Climate (CLIM)School of Computational Sciences710 Introduction to Physical Climate System (3:3:0). Prerequisites: BS or MS in mathematics or a physical science, or permission of instructor. Provides the student with a modern understanding of the system of ocean, atmosphere, and land based on fundamental physical laws. Describes the current climate and the physical processes by which climate is maintained. Covers theoretical models of the general circulation of the atmosphere, including both the time mean and transient behavior. Describes the basics of ocean circulation and interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. Reviews the role of the stratosphere and its interactions with the troposphere, the role of land processes in modulating climate, and gives a brief review of past climate change. 711/PHYS 676 Introduction to Atmospheric Dynamics (3:3:0). Prerequisites: BS or MS in mathematics or a physical science, or permission of instructor. Covers the basic conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy, and a scaling analysis of the equation of motion and the thermodynamic equation. Balanced flows in the atmosphere (e.g., the geotropic wind and its vertical shear, and the thermal wind relationship) are discussed. Concepts of circulation and vorticity; the role of the atmospheric boundary layer in mass, momentum, and energy transfer; synoptic scale motions; and the role of gravity and Rossby waves in controlling the general circulation of the atmosphere are also discussed. 712 Physical and Dynamical Oceanography (3:3:0). Prerequisites: BS or MS in mathematics or a physical science, or permission of instructor. Introduction to the climatology and dynamics of the oceans. Covers the nature of seawater, heat, and salt budgets; the general circulation of the ocean, including the Gulf Stream and thermohaline circulations; dynamics of wind-driven ocean circulation; and the processes influencing biological and chemical behavior. 713 Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions (3:3:0). Prerequisites: CLIM 712 or 711 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. This course will provide students with a comprehensive observational and mechanistic understanding of the El Niño and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena. Topics will include: observations and theories of the seasonal and interannual changes in the ocean circulation and temperature, and interactions with the atmosphere; equations of motion and theories of wind-driven circulation; mixed layer observations and theories; midlatitude and equatorial ocean waves; interannual variability and atmosphere-ocean coupling; and tropical oceanography and meteorology. 714 Land-Climate Interactions (3:3:0). Prerequisites: BS or MS in mathematics or a physical science, or permission of instructor. This interdisciplinary course provides students with a detailed description of the surface energy and water balance over land, and radiative and turbulent transfer. Students will be introduced to numerical techniques for modeling the land surface and associated applications in weather, climate, and hydrologic forecasting and simulation. The course includes hands-on experience with land surface models in a computer laboratory, in which students will perform sensitivity experiments that provide practical understanding to reinforce theoretical concepts. The course also includes reading and review of seminal journal papers in the field, exposing students to contemporary research. 715 Numerical Methods for Climate Modeling (3:3:0). Prerequisites: CLIM 712 or 711 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. The foundation and theory of computational methods for atmosphere and ocean modeling, with special emphasis on the finite-difference and spectral methods. Topics include accuracy, consistency, convergence and stability; time stepping schemes; nonlinear computational stability; energy and enstrophy conserving schemes for the momentum equations; staggered and curvilinear grids; alternate vertical coordinate systems; implicit and split-explicit barotropic mode solution; pressure gradient errors and vorticity constraints; spectral methods for atmospheric models; treatment of model physics. 750 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (3:3:0). Prerequisite: CLIM 711 or permission of instructor. Introduction to geophysical fluid dynamics, the study of rotating stratified flows. Covers hydrostatics, the equations of motion, gravity wave dynamics and stratified flow, effects of rotation, midlatitude dynamics, the Rossby number and quasi-geostrophic expansion, the beta plane approximation, and equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves. 751 Predictability of Weather and Climate (3:3:0). Prerequisites: CLIM 711 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. This course covers the fundamental aspects of the predictability of weather and climate. Basic theorems on the divergence of trajectories in phase space and the fundamental periodicity properties of the flow are illustrated using simple dynamical models. The paradigms of turbulence, barotropic/baroclinic instability and optimal linear growth are explored to describe fundamental error growth mechanisms. Examples from real weather forecasting systems will be examined. Predictability of time averages will be studied with simple dynamical models, as well as experiments using complex General Circulation Models and historical data analysis. The roles of the boundary conditions of sea surface temperature and soil moisture will be emphasized. 752 Ocean Circulation Theory (3:3:0). Prerequisites: CLIM 712 or 711 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. The theory of the large scale circulation of the world's oceans. The topics covered will be the Sverdrup theory for large scale horizontal circulation, the role of friction and nonlinearity; western boundary layer dynamics; quasi-geostrophic theory for stratified flow, geostrophic contours and potential vorticity homogenization; theory of the ventilated thermocline; abyssal circulation. |
