12.003 Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics


Fall 2008       Fall 2011

Fall 2009

Fall 2010


This undergraduate class is designed to introduce students to the physics that govern the circulation of the ocean and atmosphere. The focus of the course is on the processes that control the climate of the planet.


Prerequisites: Prerequisites: Multivariable Calculus (18.02) and Physics I: Classical Mechanics (8.01), or consent of the instructor.



12.820/823 Modeling Biology in a Turbulent Ocean


Spring 2011


This graduate course presents the phenomena, theory, and modeling of biological systems in a turbulent ocean. The focus is on biological problems that are shaped by the oceanic turbulent environment.


Prerequisites: the mathematics and fluid dynamics required as part of the first year graduate curriculum in the MIT Program in Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate, or consent of the instructor.



12.820 Turbulent Motions in the Atmosphere and Oceans


Spring 2003        Spring 2006        Spring 2009

Spring 2004        Spring 2007        Spring 2010

Spring 2005        Spring 2008        Spring 2012


This graduate course presents the phenomena, theory, and modeling of turbulence in the Earth's oceans and atmosphere. The scope ranges from the fine structure to planetary scale motions. The regimes of turbulence include homogeneous flows in two and three dimensions, geostrophic motions, shear flows, convection, boundary layers, stably stratified flows, and internal waves.


Prerequisites: the mathematics and fluid dynamics required as part of the first year graduate curriculum in the MIT Program in Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate, or consent of the instructor.



12.808 Introduction to Observational Oceanography


Fall 2003

Fall 2004


This graduate course introduces the students to the physical description of the sea; physical properties of seawater, methods and measurements, boundary processes, regional oceanography.


Prerequisites: the mathematics and physics required for admission to the graduate curriculum in the WHOI/MIT Joint Program, or consent of the instructor.



12.803 Quasi-Balanced Circulations in Oceans and Atmospheres


Fall 2005

Fall 2007


This graduate course presents the fundamental conservation and balance principles for large-scale flows, generation of quasi-balanced eddies, and the implications for macroturbulence in the ocean and atmosphere.


Prerequisites: the mathematics and physics required for admission to the graduate curriculum in the WHOI/MIT Joint Program, or consent of the instructor.



12.951 The Meridional Overturning Circulation of the Atlantic Ocean: A Reading Course


Spring 2008


This course serves as an introduction to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and its role in the climate system, through a survey of classic papers on the subject.


Prerequisites: 12.800 and 12.801, or consent of the instructor.