Sea-Level Science: Understanding Tides, Surges, Tsunamis and Mean Sea-Level Changes, David Pugh and Philip Woodworth, Cambridge U. Press, 2014. $99.00 (407 pp.). ISBN 978-1-107-02819-7 Buy at Amazon
The study of long-term sea-level variations has intensified in the past two decades, largely because those variations are used as indicators of global warming. Global climate models call for acceleration in the rate of sea-level rise over the next century; the negative impact on low-lying coastal infrastructure and coastal populations could be significant.
For more than three decades, David Pugh and Philip Woodworth have been two of the most respected and referenced experts in the field of sea-level science. Their combined research and publication experience continues to inform the community. What’s most impressive is the consistency and continuity of their work. Sea-Level Science: Understanding Tides, Surges, Tsunamis and Mean Sea-Level Changes is an acknowledged second edition to Pugh’s Tides, Surges and Mean Sea-Level: A Handbook for Engineers and Scientists (Wiley, 1987). This update is a perfect companion to the earlier work.
Sea-Level Science will immediately become a useful and practical reference for government and private-industry educators, academic researchers, and coastal scientists and engineers, whether or not they are directly involved in the field of oceanography. The book is comprehensive; it covers the breadth of sea-level variations across the frequency spectrum—tsunamis, meteotsunamis, storm surges, periodic (for example, hourly) tidal variations, decadal sea-level variations, and variations spanning a century or more. The technical material in each chapter gives readers an opportunity to obtain a thorough understanding of the latest developments in the field.
And because it consistently achieves the right technical level, including in its fine presentation of the fundamentals and basic equations, Sea-Level Science will be useful to those who may be familiar with one particular subject area but not with the full context of sea-level science. The appendices nicely complement the chapters and provide a deeper understanding of key topics. For example, they present fundamental hydrostatic and hydrodynamic equations; discuss tidal, wind-driven, and inertial current dynamics; and explain how times and heights of high and low tides can be derived from the water-level time series using traditional harmonic analyses.
Each area covered in the book has its own community of experts, whose work can be found in the thorough end-of-chapter reference lists. Linking those areas—which will be aided by the book’s broad and clear presentation—is a task ripe for collaboration and one that promises to yield a more profound understanding of sea-level science.
It’s not easy to hit the mark when attempting to cover a broad array of subjects and treat each one comprehensively. That mark has been hit in Sea-Level Science.
Stephen Gill works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the chief scientist at the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, National Ocean Service. He has more than 40 years of experience measuring and analyzing tides, currents, and sea levels.
