The book presents the main results of the collaboration of the V.I.Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences with marine research organizations of Vietnam since 1981 to the present in the field of oceanography, marine geophysics, geology, and ecosystem in the Vietnam waters of the South China Sea. In chronological order, a historical outline of the establishment and development of this cooperation as well as the main results of joint and unilateral studies in different areas of the studied region is given. The structure and dynamics of water, as well as their hydrochemical, hydrophysical, and gas-geochemical characteristics, are described. Data on lithology and mineralogy of bottom sediments, the results of studying the geophysical fields and structure of the Earth's crust, as well as extreme synoptic processes and satellite observations of the South China Sea are presented.

The book is addressed to a wide range of experts in the field of Earth sciences.