and physical oceanography. This book provides an overview of representative specific topics addressed by TRR 181, ranging from - a review of a coherent hierarchy of models using consistent scaling and approximations, and revealing the underlying Hamiltonian structure - a systematic derivation and implementation of stochastic and backscatter parameterisations - an exploration of the dissipation of large-scale mean or eddying balanced flow and ocean eddy parameterisations; and - a study on gravity wave breaking and mixing, the interaction of waves with the mean flow and stratification, wave-wave interactions and gravity wave parameterisations to topics of a more numerical nature such as the spurious mixing and dissipation of advection schemes, and direct numerical simulations of surface waves at the air-sea interface. In TRR 181, the process-oriented topics presented here are complemented by an operationally oriented synthesis focusing on two climate models currently being developed in Germany. In this way, the goal of TRR 181 is to help reduce the biases in and increase the accuracy of atmosphere and ocean models, and ultimately to improve climate models and climate predictions.