Four years have elapsed since the preparation of the original Russian
version of this book. This is a long time when dealing with such
actively expanding fields of oceanography as research into small-scale
structures and the investigation of hydro physical processes. Over this
period new quick-response devices have been developed and successfully
used for measurements taken in various ocean areas. Improvements in
high-frequency meters used to measure hydrophysical parameters has
enabled workers to obtain more accurate absolute values of the
fluctuations measured by such devices. In view of this scientific
progress, some of the ideas presented in this book now require
additional explanation. Great care should be used in dealing with the
absolute fluctuation values of hydro physical fields, since the methods
used for the determination of the accuracy of the high-frequency
measuring devices have been imperfect in the past. Never- theless, it
would appear that the results of the investigations summarized in this
book have not lost their importance, and that the established laws
governing small-scale pro- cesses in the ocean are of a sufficiently
universal nature and, as such, have not been shattered with the
qualitative and quantitative advances in devices used for measurements
taken in oceans. The authors feel that their work is of interest to
English-speaking readers. The appearance of the English translation of
the book is, to a very large extent, due to the tremendous amount of
editing work brilliantly done by Prof. H. Tennekes.
