MIT Climate Courses
12.800 Fluid Dynamics of Ocean and Atmosphere
EAPS or WHOI Staff Introductory subject for first-year graduate students in meteorology, climate, and oceanography. Eulerian and Lagrangian kinematics. Equations of mass, momentum, and energy in Eulerian form in rotating frame of reference. Vorticity and...
12.801 Steady Circulation of the Oceans
J. Marshall Fundamental principles of geophysical fluid dynamics are applied to the ocean to understand and describe its global circulation patterns. Includes geostrophic dynamics, planetary geostrophy, Ekman pumping, wind and thermally driven ocean...
12.802 Wave Motions in the Ocean and Atmosphere
G. Flierl and P. O'Gorman Basic ideas of geophysical wave motion in rotating, stratified, and rotating-stratified fluids. Subject begins with general wave concepts of phase and group velocity. The dynamics and kinematics of gravity waves with a focus on...
12.803 Quasi-balanced Circulations in Oceans and Atmospheres
K. A. Emanuel Dynamics of large-scale circulations in oceans and atmospheres, taken concurrently with the laboratory subject 12.804. Basic concepts include mass and momentum conservation, hydrostatic and geostrophic balance, and pressure and other...
12.804 Large-Scale Flow Dynamics Laboratory
L. Illari, G. Flierl Laboratory component of subject 12.803. Analysis of observations of oceanic and atmospheric quasi-balanced flows, computational models, and rotating tank experiments. Illustrates the basic principles of potential vorticity...
12.806 J Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry
R. G. Prinn Introduction to the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere including experience with computer codes. Aerosols and theories of their formation, evolution, and removal. Gas and aerosol transport from urban to continental scales. Coupled models...
12.810 Dynamics of the Atmosphere
R. A. Plumb Discusses the dynamics of the atmosphere, with emphasis on the large scale. Topics include zonally symmetric circulations and the tropical Hadley circulation; internal gravity waves; balanced flows, potential vorticity conservation and Rossby...
12.811 Tropical Meteorology
K. A. EmanuelA description of the large-scale circulation systems of the tropical atmosphere and analysis of the dynamics of such systems. Topics include: Radiative-convective equilibrium; the Hadley and walker circulation; monsoons; tropical boundary...
12.812 General Circulation of the Earth's Atmosphere
P. O'Gorman Explains the main features of the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere. Final part of the course explores possible changes in the general circulation associated with climate change. No required or recommended textbooks
12.815 Atmospheric Radiation
S. Seager, R. A. McClatchey Introduction to the physics of atmospheric radiation and remote sensing, including use of computer codes. Radiative transfer equation including emission and scattering, spectroscopy, Mie theory, and numerical solutions...
12.820 Turbulence in the Atmosphere and Ocean
R. Ferrari, G. Flierl Covers phenomena, theory and modeling of turbulence in the Earth's oceans and atmosphere. The scope will range from centimeter- to planetary-scale motions. Includes homogeneous isotropic three- and two-dimensional turbulence...
12.824 Stability Theory for Oceanic & Atmospheric Flows
G. Flierl Basic theory of hydrodynamic instability with special application to flows of interest in oceanography and meteorology. Topics covered include general formulation of stability theory; concept of normal modes and linearization; fundamental...
12.842 Climate Physics and Chemistry
C. Wunsch, E. Boyle, K. Emanuel Introduction to climate studies, including beginnings of the solar system, time scales, and climate in human history; methods for detecting climate change, including proxies, ice cores, instrumental records, and time series...