The Ocean's Role in Global Change

What role does the ocean play in global climate change? Although not fully understood, there is general agreement that it is significant. Therefore, the scientific community has initiated large-scale research programs based on studies of the ocean and its relation to global climate and climate-related processes. This volume provides brief summaries and reports on the progress of the major oceanographic research programs. It looks at both programs that study processes that occur over periods ranging from days to hundreds of yearsthe contemporary systemand those that seek to understand long-term variations ranging from thousands to millions of yearsthe geological perspective. Table of Contents FRONT MATTER INTRODUCTION THE CONTEMPORARY SYSTEM THE GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE CROSSCUTTING ISSUES CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX I - LIST OF ACRONYMS APPENDIX II - PARAMETERS OF IMPORTANCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE OCEAN'S ROLE IN GLOBAL CHANGE APPENDIX III - BIBLIOGRAPHY, PROGRAM DOCUMENTS, AND ADDRESSES