Ocean margins are the transitional zones between the oceans and continents. They represent dynamic systems in which numerous processes shape the environment and result in impacting the utilization and hazard potentials for humans. These processes are influenced by a variety of steering mechanisms, from mountain building and climate on the land to tectonics and sea-level fluctuations in ocean margins. This book examines various aspects of regulation for the long-term development of ocean margins, of the impact of fluids and of the dynamics of benthic life at and below the seafloor in ocean...

The global environment is changing rapidly under the impact of human activities, and an important element of this change is related to global c1imate modification. Can the study of c1imate and history help in devising strategies for coping with this change? What might be the type of information most useful in this context? What are the pitfalls awaiting the unwary? These are the kinds of questions that led us to bring together experts from the natural and social sci ences with a strong interest in history, to promote discussion between workers in different disciplines by focussing on a common...

Ocean margins are the transitional zones between the oceans and continents. They represent dynamic systems in which numerous processes shape the environment and result in impacting the utilization and hazard potentials for humans. These processes are influenced by a variety of steering mechanisms, from mountain building and climate on the land to tectonics and sea-level fluctuations in ocean margins. This book examines various aspects of regulation for the long-term development of ocean margins, of the impact of fluids and of the dynamics of benthic life at and below the seafloor in ocean...

Europe is a continent with a high coast-to-surface ratio, and European seas encompass a broad range of settings and regimes. The sustainable development of living and non-living marine resources, the protection of the marine environment and the provision of marine-based services are critical to economic prosperity and to the quality of life of European citizens. Addressing these concerns, marine-science researchers conducted a workshop reviewing major topics of European marine research. This publication contains overview and thematic background papers, as well as reports and recommendations...

Paleoceanographic proxies provide infonnation for reconstructions of the past, including climate changes, global and regional oceanography, and the cycles of biochemical components in the ocean. These prox- ies are measurable descriptors for desired but unobservable environmental variables such as tempera- ture, salinity, primary productivity, nutrient content, or surface-water carbon dioxide concentrations. The proxies are employed in a manner analogous to oceanographic methods. The water masses are first characterized according to their specific physical and chemical properties, and then...

In the summer of 1994 (Aug. 15 - 18) about 220 oceanographers and paleoceanographers from Western Europe, the USA, Africa, South America, Russia and Lithuania met at Bremen University to present and discuss the results of recent research on present and past circulation in the South Atlantic. The symposium was organised by Gerold Siedler (University of Kiei) and Gerold Wefer (University of Bremen), assisted by a "Scientific Programme Committee," which included W.H. Berger, K. Herterich, N.G. Hogg, Y. Ikeda, J.H.F. Jansen, J.R.E. Luetjeharms, J. Merle, R.G. Peterson, and DJ. Webb. The local...

The South Atlantic plays a critical role in the couplingofoceanic processes between the Antarctic and the lower latitudes. The Antarctic Ocean, along with the adjacent southern seas, is of substantial importance for global climate and for the distributionofwater masses because itprovides large regions ofthe world ocean with intermediate and bottom waters. In contrast to the North Atlantic, the Southern Ocean acts more as an "information distributor", as opposed to an amplifier. Just as the North Atlantic is influencedby the South Atlantic through the contributionofwarm surface water,the...