Climate and the Oceans

"In this crystal-clear little book, Geoffrey Vallis masterfully explains the basics of physical oceanography and the role of the oceans in the climate system. He writes for those conversant with some university-level mathematics and physics, but whose knowledge of the oceans and climate is limited. The book moves smoothly from fundamental principles to topics of current research interest, including natural climate variability, such as El Niño, and the daunting challenge of man-made climate change, or global warming."--Richard Somerville, Scripps Institution of Oceanography "Readers interested in understanding how the ocean influences climate have had to choose between journalistic, grossly oversimplified accounts and the very technical professional literature. Geoffrey Vallis has now successfully filled that gap with a clear explanation of the ways in which the ocean is both influenced by and influences global climate."--Carl Wunsch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Climate and the Oceans is an accessible, effectively organized, and very well-written introduction to the subject."--Peter R. Gent, National Center for Atmospheric Research von Vallis, Geoffrey K