Physical Oceanography

Code:

MA116

Acronym:

OF

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Physical Oceanography

Instance: 2015/2016 - 1S (of 16-11-2015 to 15-01-2016)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Aquatic Production
Course/CS Responsible:	Aquatic Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LCMA	40	Plan 2012 to 2017	1	-	5	48	135

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

LECTURES: It is intended that students acquire a general understanding of the fundamental concepts of physical oceanography on the global circulation system (incl. the Iberian system), and the role of the oceans in regulating climate.

LABORATORY SESSIONS: Learn how to manage, convert, analyse and represent meteo-oceanographic information.

Learning outcomes and competences

Students must be able to recognize the main processes that regulate the oceans, identify the major circulation systems and understand the role of the oceans in the climate. It is also expected that students are autonomous in the management, analysis and interpretation of meteo-oceanographic information.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Basic math training skills

Program

INTRODUCTION

-Academic program (lectures and laboratory)

-Importance of studying physical oceanography

-Geography of the oceanic basins

 

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

-The importance of the atmosphere, ocean-atmosphere interaction

-Physical properties of seawater (pressure, temperature, salinity, density, potential temperature; thermocline; pycnocline; tools and methods);

-Distribution of water masses (TS; oxygen; tracers)

-Dynamic phenomena (Coriolis Force; Ekman; vorticity)

-Ocean circulation (wind-induced; geostrophic; inertial; convergences / divergences; tools and methods)

-Waves (tsunamis; internal waves, Kelvin waves, Rossby waves)

-Tides

 

GLOBAL CIRCULATION SYSTEM

Atlantic (Gulf Stream, etc..)

-Pacific

-Indic

-Polar circulation

-Thermohaline circulation

  

CLIMATE PROCESSES

-ENSO

-Monsoons

Mandatory literature

George L. Pickard, William J. Emery; Descriptive Physical Oceanography: An Introduction [5th (SI) Enlarged Edition], Pergamon Press, 1990. ISBN: 0-08-037952-4
Open University Course Team; Open University third-level course, S330 Oceanography: Volume 3 - Ocean Circulation, Pergamon Press in association with The Open University, 1989. ISBN: 0-08-036369-5
Open University Course Team; Open University third-level course, S330 Oceanography: Volume 2 - Seawater: Its Composition, Properties and Behaviour, Pergamon Press in association with The Open University, 1991. ISBN: 0-08-036367-9

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures accompanied by the projection of slides and exercises on the blackboard. Practical sessions will be dedicated analysis, interpretation and management of meteo-ocean information using freely available software.

Software

Ocean Data Viewer: http://odv.awi.de
Integrated Data Viewer (IDV): http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/idv/

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	60,00
Trabalho escrito	40,00
Total:	100,00

Eligibility for exams

Students must attend at least 3/4 of the laboratories.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final Exam: 10 T/F questions; 24 Multiple choice questions; 4 graph interpretation questions; 1 written synthesis about a specific subject (from 3 proposals given)

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Working students are excused from attending classes and deliver lab reports. The final grade will correspond to the final exam score.

Classification improvement

For the second period examinations the exam will account for 80% of the final grade, whereas lab reports will account for 20% of the final score.