Descriptive Physical Oceanography, Sixth Edition: An Introduction

The sixth edition of Descriptive Physical Oceanography provides an introduction to descriptive physical oceanography for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. The emphasis is on large-scale oceanography, based mainly in observations, with some topics from waves and coastal oceanography also included. Topics include the physical properties of seawater, heat and salt budgets, instrumentation, data analysis methods, introductory dynamics, oceanography and climate variability of each of the oceans and of the global ocean, and brief introductions to the physical setting, waves, and coastal oceanography.

• Expanded ocean basin descriptions, including ocean climate variability, emphasizing dynamical context


• New chapters on global ocean circulation and introductory ocean dynamics


• Companion website containing PowerPoint figures, supplemental chapters, and practical exercises for analyzing a global ocean data set using Java OceanAtlas

The sixth edition of Descriptive Physical Oceanography provides an introduction to descriptive physical oceanography for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. The emphasis is on large-scale oceanography, based mainly in observations, with some topics from waves and coastal oceanography also included. Topics include the physical properties of seawater, heat and salt budgets, instrumentation, data analysis methods, introductory dynamics, oceanography and climate variability of each of the oceans and of the global ocean, and brief introductions to the physical setting, waves, and coastal oceanography.

• Expanded ocean basin descriptions, including ocean climate variability, emphasizing dynamical context.
• New chapters on global ocean circulation and introductory ocean dynamics.
• Companion Web site containing PowerPoint figures, supplemental chapters, and practical exercises for analyzing a global ocean data set using Java OceanAtlas.

Schematic of optical processes in seawater. Adapted and simplified from Mobley (1995), with added indicators of seawater heating and photosynthesis, as well as satellite observation of ocean color. Read more about the "Physical Properties of Seawater" from Descriptive Physical Oceanography