Physics of atmospheres and oceans option
Physics of Atmospheres and Oceans
This is a Fourth Year Major Option for Part C of Oxford University's
Honour School of Physics. It is part of the four-year course leading
to the M.Phys. degree. It is taught by members of the subdepartment
of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics. (This course is also
taken by first-year AOPP
D.Phil. students if they did not take it
as undergraduates.)
Lecture Synopsis 2009-10
Michaelmas Term 2009 (24 lectures)
Introduction to the physics of atmospheres and oceans
(NB: the order of lectures may be slightly different.)
Atmospheric Radiation, Aerosols and Clouds: (Dr Bowles, 4 lectures) The calculation of
radiation flux: molecular spectra, line broadening mechanisms. Band models, numerical methods.
Weighting functions. Radiative properties of clouds and aerosols.
Basic Geophysical Fluid Dynamics: (Professor Andrews, 3 lectures) Description of the general
circulation of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Rotating frame of reference. Centrifugal and
Coriolis forces. Local Cartesian coordinates. Scale analysis. Geostrophic balance, hydrostatic
balance, thermal wind. Pressure coordinates, geopotential.
Atmospheric chemistry: (Dr Dudhia, 4 lectures) Atmospheric chemistry. Simplified
photochemistry of the atmospheric ozone: creation, transport and destruction. Catalytic cycles.
Heterogeneous processes, the Ozone Hole. Importance for atmospheric energy balance. Budgets,
tracers, "age" of air.
Remote sounding of atmospheres: (Dr Irwin, Dr Allen, 6 lectures) Stochastic processes,
Inverse Theory. Qualitative background to atmospheric remote sounding, applications. Thermal
emission from a model atmosphere. Nadir sounding, limb sounding, backscattered ultraviolet,
umkehr. Inverse problem. Oceanic applications.
Satellite and ground-based instrumentation: (Dr Barnett, 2 lectures) Instruments and platforms:
type, orbits, scanning methods; spectrometers, Michelson interferometer, gas correlation,
microwave. Atmospheric measurements. Measurements of the ocean. Radar, lidar, altimetry.
Further Geophysical Fluid Dynamics: (Professor Marshall, 5 lectures) Shallow-water equations. Kinetic
and potential energy. f-plane approximation, inertia-gravity waves. Vorticity and potential
vorticity. Beta-plane approximation. Simple quasigeostrophic theory. Mid-latitude Rossby waves.
Baroclinic instability, Eady problem.
Hilary Term 2010 (8 lectures)
Further Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, continued: (Professor Marshall, 2 lectures)
Applications to the Earth's weather and climate
Physical basis of weather forecasting: (Professor Read, 2 lectures) Applications of
thermodynamics and GFD. Predictability, chaos.
Applications to other planetary atmospheres
Planetary Fluid Dynamics: (Professor Read, 4 lectures) Mars: seasonal cycle and general circulation,
topographic circulation, stationary and travelling planetary waves. Slowly-rotating planets: Hadley
circulation, atmospheric super-rotation, equatorial waves. Giant Planets: multiple jets, stable eddies
and free modes.
Trinity Term 2010 (10 lectures)
Applications to other planetary atmospheres, continued
Comparative planetology: (Professor Taylor, 4 lectures) Origins
of planetary atmospheres and evolution, composition, photochemistry, radiative properties, energy
balance. Clouds, dust and aerosol. Atmospheres in radiative equilibrium. Climate and climate
change. Observation of planetary atmospheres.
Applications to the Earth's weather and climate, continued
Ocean structure: (Professor Marshall, 3 lectures) Some basic physics properties of the ocean. Frictional
effects, boundary layers, Ekman pumping, spin-down. Stommel's model, coastal effects, western
boundary currents, upwelling. Equatorial Kelvin waves.
Climate and climate variability: (Professor Marshall, 3 lectures) General circulation of the atmosphere and
ocean. Causes of climate variability: Atmosphere/tropical ocean coupling, short term climate
variability such as ENSO. Dynamics of the equatorial waveguide. Midlatitude ocean variability.
Long term variability and the thermohaline circulation. Paleoclimates.
Suggested Vacation Reading
This course assumes a good understanding of the material covered in the third year B3 Atmospheric
Physics (Climate and Fluids) lectures.
To get a flavour of some of the new topics to be covered in the course, the following books should
be consulted:
D G Andrews, An Introduction to Atmospheric Physics, especially chapters 3-7 (C.U.P.).
J T Houghton, The Physics of Atmospheres, 2nd or 3rd edition, especially chapters 4, 12-14
(C.U.P.)
J R Holton, An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, 2nd, 3rd or 4th edition, especially chapters 1-4
(Academic Press)
R P Wayne, Chemistry of Atmospheres, chapters 1-4 (O.U.P.)
J Lewis, Physics and Chemistry of the Solar System, chapters 5 and 10 (Academic Press).
P L Read and S R Lewis, The Martian Climate Revisited, chapter 3 and perhaps also chapters 4-6
(Springer-Praxis).
P G J Irwin, Giant Planets of our Solar System, chapters 1-5
(Springer-Praxis).
Classes
There will be a total of 8 classes: 4 in MT, 2 in HT and 2 (including revision) in TT.
Problem Sheets
A note has been added to indicate in which class each problem set might be covered, but this is only a guideline.
Your tutor will tell you which problems will be expected for each class.
Outline Solutions to Problem Sheets
Lecture Handouts
Any notes or material which lecturers would like to make available over the web is linked below.
Professor P L Read
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