Physical Oceanography

The goal of Physical Oceanography is a greater understanding of the structure and dynamics of oceanic circulation and water properties through the examination of water mass formation, waves, tides, turbulent mixing, and other physical factors. Our research in physical oceanography relies on observations as well as computer simulations. Observational physical oceanography explores the nature of the flow and water properties using traditional and novel measurement techniques. Ocean modeling strives to explain and predict water transport, temperature and salinity based on established principles of fluid dynamics and can also be used to extend observational data to infer physical processes that are not easily measured.

Both can be used to study physical processes in the context of multidisciplinary issues, such as the global carbon budget, the oceanic ecosystem, fish population dynamics or larval transport.

The physical oceanographic program in the Department of Marine Sciences has research emphases in:

> Open ocean ecosystem dynamics modeling (Burd)

> Bio-physical interactions (Burd, Tilburg)

> Two-layer shear flows (Di Iorio)

> Internal tides and wave dynamics (Di Iorio)

> Kinematics and chaotic theory of coastal water transport (Di Iorio, Tilburg)

> Bottom boundary dynamics and mixing processes (Di Iorio)

> Ocean acoustics (Di Iorio)

> Coastal upwelling and across-shelf transport (Tilburg)

> Surface layer mixing dynamics (Tilburg)

> Remote-sensing of open ocean ecosystems dynamics (Miller, Tilburg)