Climate to a Fish Sandwich: Why We Study the Ocean's Circulation

This book addresses why just about everything that we experience on Earth depends upon the ocean circulation, the movement of the ocean water. Intended for a general lay-person audience, or as a non-science major undergraduate text, the book explains (in a non-mathematical manner) how the ocean circulation and the ocean's interactions with the atmosphere provides the basic underpinnings for global climate and ecology. It then launches into more specific topics of societal relevance (e.g., how the coastal ocean and estuaries work, sea level variations, ocean waves and extreme tsunamis, hurricane storm surge and wave damage, how ocean temperatures change seasonally, harmful algal blooms, alternative energy potential and fish recruitment). Whereas some of these applications have a Florida, USA emphasis, all of them are equally applicable to coastal regions elsewhere.

Explains complex topics of Earth science in a non-mathematical manner Provides understandable answers based on physical oceanography Contains specific applications to the west Florida continental shelf

Inhalt

Introduction .- 1.The Global Ocean Circulation and Climate.- 2. Additional Aspects of the Global Ocean Circulation.- 3. The Global Ocean Circulation and Ecology.- 4. The Coastal Ocean: How it is Driven.- 5. Estuaries: Where the Rivers Meet the Sea.- 6. Sea Level: Why it Goes Up, Down and Where Might it be Heading.- 7. Waves of all Sizes.- 8. Sea Level Extremes by Tsunamis.- 9. Sea Level Extremes by Hurricane Storm Surge.- 10. The Air-Sea Interactions that Determine Water Temperature.- 11. Florida Red Tides.- 12. Natural Climate Variability: Some Mechanisms and What We are Just Beginning to Learn.- 13. Alternative Energy Generation from the Ocean: What May or not be Feasible and Why.- 14. Why Grouper Sandwiches are Abundant on Florida's West Coast.- 15. Epilog.