Descriptive Physical Oceanography: An Introduction

The sixth edition of Descriptive Physical Oceanography provides an introduction to descriptive physical oceanography for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. The emphasis is on large-scale oceanography, based mainly in observations, with some topics from waves and coastal oceanography also included. Topics include the physical properties of seawater, heat and salt budgets, instrumentation, data analysis methods, introductory dynamics, oceanography and climate variability of each of the oceans and of the global ocean, and brief introductions to the physical setting, waves, and coastal oceanography.

• Expanded ocean basin descriptions, including ocean climate variability, emphasizing dynamical context
• New chapters on global ocean circulation and introductory ocean dynamics
• Companion website containing PowerPoint figures, supplemental chapters, and practical exercises for analyzing a global ocean data set using Java OceanAtlas

Chapter 1: Introduction to descriptive physical oceanography; Chapter 2: Ocean dimensions, shapes and bottom materials; Chapter 3: Physical properties of seawater; Chapter 4: Typical distributions of water characteristics; Chapter 5: Mass, salt and heat budgets and wind forcing; Chapter 6: Data analysis concepts and observational methods; Chapter 7: Dynamical processes for descriptive ocean circulation; Chapter 8: Gravity waves, tides, and coastal oceanography; Chapter 9: Atlantic Ocean; Chapter 10: Pacific Ocean; Chapter 11: Indian Ocean; Chapter 12: Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas; Chapter 13: Southern Ocean; Chapter 14: Global circulation and water properties

Supplemental texts (web only): Chapter S1: Brief history of physical oceanography; Chapter S7: (expanded) Dynamical processes for descriptive ocean circulation; Chapter S8: Gravity waves, tides, and coastal oceanography (additional materials); Chapter S15: Climate and the oceans; Chapter S16: Instruments and Methods.