Dynamical
paleoceanography (OCN760, Spring08)
Course outline:
01/24: The earth's geological history: an overview Lecture 1
01/31: Concepts of climate variability, bifurcations, the stochastic
climate model; Lecture 2
02/07: Concepts of climate variability, forced
oscillators, relaxation oscillators, stochastic resonance: , Lecture 3
02/14: Concepts of climate variability, climate
forcings Lecture 4
02/21: Energy balance Snowball
earth and multiple equilibria Lecture
5
02/28 The thermohaline circulation Lecture
6
03/06: The
thermohaline circulation I Lecture
7
03/13: The
thermohaline circulation II Lecture
8
03/20: Ice-sheet dynamics I Lecture 9
03/27: Ice-sheet dynamics II (two classes) Lecture 10
04/23 Ice cores and CO2, Lecture 11
05/01: Ice cores and CO2 (two classes), Lecture
12
05/08: Presentation of term projects
Instructor: Prof. Axel Timmermann
(IPRC, phone 9562720, axel@hawaii.edu)
Hours: Thursday: 4.00pm--5.30pm
MSB
315
Textbooks No required textbook,
but useful reference books:
Crowley and North, Paleoclimatology, Oxford Monographs on Geology and
Geophysics #18
Barry Saltzman, Dynamical Paleoclimatology, Academic Press
Fatima Abrantes, Reconstructing Ocean History - A Window into the
Future, Springer
Raymond Bradley, Paleoclimatology: Reconstructing
Climates of the Quaternary, Academic Press
William Ruddiman, Earth's climate: Past and Future, W. H.
Freeman
Grading method:
General participation 33.3%
Homework 33.3%
Project 33.3%
Student Projects (require matlab or fortran skills)
CO2 over Phanerozoic timescales (matlab or fortran): the
GEOCARB III model
Closing of Drake Passage in the BARBIE
ocean model (fortran)
Chicxulub crater K/T boundary tsunami (fortran)
Glimmer 3-D
ice-sheet model, stand-alone run (fortran)
Large Igneous Provinces and their effect on the ocean circulation
through geothermal heat flux (matlab or fortran)
and more ......