GEOL1520, Spring 2015 — Proceedings

GEOL1520. Ocean Circulation and Climate

Or, Notions for the Motions of the Oceans.
Examines physical characteristics, processes, and dynamics of the global ocean to understand circulation patterns and how they relate to ocean biology, chemistry, and climate change. Assignments address ocean's role in the climate system; ocean observations and models; the origin, distribution, and dynamics of large-scale ocean circulation and water masses; energy and freshwater budgets; and variability of the coupled system on seasonal to centennial timescales e.g. El Niño. Intended for geological and physical sciences undergraduate and graduate students with quantitative skills and an interest in oceans, climate, paleoclimate. Pre-requisite: GEOL0350 or PHYS0720 or APMA 0340. Offered alternate years, previously offered as GEOL1100.

Baylor taught this class in Spring 2015, Spring 2013.

Proceedings volumes: Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2013, Spring 2010, Spring 2008, Spring 2007.

You can access the syllabus, proceedings, class calendar, notes, and reading.

Notions for the Motions of the Oceans, Volume 5

Issue 1: 3 Kinds of Lies or Inside Joke

• Ford, C.: Global Sea Surface Salinity in 1958 and 1989
• Gilbert, A.: Spatial and temporal comparison of sea surface temperature data from the Arabian Sea
• Kelly, C.S.: 25 Years of January-averaged sea surface temperature from nearshore Baja California: A preliminary study with implications for ENSO-driven interannual variability and paleo reconstruction
• Kolus, H.: Detecting El Niño temperature trends using the Reid-Mantyla data set
• Li, Q.: Robustness of summer mixed layer depth in regions of the Equatorial Pacific and Southern Ocean
• Lupien, R.: A statistical analysis of εNd and PO4* water mass tracers as tools for physical oceanographic studies
• Skitka, J.: Comparison of Methods for Determining Mixed Layer Depth from Oceanic Profiles
• Soto, R.: Analyzing variation of sea surface temperature in the Equatorial Atlantic from 2000 to the 2015 in the PIRATA TOA dataset
• Zheng, Y.: Comparing different estimates of the NINO 3.4 Index

Issue 2: I Get Around

• Ford, C.: Wind Stress, Upwelling, and Heat Transport in the Benguela Upwelling System
• Gilbert, A.: Exploring seasonal variations of Ekman upwelling and downwelling in the Arabian Sea using model-generated data
• Kelly, C.S.: Seasonal wind strength and Ekman mass transport in the Eastern Pacific Ocean offshore Baja California: A check on established interpretations
• Kolus, H.: Identifying seasonal upwelling patterns along coastal Portugal through anomalous sea surface temperature
• Li, Q.: Assessing the role of Ekman transport on the mixed layer heat budget in regions of the Southern Ocean
• Lupien, R.: A characterization of the zero wind stress curl line in the North Atlantic from 1992 to 2011
• Skitka, J.: Seasonal Correlation of Ekman and Heat Fluxes in the Arabian Sea
• Soto, R.: Analyzing seasonal impact of Ekman induced upwelling on sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Guinea
• Zheng, Y.: The role of Ekman transport in the Eastern Pacific

Issue 3: Swimming Upstream

• Ford, C.: Determining seasonal variability along the Oyashio Current and western Subarctic Gyre
• Gilbert, A.: Seasonal variation in wind-driven circulation in the Arabian Sea using model-generated data
• Kelly, C.S.: Sverdrup transport across three zonal subtropical northern Pacific transects: Is the Pacific really so "textbook"?
• Kolus, H.: Investigating the Seasonality of the North Pacific Subpolar Gyre
• Li, Q.: Identifying seasonal upwelling patterns along coastal Portugal through anomalous sea surface temperature
• Lupien, R.: A zonal examination of the meridional Sverdrup and geostrophic transport through the North Atlantic line of zero wind stress curl
• Skitka, J.: Accounting for Madagascar in the Sverdrup transport of the southern Indian Ocean
• Soto, R.: Analyzing the effect of Madagascar on the western boundary current along the southern East African coast
• Zheng, Y.: Seasonal variance of meridional transport in Atlantic transect at 26°N

Issue 4: Meridional Overturning Circulation or Waves

• Ford, C.: Slowdown of the Meridional Overturning Circulation: A review of observations, timescales, and system variability
• Gilbert, A.: Rossby wave forcing and Ekman pumping in the Arabian Sea
• Kelly, C.S.: What causes (and maintains) the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon?
• Kolus, H.: An overview of Langmuir circulation and its impact on mixed layer dynamics
• Li, Q.: Validity of Sverdrup balance in the subtropical gyres: a comparison between the northern Pacific and the northern Atlantic
• Lupien, R.: The dynamical change and varying effects on climate of the AMOC
• Skitka, J.: Oceanic mixed-layer restratification in a quasi-linear approximation
• Soto, R.: Analyzing the effect of Kelvin and Rossby waves in the generation and oscillation of the ENSO cycle
• Zheng, Y.: Review on the slowdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Important Note from the Editor/Instructor: These papers represent the best efforts of the students of to assimilate and use the information they were learning on the fly. These papers were written under very tight time constraints. Thus, while selected for content that is generally excellent, the reader is encouraged to look at these papers as works in progress and disregard typographical or other minor errors. These papers have all been peer-reviewed by the class and revised afterward.