Large-scale flow dynamics lab

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Fluid Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Ocean (12.800)

Quasi-balanced Circulations in Oceans and Atmospheres (12.803)

This is a laboratory course intended to illustrate the concepts presented in 12.803. We will analyze observations of oceanic and atmospheric quasi-balanced flows, computational models, and rotating tank experiments. The projects will illustrate the basic principles of potential vorticity conservation and inversion, Rossby wave propagation, baroclinic instability and the behavior of isolated vortices.

Grading is based on lab writeups and presentations.

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