Dr. Hendrik van Aken has been an observational oceanographer for over 25 years. He mainly deals with regional oceanography. He headed the Dutch contribution ot the WOCE Hydrographic Program (WHP), and is presently active in CLIVAR projects. Dr. Van Aken has done extensive research in the fields of climate hydrographic variability and aspects of the global thermohaline  circulation.

From the reviews: "Van Aken (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) introduces THC to students in physical oceanography and related fields who can do simple math. ... Appropriate for undergraduate oceanography or research library collections. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; faculty and researchers." (L. S. Zipp, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), July, 2007) "This book presents various aspects of the world ocean thermohaline circulation (THC) ... . My conclusion is that the book represents a rather complete and well done evaluation of the THC; it can be used by students of different backgrounds ... . More especially, it can be useful for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in oceanography, and to a certain extent also for students in meteorology as additional textbook. ... I recommend the book warmly to oceanography graduate students." (Miroslav Gacic, Journal of Sedimentary Research, November, 2007) "In this book, Hendrik van Aken provides descriptions of the thermohaline circulations (based on observations), of the essential aspects of its coupling to the atmosphere, and of its dynamics. ... The Oceanic Thermohaline Circulation: An Introduction could be used in a university course in oceanography, particularly as a primer for inspiring numerical modelers, who often need to know more about the ocean." (Arnold L. Gordon, Bulletin of the American Metrological Society, October, 2008)

• The ocean basins.- Pressure, temperature, salinity, and some thermohaline dynamics.- Water mass and tracer analysis of the deep flow in the Atlantic Ocean.- The deep flow in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific oceans.- The upper branch of the THC.- Formation and descent of water masses.- Dynamics of the THC.- Deep upwelling and mixing.- Energetics of the THC.- Simple models, boundary conditions, and feedbacks.- The THC and different climates.