AMP 551 (Fall 2002) – Physics of the Air-Sea Interface

 

Prof. Mark Donelan and Prof. Hans Graber

 

Goals:

     This course is intended to present to students the fundamental physical processes that pertain to the air-sea interface and especially its role in coupling air and sea.

 

Description of Course:

 

This course deals with the theory and practice of air-sea interaction.  Two hours of lectures and one hour in the wind-wave laboratory provide an appropriate mix of theory and experiment.  The topics covered include:

 

            Thermodynamics of the interface

            Conservation equations

            Wave generation, propagation and dissipation

            Boundary layer turbulence

            Heat, mass and momentum transfer

            Energy dissipation, intermittency

            Turbulence closure

            Wave prediction models

 

Assigments:

     Weekly homework, Mid term and Final exams.

 

Grades:

     Grades are based on 25% HW, 25% Mid term, 35% Final, and 15% participation in class.

 

 

 

Reading List:

 

1.              Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction, Kraus & Businger, Oxford University Press, 1994

2.              Wind Generated Ocean Waves, Young, Elsevier, 1999

3.              Turbulence, Frisch, Cambridge University Press, 1995

4.              A First Course in Turbulence, Tennekes and Lumley, MIT Press, 1977

5.              Boundary Layer Meteorology, Stull, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1991

6.              The Dynamics of the Upper Ocean, Phillips, Cambridge University Press, 2nd Ed., 1977