MSCI5004 is a Mathematics Level V course. See the course overview below.

Units of credit: 6

Assumed Knowledge: any 6 units of credit of Level I Mathematics courses.

Cycle of offering: yearly in Semester 2.

Graduate attributes: the course will enhance your research, inquiry and analytical thinking abilities.

More information: this recent course handout (pdf) contains information about course objectives, assessment, course materials and the syllabus. (This pdf will usually be updated by the end of the first week of the semester.)

The Online Handbook entry contains up-to-date timetabling information.

If you are currently enrolled in MSCI5004, you can log into the My eLearning Vista instance of this course.

The course covers an introduction to the most important physical processes in the ocean: including waves, tides, ocean currents, water-masses, mixing, upwelling, coastal and large-
scale currents. We begin with the basic geography of the sea and the properties of seawater. We go on to study the surface mixed layer, the oceanic thermocline, and deep waters. We also cover turbulence and eddies in the ocean, beach currents and rips. We will study the dynamics of estuaries and local applications.

The course is a broad introduction to physical oceanography. We study how the oceans are affected by winds, thermal forcing, the earth's rotation, as well as understanding the role of bottom topography and coastal boundaries. The relationship between the physics and biology of the sea is explored, e.g., El Ni\~no, coastal upwelling, and the ocean carbon cycle. We will have a half day field study designed to measure the circulation and flushing timescales in Sydney Harbour.