Department of Physics

19402  Geophysical Fluid Dynamics  

Course Webpage: https://eclass.uoa.gr/courses/PHYS317/  

Course Content

• Introduction to fluid and geophysical fluid dynamics: Basic concepts and primitive equations.
• Kinematics: Flow lines, fluid acceleration and Galilean transformation, strain and rotation rates.
• Conservation laws.
• Ideal flow.
• Similarity. Dimensional analysis.
• Geophysical fluid scaling and approximations.
• Quasi-geostrophic dynamics.
• Vorticity conservation in geophysical flows.
• Rossby waves - Barotropic and baroclinic instability.
• Turbulence in geophysical flows.
• Boundary layers.
• The boundary layer dynamics.