Module/Course Title: Coastal Hydrodynamics
Code number:
Level of Module/Course (under-/postgraduate): Graduate
Type of Module/Course: mandatory
Year of Study
1
Semester
1
Number of ECTS allocated:
6
Νumber of teaching units:
6
Name of lecturer / lecturers :
Content outline (100-300 words):
Vassilis Zervakis, Elina Tragou, George Tsirtsis
o Elements of Descriptive Oceanography Bipolar nature of the water molecule, water as an electrolyte, Marcet’s principle, Salinity and its measurement, temperature and salinity distribution in the Global Ocean, T/S diagrams, compressibility effects, potential temperature and density. o Elements of Dynamical Oceanography Hydrostatic, conservation principles in Fluid Mechanics, effects of rotation of the observer – Coriolis force, scale separation method, basic oceanic flows (inertial oscillations, Ekman currents, geostrophic currents, baroclinicity and barotropicity), air-sea interactions. o Elements of Coastal Hydrodynamics Rossby Radius and determination of the coastal environment, impact of Earth’s rotation on large basins, Kelvin waves, tides, small and large basin response to wind forcing, coastal upwelling, semienclosed basins, shallow-water equations, seiches and storm surges. o Introduction to numerical simulations in the marine and coastal environment.
Learning outcomes: This course aims to provide the students with basic oceanographic and coastal hydrodynamics knowledge. We focus on the effort to provide understanding of (a) the role of Earth’s rotation on open ocean dynamics, (b) basic wave kinematics determining whether an area is dynamically coastal or open sea, and (c) the different responses of a coastal area and an open-sea area. Thus, the desired learning outcomes rising from the successful attendance of the course are the following: o Familiarization with the physical characteristics of the water column and their spatiotemporal variability (temperature, salinity, density) o Learning of the basic conservation principles of scalar and vector parameters in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics as well as the main oceanic flows o Understanding of the distinction between coastal and open sea, in terms of hydrodynamics, and
o Familiarization with the hydrodynamics of the coastal zone.
Prerequisites:
There are no official prerequisites for the attendance of the course. The process of graduate student selection should ensure that they are equipped with the ability to successfully attend the course.
Recommended Reading: a) Basic Textbooks: o Zervakis, V., 2013. Class notes for «Coastal Hydrodynamics» course, University of the Aegean (in Greek). o Stewart, R. H., 1997-2005: Introduction to Physical Oceanography. http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_textbook/contents.html b) Additional References: a. The Open University, 1999. Waves, Tides and Shallow Water Processes, second edition. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 227 pp.. b. Pugh D.T. 1987. Tides, Surges, and Mean Sea-Level. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Learning Activities and Teaching Methods: Teaching takes place through lectures and exercise. The large extent of the material and the demanding character of the course require a fast coverage of a wide spectrum of phenomena. An effort to avoid lecturer-centered teaching takes place through the interactive examination of the level of knowledge and understanding of the required background by the students, the exposure to the new material, the dialog and the analysis of exercises in order to ensure understanding and clarification of any emerging questions. Assessment/Grading Methods: The assessment and grading takes place through a final written examination. Short-tests exploiting multiple-choice questions, right-wrong selections etc. are also provided via the e-class platform. Language of Instruction: Greek Μode of delivery (face-to-face, distance learning): The mode of delivery is though face-to-face interaction between lecturer and students. In addition, full use of the eclass asyncthonous teaching system ensures to the students easy access to notes and supplementing material since the start of the course and access to the lecture slides on a weekly basis.
Lecture subject – Lecturer 1st Round of Lectures Ass. Professor E. TRAGOU – Dept of Marine Sciences FUNCTIONING OF THE CLIMATE SYSTEM: The planet’s energy budget – The roles of the sea and the atmosphere
Timetable
1st Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences ELEMENTS OF DESCRIPTIVE PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Bipolar nature of water molecule, Marcet’s principle,salinity and temperature distribution, compressibility phenomena, density and specific volume.
2nd Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY I. Hydrostatic, water-motion forcing, barotropic and baroclinic conditions. Sea waves, propagation in deep and shallow waters, kinds of waves.
