PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPY

I sit down by the seashore and listen to the rumbling ocean. The waves approach the sand appearing to gobble all that might be found along the coast. But it never does. It makes a loud roar and then tumbles into calm ripples before my feet. I need to find out more about the oceans and why it moves so mysteriously as I watch it.

The oceans are always moving. The movement is graceful and subject to the principles of fluid motion. Fluid motion refers to the response of liquid to forces of wind, density, and rotation of the Earth in space. Locally you must include factors such as topography and tidal forces.

The waters of the oceans are not homogeneous. There are ocean masses that move as units, called currents. The ocean’s movement is predictable based on mathematical modeling. The model takes into account many factors that control currents not only on the surface but with depth.

You can mathematically model the movement of water