OCEA0075-2 : Introduction to physical oceanography and marine meteorology

Study Programmes 2015-2016

OCEA0075-2

Introduction to physical oceanography and marine meteorology

Duration :

30h Th, 15h Pr

Number of credits :

Master in geography : climatology (120 ECTS)		3

Lecturer :

Jean-Marie Beckers

Language(s) of instruction :

French language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Course contents :

Ocean water properties. Description of ocean basins and associated general circulations. Temporal and spatial variability of the major physical properties. Modelling of the marine environment. Dynamics of ocean currents withour and with friction. Surface waves. Tides.

Introduction to meteorology dedicated to first year students in oceanography. General introduction : orders of magnitude, characteristic lengths and times. Application to thermostatics. Radiation and energetic balance. Introduction to air dynamics. Processes of saturation and condensation. Large scale circulation.

Learning outcomes of the course :

The aim of the lecture is to provide the student with the basic dynamical laws allowing him to understand the major caracteristics of ocean water and circulations, tides and surface waves as well as atmospheric processes

Prerequisite knowledge and skills :

Mathematics, physics, chemistry of a bacheler in science, applied sciences, agronome.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

A personal work on the hydrodynamics of a regional sea will allow each students to use the concepts seen during the theoretical lectures

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

15 lectures of 2 h followed by 30' exercises 2h general exercise