Physical Oceanography

Graduate course | College of Marine Science, USF | Fall 2026

Course Philosophy and Goals

This course is an introduction to the fundamental processes that control the water properties and circulation of the world’s oceans, and the methods and techniques researchers use to observe and characterize the ocean’s physical structure and its variability.

By the end of the course, students will be able to describe and interpret the large-scale distributions and variability of temperature, salinity, density, and ocean circulation; explain the physical principles governing ocean structure and circulation in mathematical and physical terms; understand modern observing systems; analyze oceanographic and climate data with programming and visualization tools; and assess the ocean's role in climate variability, energy and freshwater transport, and storage.

The course combines lectures, collaborative exercises, training cruises research-paper presentations, and a term project. Students will connect physical-oceanography concepts to broader scientific questions and to their own research interests.

Lecture Topics

  • Introduction to physical oceanography, the global energy budget, and major ocean current systems
  • Python programming for oceanographic data analysis
  • Seawater properties: temperature, salinity, pressure, density, equation of state, potential temperature, and potential density
  • Fluid dynamics: mathematical review, fluid-flow descriptions, conservation of mass, and equations of motion
  • Ocean heat and freshwater budgets
  • Geophysical fluid dynamics: centrifugal and Coriolis forces, geostrophy, Ekman dynamics, upwelling, potential vorticity, and Sverdrup balance
  • Large-scale circulation: western boundary currents, deep-water formation, abyssal circulation, thermohaline circulation, and planetary waves

Lecture Content

Foundations

  1. Introduction
  2. Global Energy Budget and Major Ocean Current Systems
  3. Python Programming Review

Properties of Seawater

  1. Temperature, Salinity, and Pressure
  2. Density, Equation of State, Potential Temperature, and Potential Density

Fluid Dynamics and Budgets

  1. Review of Mathematics and Description of Fluid Flows
  2. Conservation of Mass
  3. Equation of Motion
  4. Ocean Heat Budget and Freshwater Budget

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

  1. Fluid Dynamics in a Rotating System: Centrifugal and Coriolis Forces
  2. Geostrophy I
  3. Geostrophy II and Rotating Tank Experiment
  4. Training Cruise
  5. Ekman Dynamics and Upwelling
  6. Potential Vorticity: Spin, Curl, and Vorticity
  7. Sverdrup Balance

Ocean Circulation and Student Presentations

  1. Western Boundary Currents
  2. Deep Water Formation
  3. Abyssal Circulation
  4. Thermohaline Circulation
  5. Planetary Waves