ME 267, Fall 2004

ME 267
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

FINAL EXAM

The take-home exam is posted here and is due on Tuesday, December 21 at 5:00 p.m. (the end of the Final Exam period).
Professor Marcus will be available during that time for appointments. Contact him via email (pmarcus@me.berkeley.edu) or telephone (642-5942)

Check back here regularly for any hints or clarifications that may be necessary.

Permanent Meeting Time and Place
(starting September 7):
TuTh 2:00-3:30
3113 Etcheverry Hall

Instructor: Prof. Philip Marcus
pmarcus@me.berkeley.edu

The first half of the course covers the essential physics of fluid dynamics under the influence of strong rotation and stratification. During the second half we will examine the dynamics of large-scale flows in oceans and atmospheres, with special attention to:

Gulf Stream
jet streams
Antarctic ozone hole
Jupiter's great red spot
other planetary flows
abrupt climate change
star and planet formation in protoplanetary disks

The emphasis on each topic will depend upon student interest.

Conditions of high Reynolds number, large spatial scales, strong rotation, stratification, shallow aspect ratio and various combinations that often occur in atmospheres, oceans, planetary atmospheres, and astrophysics result in flow behavior that is qualitatively different from what is normally encountered in the laboratory. We shall derive the equations needed to describe these flows, including the quasigeostrophic, shallow-water, and anelastic equations, using a combination of physical intuition and rigorous asymptotic analysis. Topics such as Ekman dissipation, the thermal wind, geostrophy, Poincare, Kelvin and Rossby waves, resonant triads, Karman vortex streets, the beta-plane, potential vorticity, vortex dynamics, and nonlinear and baroclinic instabilities will be covered.
Grades will be based on a midterm and final project. The text is "Geophysical Fluid Dynamics" by Pedlosky.

Class details:

Homework

Exams and solutions

Handouts

Lecture Notes