Prereq: 12.801, 12.810, or permission of instructor
Units: 2-4-9
Lecture: MW1 (54-1623) Lab: MR2-5 (54-824)
Project-based with lectures covering the relevant theory. Students work in groups on four projects. Each of these comprises a numerical part, to illuminate and illustrate the theory, and a data part (drawn from laboratory tank experiments, atmospheric, or ocean observations), to illustrate the phenomena. Topics include: barotropic vorticity dynamics including inversion and evolution, geostrophic and higher order balance, baroclinic dynamics and the evolution of balanced flows, and stability with emphasis on the mutual interaction of disturbances. Projects include a verbal presentation and writeup covering both the numerical and geophysical parts plus additional derivations as needed.
G. Flierl, L. Illari