To place this book in perspective it is useful for the reader to be aware of the recent history of the topic of underwater sound generation at the ocean surface by natural mechanisms. A meeting in Lerici, Italy in 1987 was convened within the NATO Advanced Research Workshop series, to bring together underwater acousticians and ocean hydrodynamicists to examine various mechanisms which generate sound naturally at the ocean surface. A record of that meeting was published in the NATO scientific publication series in 1988 under the title 'Sea Surface Sound'. That meeting was successful in...

To place this book in perspective it is useful for the reader to be aware of the recent history of the topic of underwater sound generation at the ocean surface by natural mechanisms. A meeting in Lerici, Italy in 1987 was convened within the NATO Advanced Research Workshop series, to bring together underwater acousticians and ocean hydrodynamicists to examine various mechanisms which generate sound naturally at the ocean surface. A record of that meeting was published in the NATO scientific publication series in 1988 under the title 'Sea Surface Sound'. That meeting was successful in...

In its relentless pursuit of further knowledge, science tends to compartmentalize. Over the years the pursuit of What might be called geophysical acoustics of the sea-surface has languished. This has occured even through there are well-developed and active research programs in underwater acoustics, ocean hydrodynamics, cloud and precipitation physics, and ice mechanics - to name a few - as well as a history of engineering expertise built on these scientific fields. It remained to create a convergence, a dialogue across disciplines, of mutual benefit. The central theme of the Lerici workshop,...