Physical Oceanography and Climate

Catalog description

Physical properties of seawater; mass and energy budgets of the ocean; typical distribution of water characteristics, global balances; the conservation equations; equations of motion; fluid motion in rotating systems. Conservation of vorticity; wind and thermohaline circulation; currents and eddies; wind-generated waves; tides and other waves; Exchange of buoyancy and heat fluxes in the atmosphere-ocean boundary layer; Climate Change and the Ocean. A required course for Ocean Sciences and Coastal Studies majors and elective for other earth sciences programs. Combination of lecture and laboratory exercises. 2 hrs. lec., 2 hrs. lab. Offered in fall of odd years. Prereq: ESSC 261 or ESSC 241; MATH 161, PHYS 131 or PHYS 231, or permission of Instructor. 3.000 Credit hours 2.000 Lecture hours 2.000 Lab hours.