3rd Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY MEASUREMENTS. Methods of temperature, pressure and conductivity measurement. Computation of salinity and density. Ways to measure currents. Eulerian and Lagrangian instruments and methods.
4th Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY II. Kinds of forcing for sea motion. The role of Earth’s rotation. Rossby deformation radius and applications.
5th Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY II: Kinds of currents and waves at sea. Motion in the absence of forcing (inertial oscillations). Wind-forced currents. Geostrophic currents.
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY II: Kelvin waves. Astronomical Tides. Storm surges.
6th Week
7th Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences LIGHT PROPAGATION AT SEA
Light propagation laws, Irradiance and Radiance, Propagation of light in the sea, Water types 2nd Round of Lectures Ass. Professor E. TRAGOU – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Factors determining sea-level: available mass, steric height, dynamic height, inverse barometer, storm seiches.
8th Week
9th Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Wave propagation in the coastal zone. Diffraction, Refraction, Breaking of waves
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Wave forecasting
10th Week
11th Week
Assoc. Professor V. ZERVAKIS – Dept of Marine Sciences BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY: Semi-enclosed basins – coastal upwelling
12th Week
Professor G. TSIRTSIS – Dept of Marine Sciences INTRODUCTION TO NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF OCEAN CIRCULATION
13th Week
Learning outcomesi: The purpose of this course is the familiarization of students with basic oceanography and coastal hydrodynamics knowledge. We focus in the effort to understand (a) the role of Earth’s rotation in the open sea dynamics, (b) basic wave-dynamics elements that determine whether a coastal region should be considered as coastal or open sea in terms of its dynamics, and (c) the differences in the behaviour of a coastal from an open sea region. Thus, the expected learning outcomes from the successful completion of the course are the following: o Familiarization of the students with the physical characteristics of the sea-water column and the spatiotemporal variability of temperature, salinity and density. o Introduction of the students to the basic principles of conservation of scalar and vector properties of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics and the most dominant sea motions o Understanding by the students of the different dynamics between open sea and coastal regions, and o Introduction to the dynamical phenomena taking place in the coastal zone.
Prerequisites: Formally, there are no prerequisites for taking the course. Student selection should ensure that they should be able to successfully follow the course.
Suggested textbooks: α) Basic Textbook: o Zervakis, V., 2013. Class Notes on «Coastal Hydrodynamics» (in greek), University of the Aegean. o Stewart, R. H., 1997-2005: Introduction to Physical Oceanography. http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_textbook/contents.html β) Additional references: o The Open University, 1999. Waves, Tides and Shallow Water Processes, second edition. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 227 pp.. o Pugh D.T. 1987. Tides, Surges, and Mean Sea-Level. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons
Teaching Methods: The mode of delivery is though face-to-face interaction between lecturer and students. In addition, full use of the eclass and bbb asyncthonous teaching system ensures to the students easy access to notes and supplementing material since the start of the course and access to the lecture slides on a weekly.
Evaluation methods:
Evaluation takes place through a written exam at the end of the semester, plus short tests exploiting multiple-choice questions, right-wrong selections etc. via e-class.
Language of Instruction: Greek (English if required)
Μode of delivery (face-to-face, distance learning): Face-to-face interaction between the lecturer and the students, during the 1st and the 3nd Thematic Round of the Course. In addition, full use of the E-class Platform asynchronous and BBB synchronous teaching system ensures easy access to notes and supplementing material since the start of the course and access to the lecture slides on a weekly basis during the 2nd Theamtic Round of the Course. .
i
Μαθησιακά αποτελέσματα: οι διατυπώσεις όλων αυτών που ο εκπαιδευόμενος γνωρίζει, κατανοεί και μπορεί να κάνει μετά την ολοκλήρωση μιας μαθησιακής διαδικασίας και οι σχετικοί ορισμοί αφορούν τις γνώσεις, τις δεξιότητες και τις ικανότητες. Σε αυτά περιλαμβάνονται: Γνώσεις, Δεξιότητες, Ικανότητες. Βλέπε αναλυτικά: http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/eqf_en.htm