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 3
Notes

Week 1 notes
Week 2 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
Equations of motion, rotation, geostrophy
Reading: Marshall and Plumb, Ch. 6

Lecture 9
Observing the MOC: Josh Willis, JPL
Reading: Srokosz et al., BAMS (2012)
Slides

Lecture 10
Potential vorticity
Reading: Vallis, Ch. 3.5