Ocean development has conventionally been targeted at the exploitation of natural resources, however this trend is gradually changing: Ocean space has itself come to be regarded as a precious resource. Since problems associated with energy, food supply, and population will become even more crucial over the coming years, ocean space is being reevaluated as a means for providing solutions in many of these areas. The future prosperity of mankind will to a large measure be dependent on the manner in which the resources of the oceans are utilized. To develop ocean space effectively, international cooperation is essential since a global perspective is paramount. It is on this basis of cooperation and communication that the present symposium was organized, bringing together experts from all over the world to report current findings in ocean development and to consider areas of future research. The material covered here deals with all aspects of these areas which are now of such of vital importance.

Arising out of The Third International Symposium held in New Jersey, this book represents the state-of-the-art in ocean management. From the Baltic to the Caribbean, from the Adriatic to the Atlantic, the problems of ocean management are fully discussed, and proposals made to meet the challenges of the next decade. This book will be of immense interest and use to anyone working in coastal and ocean management and is an invaluable work reference.

This proceedings contains papers presented at the 31st International Conference on Coastal Engineering, which has held in Hamburg, Germany (31 August - 5 September 2008). The proceeding is divided into five parts: Waves; Long Waves, Nearshore Currents, and Swash; Sediment Transport and Morphology; Coastal Management, Environment, and Risk; and Coastal Structures. The papers cover a broad range of topics including theory, numerical and physical modeling, field measurements, case studies, design, and management. Coastal Engineering 2008 provides coastal engineers, scientists, and planners, with state-of-the-art information on coastal engineering and coastal processes.