In the last two decades since publication of the first edition, substantial advancements have been made in the science, the need for transdisciplinary approaches to coral reef protection greater than ever before. This new edition, now in full color throughout with accompanying animations, goes beyond identifying foundational information and current problems to pinpoint science-based solutions for managers, stakeholders and policy makers. Coral reefs are connected by currents that carry plankton and the larvae of many reef-based organisms. Further, they supply food to reefs. Currents also bring pollutants from the land and, together with the atmosphere, affect the surrounding ocean. The chapters in this book provide a much-needed review of the biophysics of reefs with an emphasis on the Great Barrier Reef as an ecosystem. The focus is on interactions between currents, waves, sediment and the dynamics of coastal and reef-based ecosystems. The topographic complexity of reefs redirects mainstream currents, creates tidal eddies, mushroom jets, boundary layers, stagnation zones, and this turbulence is enhanced by the oceanographic chaos in the adjoining Coral Sea. This is the environment in which particles and organisms, of a range of sizes live, from tiny plankton to megafauna. This generates faunal connectivity at scales of meters to thousands of km within the Great Barrier Reef and with the adjoining ocean. Pollution from land-use is increasing and remedial measures are described both on land and on coral cays. The impact of climate change is quantified in case studies about mangroves and corals. Modelling this biophysical complexity is increasing in sophistication, and the authors suggest how the field can advance further.

Providing a guide for marine conservation practice, Marine Conservation takes a whole-systems approach, covering major advances in marine ecosystem understanding. Its premise is that conservation must be informed by the natural histories of organisms together with the hierarchy of scale-related linkages and ecosystem processes. The authors introduce a broad range of overlapping issues and the conservation mechanisms that have been devised to achieve marine conservation goals. The book provides students and conservation practitioners with a framework for thoughtful, critical thinking in order to incite innovation in the 21st century. "Marine Conservation presents a scholarly but eminently readable case for the necessity of a systems approach to conserving the oceans, combining superb introductions to the science, law and policy frameworks with carefully chosen case studies. This superb volume is a must for anyone interested in marine conservation, from students and practitioners to lay readers and policy-makers." —Simon Levin, George M. Moffett Professor of Biology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

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The use of environmental data to support science, technology, and marine operations has evolved dramatically owing to long-term ocean observatories, unmanned platforms, satellite and coastal remote sensing, data assimilative numerical models, and high-speed communications. Actionable environmental information is regularly produced and communicated from quality-controlled measurements and skillful forecasts. The characterization of complex oceanographic processes is more difficult compared to inland features because of the difficulty in obtaining observations from often remote and hazardous locations. Regardless, coastal and ocean engineering projects and operations require the collection and analysis of meteorological and oceanographic data to fill information gaps and the running of numerical models to characterize regions of interest. Data analytics are also essential to integrate disparate marine data from national archives, in situ sensors, imagery, and numerical models to meet project requirements. Holistic marine environmental characterization is essential for data-driven decision making across the science and engineering lifecycle (e.g., research, production, operations, end-of-life). Many marine science and technology projects require the employment of an array of instruments and models to characterize spatially and temporally variable processes that may impact operations. Since certain environmental conditions will contribute to structural damage or operational disturbances, they are described using statistical parameters that have been standardized for engineering purposes. The statistical description should describe extreme conditions as well as long- and short-term variability. These data may also be used to verify and validate models and simulations. Environmental characterization covers the region where engineering projects or maritime operations take place. For vessels that operate across a variety of seaways, marine databases and models are essential to describe environmental conditions. Data, which are used for design and operations, must cover a sufficiently long time period to describe seasonal to sub-seasonal variations, multi-year, decadal, multi-decadal, and even climatological factors such as sea level rise, coastal winds, waves, and global ocean temperatures. Combined data types are essential for the computation of environmental loads for the region of interest. Typical factors include winds, waves, currents, and tides. Some regions may require consideration of biofouling, earthquakes, ice, salinity, soil conditions, temperature, tsunami, and visibility. Observations are also used for numerical forecasts, but errors may exist due to inexact physical assumptions and/or inaccurate initial data, which can cause errors to grow to unacceptable levels with increased forecasting times. Overall, marine environmental characterization tools, from observational data to numerical modeling, are critical to today's science, engineering, and marine operational disciplines.

This book presents an in-depth discussion of the biological and ecological geography of the oceans. It synthesizes locally restricted studies of the ocean to generate a global geography of the vast marine world.Based on patterns of algal ecology, the book divides the ocean into four primary compartments, which are then subdivided into secondary compartments.*Includes color insert of the latest in satellite imagery showing the world's oceans, their similarities and differences*Revised and updated to reflect the latest in oceanographic research*Ideal for anyone interested in understanding ocean ecology -- accessible and informative