This book treats the structure and variability of basicphysical fields in a thin near-surface layer which responds quickly toall short-term and local fluctuations of atmospheric forcing and ofradiative solar energy flux. The book contains up-to-date information ondifferent phenomena and processes in this layer based on researchconducted over the last ten years. The following topics are treated indetail: basic types of vertical thermal structure of near-surface layers;anomalous phenomena on the ocean surface; thermal and haline boundarylayers, its structures and relations to convection; diurnal thermoclineand cycle nature of related processes; effects of precipitation onnear-surface salinity and thermal structure; peculiarities ofnear-surface ocean currents; coherent (organized) forms ofnon-stationary currents (mushroom currents or vortex dipoles,transversal jets in coastal upwellings, vortices and jets in marginalice zones); some aspects of effectiveness of remote sensing of the oceanby aerospace technique.
This book will be of value and interest to oceanographers/physicists,marine meteorologists and researchers in the field of remote sensing ofthe ocean.
1992; xiv+256 pages ISBN 90-6764-136-7 Price (all prices are subject to change without notice): EUR 216/US$ 309
