ATM S 509/OCEAN 512, Winter 1998

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

Course Outline

Introduction

• Review of the governing equations
• The Coriolis force and inertial oscillations

Small-amplitude motion in a nonrotating homogeneous fluid under a gravitational restoring force (Gill, Chapter 5).

• Surface gravity waves (5.1) - (5.4).
• Shallow and deep-water approximations (5.5) - (5.6).

Small-amplitude motion in a nonrotating density-stratified fluid under a gravitational restoring force (Gill, Chapter 6).

• The case of two superimposed homogeneous fluids with a single interface-internal and external waves (6.1) - (6.3).
• Internal gravity waves in a continuously stratified, incompressible fluid (6.4) - (6.7).
• Normal modes - the connection between shallow water theory and hydrostatic motion in a continuously stratified fluid (6.11).
• Waves in a compressible fluid (6.14).

Small-amplitude motion in a fluid rotating at a constant anhular velocity (Gill, Chapters 7, 8 and 9).

• Geostrophic adjustment, geostrophic balance andthe thermal wind (7.1) - (7.7).
• Circulation, vorticity and potential vorticity (7.9) - (7.11).
• Effect of rotation on surface gravity waves (8.1) - (8.3).
• Ekman layers and spin down (9.2), (9.4), (9.12).

Small-amplitude motion in a rotating fluid with variations in the basic state potential vorticity.

• Barotropic Rossby waves.
• The quasi-geostrophic shallow-water equations.

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