Fall 2010
Instructor: Lisa Beal
Time:        Tuesday & Thursday
                 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Location:   MSC 343
 
 
Course Overview
Application of the laws of physics to the study of the properties and circulation of the world’s oceans. Physical description of the sea; physical properties of sea water; forcing and the equations of motion; boundary processes; waves; thermohaline circulation; variability; instrumentation and observation.
 
Prerequisites: the mathematics and physics required for admission to the graduate curriculum at RSMAS, or consent of the instructor. It will be assumed that you know Newton’s 3 Laws, linear and angular momentum conservation, derivatives and partial derivatives, integrals, scalars and vectors, gradient, divergence, and curl.
 
The course url is www.rsmas.miami.edu/personal/lbeal/mpo503.html. The syllabus is outlined here with links to powerpoint presentations and notes if they are available (presentations may be updated after class).
 
Course requirements: Two graded exams, midterm (25%) and final (50%); One written report/project (25%). Study questions are provided throughout the course, but will not be graded. However, students will be chosen at random in class to show their solutions, or lead discussions of the study questions. Click here and scroll down for details of the project.
Syllabus  
Note: Links will be made available and/or updated as lectures are given.
 
Lecture 1:  Introduction - Course Overview
Lecture 2:  Geography of the world’s oceans and major current systems (RS3)
Lecture 3:  Physical properties of seawater I - T, S, water masses, pressure (RS6,JK2,PP2)
Lecture 4:  Physical properties of seawater II - potential temperature, density, potential density, static stability (JK2,PP5)
Lecture 5:  Property distributions - water masses and tracers (JK8,RS6)
Lecture 6:  Forcing of the Ocean: Tides, winds, and heating (RS4-5 &17,JK3,OU1-2)
Lecture 7:  Mass, energy, and salt conservation: continuity equation (PP4,JK4,OU6,PP10)
Lecture 8:  Equations of Motion on a rotating planet - Coriolis force and inertial oscillations (JK5,PP6,OU3)
Lecture 9:  Basin budgets and two layer exchange flows (JK11)
Lecture 10:  Scaling:  relative importance of the terms in the Equations of Motion (PP7)
Lecture 11:  Ekman Layers and the Ekman Spiral (PP9,JK5-6,OU3,RS9)
Lecture 12:  Geostrophy - thermal wind and dynamic height method (RS10,PP8,JK6,OU3)
Lecture 13:  Potential vorticity equation - concept of curl/spin/vorticity (PP9,JK5,RS12)
Lecture 14:  The Sverdrup balance and gyre circulation (RS11,PP9,JK6)
Lecture 15:  Western Intensification (RS11,PP9,OU4)
Lecture 16:  The Agulhas Current - a case study of a Western Boundary Current
Lecture 17:  Upwelling - equatorial, coastal, and Antarctic (OU5,JK7,RS14)
Lecture 18:  Wind-generated waves (PP12,JK9)
Lecture 19:  Eddies and planetary waves (PP12,JK10,OU5)
Lecture 20:  Water mass formation and mixing (RS13,PP10)
Lecture 21:  Abyssal circulation (RS13,PP10,OU6)
Lecture 22:  Thermohaline circulation and heat transport (RS13,OU6)
Lecture 23:  Interannual variability (El Nino) and climate change (OU5,RS14)
Lecture 24:  Instrumentation and Experimentation
Lecture 25:  Ocean observing systems  
 
 
Primary texts
 
  1. •Introduction to Physical Oceanography by Robert Stewart (RS). This is an online text only, which includes a printable pdf and cover. The pdf version is September 2008. The html version has some errors (information from R. Stewart), but is potentially updated more often. It is also in electronic reserves at RSMAS library.
  2. •Introduction to Physical Oceanography by John Knauss (JK). On reserve in library and stocked at UM bookshop.
 
Other relevant Texts
  1. •Introductory Dynamical Oceanography by Pond and Pickard (referred to as PP in notes).
  2. •Ocean Circulation by Open University team (OU)
  3. •Waves, Tides, and Shallow Water Processes by Open University team.
  4. •Descriptive Physical Oceanography (submitted manuscript) by Talley, Pickard, Emery & Swift (TPES). This is a new edition not yet copyrighted and published. Please do not use the materials for any purpose other than this class. Some chapters are yet to be finished. Because of copyright issues there is no active link, please enter the following in your browser to reach the text: http://www-pord.ucsd.edu/~ltalley/sio210/materials/ and ask me for login and password.
  5. •Atmosphere-Ocean Dynamics by Adrian Gill.