Exploring Ocean Physics

While there are many introductory, lower undergraduate level general oceanography texts and many specialized, graduate level texts in sub-disciplines of ocean physics/physical oceanography, there is no one text written in the last decade that fills the gap between these two types of texts covering both descriptive and dynamic ocean physics, while aiming for students who have had some formal training in undergraduate calculus and physics. This book is guided by an educational approach that seeks to engage the reader by exploring the ocean through the eyes of ocean physicists. What do they see from the ocean physics perspective when they explore the ocean on a variety of scales? How do they build simple mathematical descriptions of these complex processes? What phenomena do they explore in coastal versus global oceanography? How do emerging technologies play a role? Why is ocean physics important to understand?

The goal of this book is to acquaint, educate, and interest students in ocean physics.  The book is divided into five major sections (Parts I-V) with a progressive level of math courses ranging from basic calculus (Part I Descriptive Ocean Physics) to partial differential equations (Part IV Ocean Waves and Instabilities and Part V: The Dynamic Coast). Each section can be readily covered in a one-quarter course.  At the end of the book are summary remarks which entice the reader with an invitation to explore advanced ocean physics.