Spring 2011: ATMS 582

Advanced Numerical Modeling of Geophysical Flows

MWF 1:30-2:20, Room ATG 310


Instructor: Professor Dale Durran
drdee@uw.edu
Office hours: Tuesday 2:30-3:30 and by appointment.

Textbook: Durran, D.R., 2010: Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics: With Applications in Geophysics. 2nd Ed. Springer-Verlag.

The book is available by chapters for free as pdfs via a subscription through the UW library. That subscription also entitles students to buy $25 paperback copies. To access these priviliges, connect here via a UW computer, and click 'Read Online'.

Overview: The purpose of the course is to obtain a deeper understanding of the basic numerical techniques that form the foundation for the computer models commonly used to simulate geophysical flows. This course is taught somewhat less than every-other year and builds on material covered in ATMS 581/AMATH 586.


Homework

Problem Set 1 (due Wed. April 13th)

Problem Set 2: Do problem #'s 6,7 & 10 on pp. 278-279 (due Wed April 27th).

Problem Set 3: Do problem #'s 3 and 5 on pp. 350-351. (due Mon. May 16th). Please work independently on this assignment. (Note the answer to 5a should be written as an expression involving sums of the products of r_m and s_n.) Visual aid

Course Outline

Review: Differential-Difference Equations for the Scalar Wave Equation

Further Considerations in Finite Difference Approximations

Finte-Volume Methods

Spectral Models on the Sphere

Approximating Open (Wave-Permeable) Boundaries

Strategies for Nonhydrostatic Modelling


Grading:  The grade will be based on a short project and three homework assignments, one of which will be identified as a take-home midterm that must be done independently.  You may work with other students on the other two homeworks. The project will ideally be something related to your research.