EEPS1520, Spring 2025 — Proceedings

EEPS1520. Ocean Circulation and Climate

Or, Notions for the Motions of the Oceans.
Examines physical characteristics, processes, and dynamics of the global ocean to understand circulation patterns and how they relate to ocean biology, chemistry, and climate change. Assignments address ocean's role in the climate system; ocean observations and models; the origin, distribution, and dynamics of large-scale ocean circulation and water masses; energy and freshwater budgets; and variability of the coupled system on seasonal to centennial timescales e.g. El Niño. Intended for geological and physical sciences undergraduate and graduate students with quantitative skills and an interest in oceans, climate, paleoclimate. Pre-requisite: EEPS 0250, EEPS 0350, PHYS 0720, or MATH 0180. Offered alternate years, previously offered as GEOL1100 and GEOL1520.

You can access the syllabus, class calendar, notes, and reading

Proceedings volumes: Spring 2025, Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2013. Spring 2010. Spring 2008. Spring 2007.

Notions for the Motions of the Oceans, Volume 10

Issue 1: 3 Kinds of Lies or Inside Joke

• Cavallo, A.: How does limited sampling from the Southern Ocean affect global mean ocean salinity calculations?
• Chen, C. J.: Global conflict and trade restrictions impact our understanding of the ocean
• Chen, X.: Trends and variability of the equatorial Pacific zonal SST gradient
• Cheong, G.: 20-year salinity and temperature trends in the Weddell Sea in 1992-2011
• Frankenberg, N.: How significant is the impact of ENSO phenomena on sea surface salinity?
• Gallagher, A.: ECCO salinity along the Deep Western Boundary Current
• Gifford, P. L.: Accurately recording sea level rise in the Narragansett Bay
• Kao, B.: AMOC shutdown: Signal or noise?
• Kodero, J. M.: The deepening impacts: Evaluating North Atlantic anthropogenic warming and ocean stratification with ECCOv4
• Lee, A.: Temperature sampling and maritime trade development in the Pacific Ocean
• Merk, K.: Subtropical carbon inventory: Investigating seasonal dissolved organic carbon dynamics at Bermuda Atlantic Time Series
• Orlow, A.: Analyzing the rates of high-latitude and tropical Pacific warming resulting from human-driven climate change between 1992 and 2011
• Poche, A.: Seasonal near-surface salinity across the Gulf of Mexico and in the path of tropical cyclones
• Rocha, M. L.: Investigating hydrographic changes and deep convection variability in Fram Strait
• Sieminski, W.: ENSO telecommunications with the Amazon River discharge
• Ukaonu, C.: Comparison of interpolative & model based datasets over the Gulf of Mexico
• Ye, M.: Decorrelation length scale of North Atlantic Ocean's salinity measurement

Issue 2: I Get Around

• Cavallo, A.: The influence of Agulhas Current meanders on Ekman transport along the South African continental shelf
• Chen, C. J.: Investigating Ekman transport of the California Current System during the 2015-2016 El Niño year
• Chen, X.: The role of Ekman transport in modulating the heat budget of the California Current System
• Cheong, G.: Contribution of Ekman upwelling to seasonal phytoplankton blooms in the Kerguelen Plateau
• Frankenberg, N.: Seasonal Ekman mass and heat flow in the Benguela Current
• Gallagher, A.: Ekman upwelling and chlorophyll concentration along the California coast
• Kao, B.: Ekman transport, chlorophyll, and more: Mass balance analysis of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current between 0° and 60°E
• Kodero, J. M.: Understanding seasonal variation of coastal upwelling and Ekman transport in the Arabian Sea with ECCOv4
• Lee, A.: Ekman transport and coastal upwelling in the California Current System
• Merk, K.: Local wind forcing and upwelling in the Gulf of Guinea
• Orlow, A.: Detection of seasonal variability in upwelling and Ekman transport off the Pacific Northwest coast between 2007 and 2011
• Rocha, M. L.: Investigating Ekman transport and coastal upwelling in Rio de Janeiro coast, Brazil
• Sieminski, W.: Relationships between Ekman transport and ENSO phases in the equatorial Pacific
• Ukaonu, C.: Investigating the role of Ekman processes in seasonal and interannual upwelling trends in north and central Chile
• Ye, M.: Ekman transport at the northern Benguela Current and its seasonal variations

