This course seeks to present an introduction to the great progress which has been made in understanding ocean dynamics over the course of the past century. It is divided into three parts. The first part focusses on the time-mean circulation considering cases where angular momentum constraints are very important for the circulation. Topics covered in this part of the course include the gyres and boundary currents, Ekman and Sverdrup dynamics, and thermocline theory. The second part of the course considers time-mean circulations where rotation is not as important, in particular the thermohaline overturning circulation. The final part of the course considers time-dependent flows, such as surface waves, tides, and El Nino.
A certain familiarity with simple differential equations is helpful for this course but not necessary.