Chapter 0
Introduction
Physical oceanography
Instructor: Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu
Department of Earth Sciences
National Cheng Kung University
Last updated: 22 September 2004
Syllabus
 Course name: Physical Oceanography
 Credit: 3
 Time:
• Wednesday 10:10 – 11:00
• Friday 8:10 – 10:00
 Place:
 Prerequisite:
• General Physics
• Calculus
Objectives
 Introduce students
• The physical properties of seawater
• Various physical phenomena of the ocean
 Students will gain
• An understanding of the mechanism behind these
spatial and temporal variations of these
properties/phenomena
• learn the methods to simulate and predict these
changes
 This course serves as one of the main
courses in oceanography
Textbook
 Introduction to Physical Oceanography
Robert Stewart
Texas A&M University
Spring 2004 revisions
http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/home/cour
se_book.htm
References
 Descriptive Physical Oceanography,
Pickard, G. L. and Emery, W. J.,
Butterworth-Heinemann, 320 pp. 1990.
 Ocean Circulation, Angela Colling
(Editor), Butterworth-Heinemann, 2nd
edition, 286 pp. 2001.
 Waves, Tides and Shallow-Water Processes,
Wright, J., Colling, A. and Park, D.
(Editors), Butterworth-Heinemann, 2nd
edition, 227 pp. 2000.
Schedule
 Introduction
 A Voyage of Discovery
 The Historical Setting
 The Physical Setting
 Atmospheric Influences
 The Oceanic Heat Budget
 Temperature, Salinity, and Density
 The Equations of Motion
 Equations of Motion With Viscosity
Schedule (cont.)
 Response of the Upper Ocean to Winds
 Geostrophic Currents
 Wind Driven Ocean Circulation
 Vorticity in the Ocean
 Deep Circulation in the Ocean
 Equatorial Processes
 Numerical Models
 Ocean waves
 Coastal Processes and Tides
Instructor information
 Personal web site:
http://myweb.ncku.edu.tw/~ccliu88/
Some questions
 Who am I?
• A brief introduction of the instructor
 Why are we here?
• You and I, …
 Why exams?
• Acquire knowledge, …
 Why taking lectures?
• Save time and efforts, …
 Why homeworks?
• Keep on the right track, …
Responses
 Lecture notes on web
 Write and hand in summary notes every
week
•
•
•
•
Summarizing the contents and listing the key points
ONE sheet (A5 size, double side) per week
No computer printouts
No late hand in
 Take exams with your own summary notes
 Monitoring student’s progress and grade
Grade
 Homework (summary note) 20%
 Midterm exam(s) 40%
 Final exam 40%
Office hours
 Monday: 15:00 – 17:00
 Friday: 10:00 – 12:00
 Anytime if necessary
Some issues
 Representative
• Textbook
• Email to TA (conifer_6@hotmail.com)
Name, Student ID number, Department/Year, Cell phone
number, email address
 Introduce yourself