The Oceans and Climate

Grant R. Bigg

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2003
• Print ISBN: 9780521016346
• eBook ISBN: 9780511075179
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Oceanography

The oceans are an integral and important part of the climate system. The Oceans and Climate introduces the multi-disciplinary controls on air-sea interaction - physical, chemical and biological - and shows how these interact. It demonstrates how the ocean contributes to, and is affected by, climate processes on timescales from seasonal to millennial and longer. Past, present and future relationships between the ocean and climate are discussed. The new edition of this successful textbook has been completely updated throughout, with extensive new material on thermohaline processes in the ocean and their link to both abrupt climate change and longer-term climate change. It will prove an ideal course and reference book for undergraduate and graduate students studying earth and environmental sciences, oceanography, meteorology and climatology. The book will also be useful for students and teachers of geography, physics, chemistry and biology.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface to the first edition
• 1 The climate system
• 2 Physical interaction between the ocean and atmosphere
• 3 Chemical interaction of the atmosphere and ocean
• 4 Biogeochemical interaction of the atmosphere and ocean
• 5 Large-scale air–sea interaction
• 6 The ocean and natural climatic variability
• 7 The ocean and climatic change
• Appendix A Useful constants and the electromagnetic spectrum (Fig. A.1)
• Appendix B Periodic Table and electron orbital configuration
• Appendix C Stability, potential temperature and density
• Appendix D Rossby waves in the atmosphere and ocean
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index