Issue 3: Swimming Upstream

• Cavallo, A.: Balancing Sverdrup, Ekman, and geostrophic transports in the Agulhas Current system
• Chen, C. J.: Analysis of transport in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
• Chen, X.: Diagnosing meridional transport balance across the North Pacific at 35°N using ECCO V4r4
• Cheong, G.: Investigating the western boundary current in the Weddell Gyre
• Frankenberg, N.: Examining long-term trends in volume transport in the North Pacific Subpolar Gyre
• Gallagher, A.: Meridional transport in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre at 30°N
• Gifford, P. L.: Sink or swim: An investigation of the transport balance across the Gulf Stream
• Kao, B.: Sverdrup, Ekman, and geostrophic transport across the Kuroshio at 28°N: A dynamical balance?
• Kodero, J. M.: Evaluating Gulf Stream dynamics: An analysis of Sverdrup, Ekman, and geostrophic transports across a North Atlantic transect at ~26°N
• Lee, A.: Seasonal analysis of the Kuroshio western boundary current
• Merk, K.: Examining seasonal and interannual variability of Atlantic transport and SSH at 26.5°N
• Orlow, A.: Detecting seasonal transport trends at the northern limits of the Brazil-Falklands Convergence
• Poche, A.: Northward geostrophic transport of the North Atlantic Current trending down from 1992 to 2011
• Rocha, M. L.: Baroclinic structure and transport balance of the Brazil Current at 30°S
• Sieminski, W.: An evaluation of meridional volume transport in the equatorial Pacific during different ENSO phases
• Ukaonu, C.: A diagnostic of transport across the Atlantic Ocean at 30°S
• Ye, M.: Assessing the mass balance and inter-annual variability of South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre transport at 30°S

Issue 4: Meridional Overturning Circulation or Waves

• Cavallo, A.: Kelvin waves and related transport anomalies in the South Atlantic Bight
• Chen, X.: Mechanisms of Southern Ocean surface cooling and model discrepancies
• Cheong, G.: Assessment of the structure and variability of the Southern Ocean meridional overturning circulation in ECCOv4r2
• Frankenberg, N.: Qualitative analysis of the relationship between off-equatorial Rossby waves and ENSO events in the Pacific Ocean
• Gallagher, A.: Exploring Rossby waves with SSH models in the Aleutian Basin
• Gifford, P. L.: Splish splash: Tidal variation and sea level rise in the Gulf of Maine
• Kao, B.: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and water masses as revealed by ECCO
• Kodero, J. M.: Seasonal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and associated water masses using ECCOv4r2
• Lee, A.: Rossby wave propagation in the North Pacific Ocean
• Merk, K.: Review on (sub)mesoscale-driven export of organic carbon in the subtropics and its implications for the biological carbon pump
• Orlow, A.: Visualizing a historically strong El Niño: The 1997 El Niño and its effects
• Poche, A.: Impact of Labrador Sea deep convection on AMOC variability (an updated look at IPCC AR6 9.2.3.1)
• Sieminski, W.: An analysis of the 1997-1998 El Niño event
• Ukaonu, C.: Reassessment of climate change's impact on ocean boundary currents: Past and future
• Ye, M.: Interannual variability and long-term trend of the AMOC at 26.5°N: RAPID observations vs. ECCO model

Important Note from the Editor/Instructor: These papers represent the best efforts of the students of to assimilate and use the information they were learning on the fly. These papers were written under very tight time constraints. Thus, while selected for content that is generally excellent, the reader is encouraged to look at these papers as works in progress and disregard typographical or other minor errors. These papers have all been peer-reviewed by the class and revised afterward.