GEOS487

040660

The course will introduce the physical properties of seawater including the three-dimensional structures of ocean temperature, salinity and density, their mean states, seasonal and interannual variability and long-term change. The heat, salt and mass budgets of the world oceans will be discussed, with emphasis on the role of the ocean in the climate system. The course will introduce basic concepts and general principles of ocean dynamics to understand large-scale ocean circulation, including wind-drive and density-driven (thermohaline) circulation. Special topics focus on the formation of the western boundary currents (the Gulf Stream), ocean waves and tides, ENSO dynamics, and coastal ocean processes (sea level rise and storm surge).

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Undergraduate

GEOS587