  We present a method for computing the flux of energy through a closed surface
containing a gravitating system. This method, which is based on the quasilocal
formalism of Brown and York, is illustrated by two applications: a calculation
of (i) the energy flux, via gravitational waves, through a surface near
infinity and (ii) the tidal heating in the local asymptotic frame of a body
interacting with an external tidal field. The second application represents the
first use of the quasilocal formalism to study a non-stationary spacetime and
shows how such methods can be used to study tidal effects in isolated
gravitating systems.
