Physical Oceanography (Winter 2013)

MWF, 11.00 to 11.50, L+R 135

Course syllabus

This course provides an introduction to the physical balances and dynamical mechanisms governing ocean circulations. The course will begin with a descriptive overview of water mass distributions, wind and buoyancy forcing and considerations of the ocean's interaction with the cryosphere. We will consider how the effects of rotation and stratification give rise to the ocean's gyre circulation, western boundary currents and abyssal circulations. In the latter part of the course we address more recent topics including the meridional overturning circulation, interior mixing processes, mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics.


Problem Sets

Problem Set 1
ADELIE hydrography section
Link to Matlab seawater routines
Problem Set 1 Solutions
Problem Set 1 Matlab script

Problem Set 2
WOCE Atlantic Atlas
WOCE Pacific Atlas
WOCE Indian Atlas
Problem Set 2 Solutions

Problem Set 3
Problem Set 3 Solutions

Problem Set 4
Problem Set 4 Solutions

Problem Set 5
Problem Set 5 Solutions
Matlab script for Prob. set 5

Problem Set 6
Problem Set 6 Solutions
Matlab script for Prob. set 6
Notes

Week 1 notes
Week 2 notes
Week 3 notes
Week 4 notes
Week 5 notes
Week 6 notes
Week 7 notes
Week 8 notes
Week 9 notes
Lecture 1
Introduction
Reading: Marshall and Plumb, Ch. 0
Slides

Lecture 2
Properties of seawater
Reading: Talley 3.1-3.5; Marshall and Plumb, 9.1
Slides

Lecture 3
Neutral density, equation of state
Reading: McDougall, JPO (1987)
Slides

Lecture 4
Ocean vertical structure and property distributions
Reading: Talley 4.1-4.4
Slides

Lecture 5
Ocean heat budget
Reading: Talley 5.4-5.6; Marshall and Plumb 11.5
Slides

Lecture 6
Ocean instrumentation
Presentations
Slides

Lectures 7, 8, 9
Equations of motion, rotation, geostrophy
Reading: Marshall and Plumb, Ch. 6

Guest lecture
Observing the MOC: Josh Willis, JPL
Reading: Srokosz et al., BAMS (2012)
Slides

Lecture 10
Shallow water equations and potential vorticity
Reading: Vallis, Ch. 3.5
Slides

Lecture 11
Ekman layers
Reading: Marshall and Plumb, 10.1; Vallis, 2.12
Slides

Lecture 12
Sverdrup balance
Reading: Pedlosky, Ch. 1
Slides

Lectures 13, 14
Wind-driven gyres
Reading: Pedlosky, 2.1 - 2.9, (Vallis, 14.1 - 14.5)
Slides (Lecture 13)
Slides (Lecture 14)

Lectures 15, 16
Vertical structure, PV homogenization
Reading: Pedlosky, 3.5 - 3.6, (Vallis, 14.7)
Reading: Rhines and Young (1982)
Slides (Lecture 15)
Slides (Lecture 16)

Lectures 17
The ventilated thermocline
Reading: Vallis, 16.4
Reading: Luyten, Pedlosky and Stommel (1983)
Slides

Lecture 18
Introduction to the global overturning circulation
Reading: Marshall and Plumb, 11.2, 11.3
Slides

Lecture 19
Buoyancy-driven circulation
Reading: Vallis, 15.1, 15.2
See lecture 18 slides

Lecture 20
Abyssal circulation
Reading: Vallis, 15.4, 15.5
Slides

Lecture 21 & 22
Southern Ocean and the wind-driven MOC
Reading: Marshall and Speer, 2012
Slides

Lecture 23
Ocean waves and eddies
Slides

Lecture 24
Equatorial dynamics
Slides