For some time there has existed an extensive theoretical literature
relating to tides on continental shelves and also to the behavior of
estuaries. Much less attention was traditionally paid to the dynamics of
longer term, larger scale motions (those which are usually described as
circulation') over continental shelves or in enclosed shallow seas such
as the North American Great Lakes. This is no longer the case: spurred
on by other disciplines, notably biological oceanography, and by public
concern with the environment, the physical science of the coastal ocean
has made giant strides during the last two decades or so. Today, it is
probably fair to say that coastal ocean physics has come of age as a
deduc- tive quantitative science. A well developed body of theoretical
models exist, based on the equations of fluid motion, which have been
related to observed currents, sea level variations, water properties,
etc. Quantitative parameters required in using the models to predict
e.g. the effects of wind or of freshwater influx on coastal currents can
be estimated within reasonable bounds of error. While much remains to be
learned, and many exciting discoveries presumably await us in the
future, the time seems appropriate to summarize those aspects of coastal
ocean dynamics relevant to 'circulation' or long- term motion.
