This book reviews recent advances in the use of SAR imagery for operational applications and science investigations of the polar oceans. The important parameters which can be extracted from spaceborne SAR imagery and their significance are discussed. Description of the algorithms used in such analyses are described and data systems used in producing the sea ice products are provided.

This text provides a mathematically oriented introduction to the theory of the large scale ocean circulation accessible for anyone with an elementary knowledge of mathematics and physics. The book consists of four parts. In part I (chapters 1-4) a brief description is provided of the ocean circulation. The mathematical framework of the governing equations of ocean flows is also presented. In addition, important concepts such as potential vorticity which are necessary to model and understand large-scale ocean currents are introduced. In part II (chapters 5-10), the theory of the midlatitude wind-driven ocean circulation and its variability is presented. Considering model development, there is a top-down approach and reduced equations, such as the the Sverdrup balance, are derived by using scaling techniques and asymptotic methods. Part III (chapters 11-12) focusses on the understanding of equatorial currents and El Nino. In the last part IV, chapters 13-16, the theory of planetary scale flows is presented, covering topics such as the thermocline problem, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the stability of the thermohaline circulation and the Arctic Ocean circulation. Five exercises are formulated at the end of each chapter. Many of these exercises are aimed to further develop methodological skills and to help readers become familiar with the physical concepts. New material is presented in only a few of the exercises. Fully worked out answers to all exercises can be downloaded from the book web site