AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

To provide an overview of existing dispersion models (atmosphere and sea)

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The student is invited to participate assiduously in the proposed educational activities consisting of lectures and exercises in the computer room, with the final objective of:

know the basics of dispersive processes in sea and in the atmosphere;

understand the physical mechanisms that most heavily influence mixing in the atmosphere and in sea;

identify phenomena taken from the current life regulated by mechanisms underlying the mixing processes analyzed in the course;

become familiar with the dispersion  models  (sea and atmosphere);

become familiar with marine circulation models;

evaluate the merits and limitations of CFD modeling to study the dynamics of the atmosphere and / or sea system;

critically discuss the problems of mixing  using the appropriate vocabulary.

TEACHING METHODS

The course includes lectures in the classroom. These are divided into lectures dedicated to the more theoretical aspects of mixing processes alternated with exercises aimed at fixing theoretical concepts by discussing practical examples, also borrowed from everyday life.
Learning of communication skills will be encouraged with the proposal to hold a seminar (20 minutes) on an application of mixing in the sea  which will then be evaluated during the examination.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course program includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics:

- Review of the primitive equations of geophysical fluid dynamics (4 hours)
- Prognostic weather models (4 hours)
- Dispersion via multiple scale expansion  (4 hours)
- Air dispersion models. Lagrangian and Eulerian models (6 hours)
- Computer lab exercises with the Hysplit model for studying the dispersion  in the atmosphere  (12 hours)

- Introduction to physical oceanography (1 hour)
- Concepts of scientific programming, analysis and numerical stability (4 hours)
- Exercise: inertial oscillations (2 hours)
- Wind-forced motion and reduced gravity models (1 hour)
- Exercise: Finding of the SS Central America (2 hours)
- Autoregressive templates and standard NetCDF format (2 hours)
- Exercise: marine currents from coastal radars and pollutant dispersion (2 hours)
- Models of marine circulation and FORTRAN (2 hours)
- Exercise: application of the ROMS model to an idelized lagoon (4 hours)

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The teaching material used during the lessons will be available in the teaching aulaweb. The notes taken during the lessons and the material in aulaweb are sufficient for the preparation of the exam, but the following books are suggested as supporting and in-depth texts:

Fluid Mechanics, Pijush K. Kundu, Ira M. Cohen, David R. Dowling, Gretar Tryggvason (Elsevier, 2015, sesta edizione)

Numerical Prediction and Dynamic Meteorology 2nd Edition by George J. Haltiner, Roger T. Williams (Wiley, 1980)

Air Dispersion Modeling: Foundations and Applications by Alex De Visscher (Wiley, 2013)

Numerical Ocean Circulation Modeling, Dale B. Haidvogel and Aike Beckmann, Imperial College Press

Numerical Modeling of Ocean Circulation, Robert N. Miller, Cambridge Press

Atmospheric and Ocean Fluid Dynamics, Geoffrey K. Vallis, Cambridge Press

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANDREA MAZZINO (President)

GIOVANNI BESIO

MARCELLO GATIMU MAGALDI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/10720/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam to ascertain the level of knowledge of the basics of modeling for dispersion in the  sea and in the atmosphere; Final seminar on a topic of dispersion agreed with the teacher analyzed through the use of dispersion models.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The student must have demonstrated to have assimilated the bases of the description of mixing processes in the atmosphere and in the  sea. This will include:

- the ability to discuss a problem of dispersion with the appropriate technical language;

- the ability to solve simple problems of dispersion in the  sea and in the atmosphere.

Exam schedule