Introduction to Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid

4 units · Graduate courses (200-299)

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Recommended requisite: Physics 131. Thermodynamics of two component (moist/salty) fluids. Thermodynamic diagrams and stability. Saturation and moist processes. Hydrostatics. Equations of fluid motion in rotating coordinate systems. Scales of motion and dominant balances: geostrophic, gradient, and thermal wind. Circulation and vorticity. Boundary layers and turbulence. Elementary waves. S/U or letter grading.