12.758 Course Description

Instructor: Michael Spall

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Overview

The objective of this course is to create a forum for the reading, discussion and understanding of some of the fundamental papers in physical oceanography. The course will cover 4 main themes with several weeks spent on each area. Topics for this semester are: setting of water masses; mesoscale eddies; coastal dynamics; and mixing and the thermohaline circulation. Within each topic, the selection of papers will highlight key advances or new ideas with a balance of theoretical and observational papers.

Structure

The class will meet once a week, for one and a half hours, to discuss the selected paper (papers if short). The paper's content will be first presented (approximately 45min) to the class by one pre-assigned student (on a rotational basis) followed by a group discussion,
facilitated by the instructor. The discussion could address the technical aspects of the paper (what, why, how it was done) as well as the implications of the results and the structure and clarity of the paper. All students are expected to read the paper in question prior to class, and the presenting student may find it helpful to read one or more related papers. He/She is also welcome/encouraged to seek the help of the instructor or other faculty members for clarification. The discussion should end with approximately 15 minutes addressing how this paper has influenced the field since its publication, maybe by way of subsequent papers addressing the same subject, or through the introduction of a new idea or technique that has had broader influence.

Goals

The primary goal of this course is to provide a complementary perspective on some of the fundamental problems in our field by considering some of the individual works which, when pieced together, contribute to the more cohesive description of how the ocean works. The `discussion format' of the class is meant to encourage students to consider the many different aspects of the work in question including motivation, approach utilized, and implications for the broader context. The course is alsointended to help students develop basic analytical and critical skills in paper reading and, therefore, writing. Finally, students will benefit from the practice in synthesizing information and making oral presentations.