This book presents the views of leading scientists on our knowledge of the global ocean circulation following completion of the observational phase of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment. WOCE's in situ physical and chemical measurements together with satellite altimetry have produced a data set of unprecedented scope and precision.

This data set provides the basis for development of ocean and coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation models used for understanding ocean and climate variability and projecting climate change. The book guides the reader through the analysis, interpretation, modeling, and synthesis of these data.

This book will be of value to those interested in the global oceans, in climate variability and change, and in the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon, particularly oceanographers, meteorologists, and other climate scientists.