Goals: This course is intended to present to students the fundamentals of processes which lead to waves in the ocean environment.

Material: The basic principles of fluid mechanics are reviewed. Then the equations for surface gravity waves are studied next. Multi-layer internal waves are then introduced as generalizations of the surface wave equations, with the important role of buoyancy stressed. Incompressibility is relaxed in order to introduce sound in the ocean, and the hydrdynamic quantities which affect the speed of sound in different environments. Finally thermodynamic considerations are introduced in order to understand physical mechanisms for sound attenuation due to viscosity. Mathematical methods for solving the equations, such as ray tracing, the eikonal equations, and the method of steepest descents are studied in detail at each stage in the course. Additionally, important wave phenomena such as dispersion, refraction, diffraction, and reflection are discussed.

Assignments: Appx. 10 problems/week homework, Mid term, and Final exams.

Grades: The grade is determined on the basis 30% homework, 30% Mid term, and 40% Final.

Textbook: "Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua", A.L. Fetter and J.D. Walecka (McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1980); and "Introductory Dynamical Oceanography", 2nd Ed., S. Pond and G.L. Pickard (Pergamon, Oxford, 1983).