Sea-level Science - Understanding Tides, Surges, Tsunamis and Mean Sea-Level Changes

Moving water has a special fascination, and the regular tidal movements of coastal seas must have challenged human imagination from earliest times. Indeed, the ancients who were able to link the regular movements of the sea to the movements of the sun and moon regarded tides as a tangible terrestrial manifestation of the powers of the celestial gods. For them the tides had religious significance; for us there are obviously many practical and scientific reasons for needing to know about and understand the dynamics of the oceans and coastal seas. 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 focused attention on the possibility of significant increases over the coming century as a result of global warming. Scientifically, in addition to their position as a branch, perhaps the oldest branch, of physical oceanography, tides have a controlling influence on many marine biological and geological processes. One of the fascinations of studying tides is the diversity of the applications. During the past two decades, mainly as a result of developments in instrument design and in the computer sciences, our understanding of tides and their related phenomena has made considerable advances. The aim of this book is to present modern tidal ideas to those who are not tidal specialists, but for whom some tidal knowledge is involved in their own 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.

D. Pugh, P. Woodworth - Cambridge University Press

Date de sortie

Partager la page :