Ocean circulation and dynamics

Physical oceanography is the study of the ocean, its motion and the underlying physical processes.  This unit will begin with a brief foray into descriptive physical oceanography, where details of the mean circulation and physical structure of the ocean will be presented along with past and present oceanographic instruments and observing platforms.The unit will then cover aspects of dynamical physical oceanography particularly relevant for tropical and subtropical oceans, including the introduction of the equations of motion, Ekman layer theory and wind-driven circulation, geostrophic circulation, western boundary currents and internal waves.  The unit will then finish by introducing interactions at the air-sea interface and how the related coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics can lead to climatically relevant modes of climate variability, like the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.