From the Amazon River to the Amundsen Sea the physical dynamics of freshwater-driven coastal systems

From the Amazon River to the Amundsen Sea: the physical dynamics of freshwater-driven coastal systems

Description:  

Discharge of freshwater from the continents, spanning from the Amazon river to glaciers and ice sheets in the Amundsen (Antarctica), is a key part of the hydrological cycle and a critical process modulating the ocean’s circulation and properties. The course explores the physical dynamics of freshwater discharge to the ocean, the influence of this discharge on the local-to-global properties and circulation of the ocean, and how these systems are evolving under a changing climate. Topics include the impact of the earth’s rotation, ocean bathymetry, atmospheric winds, and tides on the fate of the freshwater discharge in the ocean; the modulation of the ocean’s biogeochemical properties by freshwater discharge; feedbacks between the ocean and ice sheets and glaciers in high latitudes; and the impact of glacier melt in global sea level rise.

Contents: 

(1) Freshwater discharge to the ocean in the context of the earth’s hydrological cycle (2) phenomenology of freshwater discharge: from small rivers to massive ice sheets (3) processes controlling the fate of freshwater in the ocean: winds, topography, the earth’s rotation

(4) freshwater discharge in a changing climate: the ocean’s role in ice retreat, and the future of sea level rise.

Methodology: 

The course will consist of morning lectures and discussion followed by collaborative, student-led projects and problem-solving in the afternoon. The morning sessions will be focused on learning about the state-of-the art research on ocean systems driven by freshwater discharge. The afternoon sessions will involve working with data, idealized models, and theory in collaborative group projects to explore the dynamics discussed in the morning sessions. The projects will build on the progress made on the previous day, and students will present their progress every afternoon, thus providing an opportunity to get feedback from the entire class as well as to develop presentation skills.

Lecturer: Carlos Moffat, University of Delaware, United States