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Instructors:
Prof. Katja Fennel (katja.fennel@dal.ca)
Office: LSC Oceanography #2635
Phone: 494 4526
Office hours: By appointment
Dr. Laura Bianucci (laura.bianucci@dal.ca)
Office: LSC Oceanography #2618
Phone: 494 3655
Office hours: By appointment
Course Times:
- Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays, 14:35 – 15:25
- Labs: Fridays, 12:35 – 13:25
Location:
- Oceanography, Gordon Riley Room (#3652) for lectures
- Computer Sciences, PC lab 1 for labs
Course Objectives: This course is designed to introduce a variety of modeling techniques useful in oceanography and the natural sciences in general. The main objective is to provide an overview of a range of techniques, rather than exhaustive and in depth discussion of any particular technique. The approach is to introduce techniques, discuss their assumptions and limitations, and apply them to simple problems in oceanography and earth sciences. This is accomplished by a combination of lectures and labs. At the end of this course, students should have an understanding of various modeling approaches and their applicability; as a result, they will be better placed to both carry out their own research, and to critically evaluate the literature. Opportunities exist to tailor course material to meet specific needs of individual students.
Approach: A series of more or less independent modules will be presented, each of which will include an introduction to a particular technique, some examples, and an assignment in which the student will have the opportunity to apply the techniques to simple problems.
Course Assessment: Grades for the course will be assigned based on performance on 3 assignments (40%), on regular pop quizzes (20%), and on a term project, which will be presented, orally and in written form (40%). The project will include a critical analysis of two modeling techniques used in the literature to approach a single problem.
Prerequisites: Physical Oceanography (OCEA 4120), Math to PDE’s (e.g. MATH 4220) or Instructor’s consent.
Logistics: Access to MATLAB on your own computer will be crucial. The oceanography department is prepared to provide you with a temporary license if you do not have access already (it is to be used for teaching purposes only and will have to be removed after the term).
Recommended Readings:
- Batschelet E (1979) Introduction to mathematics for life scientists, 3rd edn. Springer
- Bevington PR and Robertson DK (2003) Data reduction and error analysis, 3rd edn. McGraw Hill
- Davis JC (2002) Statistics and data analysis in geology, 3rd edn. John Wiley & Sons
- Davis TA and Sigmon K (2005) MATLAB primer, Chapman & Hall/CRC
- Hahn BD and Valentine DT (2007) Essential MATLAB for engineers and scientists, Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier)
- Harte J (2001) Consider a spherical cow: More adventures in environmental problem solving, University Science Books, Sausalito, California
- Harte J (1988) Consider a spherical cow: A course in environmental problem solving, University Science Books, Sausalito, California
- Press WH, Teukolsky SA, Vetterling WT, Flannery BP (2002) Numerical recipes, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press
- Sarmiento JL and Gruber N (2006) Ocean biogeochemical dynamics, Princeton University Press
- Schey HM (1973) Div, grad, curl and all that: An informal text on calculus, W. W. Norton & Company
| Weekday | Date | Lecture Topic | Instructor |
| Wed | 5-Jan | Syllabus/Introduction | Fennel |
| Fr | 7-Jan | Lab 1 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 10-Jan | Basics | Fennel |
| Wed | 12-Jan | Errors | Fennel |
| Fr | 14-Jan | Lab 2 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 17-Jan | Probability | Fennel |
| Wed | 19-Jan | Error Analysis | Fennel |
| Fr | 21-Jan | Lab 3 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 24-Jan | Linear Algebra with Application to Population Dynamics I | Fennel |
| Wed | 26-Jan | Linear Algebra II | Fennel |
| Fr | 28-Jan | Lab 4 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 31-Jan | Linear Algebra III | Fennel |
| Wed | 2-Feb | Least Squares Regression | Fennel |
| Fr | 4-Feb | Munro Day | |
| Mo | 7-Feb | General Least Squares Regression | Fennel |
| Wed | 9-Feb | DA, PCA, EOF I | Fennel |
| Fr | 11-Feb | Lab 5 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 14-Feb | DA, PCA, EOF II | Fennel |
| Wed | 16-Feb | Review and Discussion | Fennel |
| Fr | 18-Feb | Lab 6 | Fennel |
| Mo | 21-Feb | Break | |
| Wed | 23-Feb | Break | |
| Fr | 25-Feb | Break | |
| Mo | 28-Feb | Dimensional Analysis I | Lewis |
| Wed | 2-Mar | Dimensional Analysis II | Lewis |
| Fr | 4-Mar | Lab 7 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 7-Mar | Dimensional Analysis III | Lewis |
| Wed | 9-Mar | DA, PCA, EOF III | Fennel |
| Fr | 11-Mar | Lab 8 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 14-Mar | Numerical Techniques I | Fennel |
| Wed | 16-Mar | Numerical Techniques II | Fennel |
| Fr | 18-Mar | C-DOGS | |
| Mo | 21-Mar | Numerical Techniques III | Fennel |
| Wed | 23-Mar | Time Series Analysis I | Fennel |
| Fr | 25-Mar | Lab 9 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 28-Mar | Time Series Analysis II | Fennel |
| Wed | 30-Mar | Time Series Analysis III | Fennel |
| Fr | 1-Apr | Lab 10 | Bianucci |
| Mo | 4-Apr | Review and Discussion | Fennel |
| Wed | 6-Apr | Student Presentations | Fennel, Bianucci |
| Fr | 8-Apr | Student Presentations | Fennel, Bianucci |
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| 23 Mar (Lecture) | For homework: |
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