The 2013 Gordon Conference on Coastal Circulation will synthesize recent advances in the understanding of the physical processes determining circulation and mixing in the coastal ocean. Recent advances in observational and modeling techniques, as well as a number of large interdisciplinary field studies, have led to significant advances in our understanding of coastal physical processes. In order to capture the diverse and dynamic nature of the field, the Conference will feature sessions that span a wide range of scales, environments and processes. With scales ranging from long-term changes in the coastal ocean and on high latitude shelves to submesoscale dynamics to transport in estuaries and the near-coastal ocean, sessions will examine internal wave dynamics, exchanges in fjords, carbon fluxes and air-sea interaction. Additional emphasis will be placed on scientific advances that have resulted from recent developments in instrumentation. In 2013, the Gordon Research Conference will be supplemented by a Gordon Research Seminar to be held on the weekend prior to the GRC. The Gordon Research Seminar is a meeting of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars working on coastal ocean circulation, and provides them with an opportunity to present and discuss their work with their peers. The Gordon Research Conference will bring together a diverse collection of physical oceanographers, including experimentalists, modelers, and theoreticians, who are at the forefront of their fields. All attendees will be encouraged to present their work in poster format, to facilitate the exchange of ideas and the development of new collaborations. In keeping with the traditions of the Conference, opportunities for informal interactions will be scheduled in the afternoons that exploit the recreational facilities of the conference site and the beautiful coast of Maine.