Oceanography of the British Columbia Coast


Book Description

This book deals with the physical aspects of the sea as exemplified by the Pacific Ocean and the contiguous waters of the British Columbia coast. Although principally devoted to waves, currents and tides, the book spans a broad spectrum of topics ranging from meteorology and marine biology to past and present marine geology. It attempts to elucidate the nature of oceanic motions and to relate them to everyday experience for the general interest of the casual reader and for the practical benefit of the professional mariner, scientist, or engineer.




The Sea Among Us


Book Description

Dr. Douglas Bertram, Dr. John Clague, Terry Glavin, Rick Harbo, Dr. Paul Harrison, Dr. Jacquelynne King, Dr. David Mackas, Gordon McFarlane, Richard Beamish, Stewart Muir, Dr. Richard E. Thomson and Dr. Andrew Trites, contributors.




Views of the Salish Sea


Book Description

It is not mere coincidence that two-thirds of the population of British Columbia occupies lands bordering its great inland sea, the Strait of Georgia, and connected waterways collectively known as the North Salish Sea. Averaging forty kilometres in width and stretching some three hundred kilometres from Vancouver and Victoria in the south to Powell River and Campbell River in the north, the North Salish Sea has long sheltered a bounty of habitable lands and rich maritime resources ideal for human settlement. While the region's intricate shoreline of peninsulas, promontories, estuaries and plains has been occupied by human communities for millennia, the last century and a half has been an unprecedented age of rapid colonization, industrialization and globalization. Many books have been written about individual communities and industries around the great waterway, but none have examined the region as a geographical unit with its own dynamic systems, which can best be understood as an interrelated whole. The Strait of Georgia has influenced human affairs, even as people have changed the Strait, in a complex relationship that continues today. British colonization and the commodification of the Strait's resources launched a resource rush around the sea that began in earnest in the decades before the First World War, often at the expense of Indigenous populations. Coal mining developed earliest and grew rapidly. Fishing, lumbering and metal mining were also established by the 1880s and soon experienced exponential growth. From the earliest salmon canneries to today's cruise ship industry, all have depended on the Strait to ensure economic prosperity and the easy movement of people and goods. As competition for space and resources increases, and as the effects of climate change are amplified, the pressure on this ecologically vulnerable area will only intensify. If this precious sea is to be passed to future generations with any semblance of its inherent richness and diversity intact, then it will need to be effectively managed and vigorously defended. The first step is to understand the complex story of the region, making this essential reading not only for history buffs but anyone with an interest in the future of British Columbia.




Fjord Oceanography


Book Description

Fjords are deep, glacia11y carved estuaries that are pecu1iar to certain coast1ines, and have severa1 characteristics that dist inguish them from sha110wer embayments. At higher latitudes they indent the western coast1ines of Scandinavia, North and South America, and New Zea1and. They are a1so a common feature of much of the arctic coast1ine. The papers contained in this vo1ume were presented at a workshop funded by the NATO Advanced Studies Institute in Victoria, British Co1umbia. It may seem curious to the reader that this specia1 c1ass of estuaries shou1d have attracted an international gathering of oceanographers from severa1 different discip1ines. The reas on for this interest stems from both practica1 and scientific considerations. On the one hand, fjords are a feature common to the coast1ines of severa1 countries that depend heavi1y on the oceans for communication, fisheries and other resources. The impact of man's activities on these coasts has created a demand for new know1edge of the physica1, bio10gica1 and chemica1 aspects of fjords. Sometimes man's inf1uence on the ocean is intentiona1 as, for examp1e, in the artificia1 contro1 of ice cover; often it is the more insidious bui1d-up of toxic wastes that is of concern. These prob1ems are particu1ar1y acute where the conf1icting demands of fisheries, industria1 deve10pment and re creation meet in a sing1e fjord; and indeed, this is a common occurence a10ng severa1 of the fjords in Scandinavia and Canada.




Hydrodynamics of Estuaries and Fjords


Book Description

Hydrodynamics of Estuaries and Fjords







Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography


Book Description

Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography is a practical referenceguide to established and modern data analysis techniques in earth and oceansciences. This second and revised edition is even more comprehensive with numerous updates, and an additional appendix on 'Convolution and Fourier transforms'. Intended for both students and established scientists, the fivemajor chapters of the book cover data acquisition and recording, dataprocessing and presentation, statistical methods and error handling,analysis of spatial data fields, and time series analysis methods. Chapter 5on time series analysis is a book in itself, spanning a wide diversity oftopics from stochastic processes and stationarity, coherence functions,Fourier analysis, tidal harmonic analysis, spectral and cross-spectralanalysis, wavelet and other related methods for processing nonstationarydata series, digital filters, and fractals. The seven appendices includeunit conversions, approximation methods and nondimensional numbers used ingeophysical fluid dynamics, presentations on convolution, statisticalterminology, and distribution functions, and a number of importantstatistical tables. Twenty pages are devoted to references. Featuring:. An in-depth presentation of modern techniques for the analysis of temporal and spatial data sets collected in oceanography, geophysics, and other disciplines in earth and ocean sciences.. A detailed overview of oceanographic instrumentation and sensors - old and new - used to collect oceanographic data.. 7 appendices especially applicable to earth and ocean sciences ranging from conversion of units, through statistical tables, to terminology and non-dimensional parameters. In praise of the first edition: "(...)This is a very practical guide to the various statistical analysis methods used for obtaining information from geophysical data, with particular reference to oceanography(...)The book provides both a text for advanced students of the geophysical sciences and a useful reference volume for researchers." Aslib Book Guide Vol 63, No. 9, 1998 "(...)This is an excellent book that I recommend highly and will definitely use for my own research and teaching." EOS Transactions, D.A. Jay, 1999 "(...)In summary, this book is the most comprehensive and practical source of information on data analysis methods available to the physical oceanographer. The reader gets the benefit of extremely broad coverage and an excellent set of examples drawn from geographical observations." Oceanography, Vol. 12, No. 3, A. Plueddemann, 1999 "(...)Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography is highly recommended for a wide range of readers, from the relative novice to the experienced researcher. It would be appropriate for academic and special libraries." E-Streams, Vol. 2, No. 8, P. Mofjelf, August 1999




NOAA Technical Report ERL.


Book Description