geotcchnical research studies carried out on behalf of the Deparment of the Environment. This used the original pro- posals of the Department of Trade and lndustry's Advisory Group on Seabed Stability as a reference framework. The Seabed Stability Group, as it was called, was set up in 1973,.'74 to look into problems of seabed stability relating to the develop- ment of North Sea oil and gas. The original Seabed Stability Group programme covered four main topics: (ll site in- vestigation: (2) soil properties: (3) monitoring of full-scale performance: (4) prediction analysis and design.

Within site investigation, there were three original topics: {t/ experimental geotechnical mapping of the UK continental shelf; (2) a study of banking geotechnical data; {3) a study of pick marks. These studies were carried out by the Institute of Geological Science.

In addition to these studies, three further studies were added, as follows: {1) the relevance of sandwave research to offshore engineering: {2) sea-floor acoustic and resistivity probes: (3) new developments in geophysical techniques for soil investigation.

The Proceedings also cover the work carried out to in- vestigate it~ situ methods of measuring soil properties under the Department of Energy programme of research which, in parti- cular, further developed the push-in pressure meter for offshore u s e .

There is a short section on the influence of modes of

deposition of glacial soils insofar as they influence engineering properties of North Sea foundations.

Two sessions of the seminar wcre devoted to various aspects of the behaviour of soils under cyclic loading conditions. These covered triaxial and simple shear element testing, and testing on a larger scale using the Manchester University centrifuge and plate bearing tests.

The session on full-scale measurement of gravity platforms covered: {1) the BRE interpretation of foundation behaviour of the Christchurch Bay Wave Tower (OSFLAG 9): (2) the Brent B instrumentation project; {3} work carried out by Ltoyd's Register of Shipping on the dynamic response of gravity platforms; [4) NGI's analysis of full-scale measurements of gravity platform skirt penetration.

The final session looks at the work currently being carried out by BRE, Cambridge and Manchester Universities, Queen Mary College and by Taylor Woodrow m respect of the design of offshore piling.

The Proceedings is a slim volume relatively little hard data within it. It does, however, contain a useful list of relevant publications. Also, the discussion, which is concisely reported, gives an interesting insight into the various views of that part of the offshore industry concerned with these matters.

Philip Georqe

NEW BOOKS This section lists books within the field of ocean resources that have recently been published and the descriptions given are those supplied by the book publishers. Comprehensive reviews of these books will appear in future issues.

Numerical Methods in Offshore Piling T h o m a s Telford Limited, London , £18.00 This volume contains a review of methods used in existing offshore structures and indicates improved techniques for the future. It is written for engineers concerned with the problems of design, installation and performance of piled structures. Twenty papers form the basis of the volume, with authors from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australia. A wide-ranging discussion stimulated by these papers is included.

Second Wind Energy Systems B H R A Fluid Engineering, Cranfield Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Wind Energy Systems held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 1978. The most recent developments in the technological and en- vironmental problems associated with wind energy conversion systems are covered by this set of conference proceedings. The subjects range from the design, construction, manufacture and siting of wind energy conversion systems: their applications: interfacing, storage and an ancillary equipment to national programmes and environmental impact.

Wave and Tidal Energy BHRA Fluid Engineering, Cranfield Proceedings of the International Symposium on Wave and Tidal Energy held in Canterbury, U.K. ~p tember 1978. Subjects covered include the mechanisms for the extraction of energy from waves, tides and the ocean currents, the devices and

equipment required for energy extraction, modelling, testing and sea trails of possible systems and equipment, specific wave, tidal and ocean current projects, and applications of the technology to electric power generation.

First Wind Energy Systems BHRA Fluid Engineering, Cranfield Proceedings of the International Symposium on Wind Energy Systems held in Cambridge UK September 1976 [Microfiche Edition only). Subjects covered include the potential for power production by large dispersed arrays of wind turbines, a crossflow wind turbine', general performance theory for crosswind axis turbines; WVU wind energy concentrators; tornado-type wind energy systems; basic consideration; wind-power installations for water pumping in developing countries.

Structural Mechanics Finite Element Computer Programs A Decade with Finite Elements (1970-1980) AEC Corp, Linkoping, 665 pp. $84.00 This comprehensive book published by Advanced Engineering Corp. (AEC) is the fifth publication dealing with finite element programs. It includes 600 programs and about 2700 references. The book is arranged in two sections. The first part covers the program characteristics, description, element library and hard- ware mlormanon. The range of application includes finite element programs with linear and non-linear statics, dynamics and heat transfer. Presented programs are arranged alphabeti- cally in user-oriented table form. The second part of the book gives the address to program-developer and references to manuals, journals, conference proceedings, and internal reports which describe the programs and applications experiences. News for this edition: each program is presented with a short abstract. Solution technique is given. Available pre- and/or post- processor programs are referred. Programs for desktop- and mini-computers have been included.

46 Applied Ocean Research, 1981, Vol. 3, No. 1