Fluid Mechanics for Marine Ecologists [Paperback]

Showing marine ecologists, oceanographers and marine engineers how ocean waters interact with, influence and constrain life in the ocean, this package makes the physical processes intelligible to biologists with a modicum of mathematics. Part I of the book examines classical fluid mechanics such as laminar and turbulent flow, boundary layers, and forces induced by flow. Part II deals with large-scale flows, such as waves, large ocean currents, and tides, which are beyond the scope of classic fluid mechanics. In Part III, the link between hydrodynamics of ocean flows and marine ecology is demonstrated by examples of well-established phenomena and processes. The CD-ROM contains 12 ready-to-use computer programs on the calculation, representation and simulation of various processes.The future quality of life on Earth fundamentally depends on trends in world climate. The oceans playa dominant role in regulating global climate by help? ing to control greenhouse gases, global heat transfer and weather patterns. If we also consider the energy and other resources oceans offer, their essential importance to human existence become obvious. Ocean waters are in endless motions. Scales of these motions vary from micro-turbulence through to surface and internal waves, tides, and global currents of planetary dimensions. How? ever, in each case the water motion satisfies the fundamental fluid mechanics and geophysical fluid mechanics principles. Oceans are not empty, but support a large variety of organisms and plants. Many of the basic attributes of life of these creatures raise such questions as: why are the ocean's living resources distributed as they are?; how can cyclical changes overthrow the system?; why do organisms have a particular size and shape?; how do they move and reproduce?; how do they capture food and many others. In the majority of situations, biological processes appear to be strongly influ? enced by the physics, while the physical processes are largely independl$