Physical Oceanography

Objectives

1. Understand the concepts and basic principles involving the physics of seawater.
2. Understand the mechanisms that generate the movements of the ocean including the contribution of solar radiation and the Earth's rotation.
3. Identify the major direct and indirect forces acting on Ocean and classify movements according to these forces.
4. Understand what the different scales (space and time) are responsible for the movement in the Oceans.
5. Understand what the main physical properties are of seawater.
6. Realize the heat budget of the ocean and the general laws of radiation.
7. Characterize the main water masses and its distribution in the ocean.
8. Identify the main types of waves in the ocean.
9. Realize the concept of upwelling and what are the main types (addressing also its importance for biological systems).
10. Identify major weather systems and their relationship with the ocean. Introduce the recent concept of "Teleconnection”.

Program

1 - Introduction
2 - Thermodynamic properties of seawater
3 - Stratification and stability in the ocean and its implications
4 - Properties of sea water
5 - Heat Balance flows and conservation equations in the ocean
6 - Water masses and their formation
7 - The equation of motion in Oceanography

8 - Currents
   - Without friction and without/with curvature, and at the surface or bottom (thermohaline)

9 - Waves in the Ocean
   - Key concepts and definitions
   - The spectrum of the waves at the sea surface
   - Types and associated forcing mechanisms
   - Main ways of measuring
   - Propagation: Waves on the surface, internal, Kelvin and trapped at the coast

10 - Upwelling
   - Circulation induced by wind and Ekman Theory
   - Convergence and divergence zones
   - Types

11 - Large weather systems and their relationship with the Ocean
   - Oscillations of: ENSO, the Pacific Decadal and the North Atlantic
   - Introduction to the concept of "Teleconnection"

Teaching Methodologies

Lectures: based on presentations in ppt illustrative of the main concepts to be addressed by the theoretical program.

Theoretical and practical lessons that include:

- Measurement of physical properties of the sea water: temperature; salinity; pressure and depth and other important physical quantities in oceanography.
- Graphical representation of oceanographic data. Vertical profiles. Vertical sections. Horizontal maps. TS diagrams and other kinds of characteristic diagrams.
- Use of oceanographic databases for calculation of oceanographic parameters.
- Analysis and interpretation of satellite images.
- Resolution of worksheets with practical problems.

Evaluation - Two frequencies based on theoretical (T) and theoretical-practice (TP) lessons. Approval if the arithmetic mean of the frequencies is positive (> 10 points).

Bibliography

PICKARD, G. L. and W.J. EMERY, 1982. Descriptive Physical Oceanography, 4th edition, Pergamon Press.

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY COURSE TEAM, 1989. Seawater: its Composition, Properties and Behavior (volume 2); Ocean Circulation (volume 3), Oceanographic Series, 2nd edition, Butterworth Heinemann.

KNAUSS, J. A., 1997. Introduction to Physical Oceanography, 2a edition, Prentice Hall, 1997.

THURMAN, H., 1997. Introductory oceanography. Prentice Hall, 544p.

Waves, tides and shallow water processes, Ed. Open University: cap. 1

MATTHIAS TOMCZAK´S oceanography web site – http://www.cmima.csic.es/mirror/mattom/index2.html

R.H. STEWART, 2007. Introduction to Physical Oceanography, 2007, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University.

The North Atlantic Oscillation: Climatic Significance and Environmental Impact, Editor(s): James W.

Hurrell, Yochanan Kushnir, Geir Ottersen, Martin Visbeck, Published Online: 19/03/13, Geophysical

Monograph Series, Print ISBN: 9780875909943.