Introductory remarks

Abstract

For most people, the continental shelf seas are the nearest large bodies of water. Understanding their circulation, and how their water gets mixed and exchanged between inshore and offshore regions, has some practical importance as well as scientific interest. There are several reasons for discussing this subject now. In the past five years or so, there have been notable advances in understanding some features of shelf circulation caused by varying winds. At the same time, and somewhat separately, knowledge of fronts in shallow seas has improved rapidly, thanks mainly to the easier availability of infrared images of the sea surface from satellites. Finally, some progress is beginning to be made on the question of the relation between fronts and the circulation. In the succeeding papers, some aspects of all these topics are reviewed and discussed.