Since publication of the first issue of Oceanography in 1988, by far the majority of articles in the magazine have been descriptive, in keeping with our mission of “cross-disciplinary communication.” This format also reflects that our bread and butter is disseminating information on seagoing programs—observational oceanography.

This issue is a clear departure, where several theoretical oceanographers describe the mathematical aspects of the discipline, physical oceanography in particular. These writers set aside the modern emphasis on numerical techniques and focus instead on the fruits of old-fashioned, pencil-and-paper equation-solving. Observations and theory are the yin and yang of scientific progress, and our hope is that these articles will stimulate further discussions, new insights, and adventurous collaborations.

– Ellen S. Kappel, Editor

Kappel, E.S. 2018. Let’s try some math for a change. Oceanography 31(3):3, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2018.312.

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