Miscellaneous

The present volume is intended to unify and enhance the accessibility of the modern scholarly researches relating to the advances in the field of coastal modeling. A wide spectrum of the innovative models is addressing the whole diversity and all different aspects of these researches together with the dynamics and responses of the coastal systems and subsystems.

The chapters of the book have been prepared by the coastal experts from different countries in order to provide readers with the valuable technical insights of the developments and contemporary knowledge of the models considered essential for proper understanding and prediction of the dynamics. Among the features of the present publication we would underline the encompassing and very impressive presentation of the operational/functional models for all people with the interest in professional modeling of the oceans, seas and coasts.

The content of the volume also includes the chapters focusing on the shore lines and beaches modeling, in addition to the dynamic processes of waves and flows, currents and transport of sediments. The main scope of the publication has been strengthened with supplementary chapters that concentrate of the major effects that the coastal structures have on the near-shore flows, coastal pollution and eco-modeling and other relevant information.

Most of the planet's surface is covered by the ocean waters. Many of the important aspects of our day-to-day activities may easily be affected by the waves in one of another way. And sometimes the waves can result in disasters, such as the tsunami occurred in the Indian Ocean some years ago. This demonstrate how critical it is for the people to thoroughly understand the ocean waves paying particular attention to the large waves.

One of the ways to get to this understanding is to conduct the numerical simulation on the basis of the non-linear theory. There have been several serious researches in this field in the past decades by the development of the different numerical methods and their application to the emerging problems; however, there has been no comprehensive volume that would reflect those advances. This book should bridge the subject gap. It consists of the eighteen self-contained chapters worked out by more than fifty professional authors from twelve different countries, with most of the authors being the world recognized experts in the field.

The content of each chapter is mainly based on the researches conducted by the authors. Altogether the chapters of the book are dealing with the literally all numerical methods currently employed to the simulation of the non-linear water waves, covering most of the interesting and important applications.