Physics of lakes. Volume 1: Foundation of the mathematical and physical background. (Q992770)

This first volume in the treatise on the Physics of lakes contains the formulation of the mathematical and physical background. The volume begins with the presentation of the fundamental equations of lake hydrodynamics in the form of `primitive equations' and leads to a detailed treatment of angular momentum and vorticity. A chapter on linear water waves then opens the forum to the dynamics in water bodies with free surface. Stratification is the cause of large internal motions; this is demonstrated in a chapter discussing the role of the distribution of mass in bounded water bodies. Stratification is chiefly governed by the seasonal variation of the solar irradiation and its transformation by turbulence. The latter and the circulation dynamics are built on input of wind shear at the surface. The early theory of circulation dynamics with and without the effect of the rotation of the Earth rounds off this book into the dynamics of lakes. A chapter on turbulence modelling and a further chapter collecting the phenomenological coefficients of water complete this coverage on the foundations of the mathematics and physics of lakes. The book offers a broad, self-contained introduction to the physics of lakes and will be a valuable reference for all those with an active interest in geophysical mechanics research and teaching.