Jump to Lecture Materials
Instructor:
Prof. Katja Fennel (katja.fennel@dal.ca)
Office: LSC Oceanography #2635
Phone: 902 494 4526
Office hours: Mondays 2:30 pm to 1:30 pm (e-mail for appointment)
Teaching Assistant:
Benjamin Richaud (benjamin.richaud@dal.ca)
Office: LSC Oceanography #2613
Office hours: By appointment
Course Times and Locations:
- Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm in LSC Oceanography #3652 (Riley room)
- Labs: Mondays 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm in Kenneth Rowe Mgmt Bldg #3080
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. 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 2 assignments (15% each), two quizzes (20%), a term project, which will be presented orally and in written form (40%), and class participation (10%).
Full syllabus: Available here
Schedule:
| Day | Date | Time | Location | Lecture/Lab | Instructor |
| Monday | Jan 6 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Introductions | Fennel |
| Tuesday | Jan 7 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Basics: What is a model? |
Fennel |
| Thursday | Jan 9 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Mesurement theory and error types Slides 02 |
Fennel |
| Monday | Jan 13 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Jan 14 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Age-structured populations; Linear algebra I | Fennel |
| Thursday | Jan 16 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Linear algebra II | Fennel |
| Monday | Jan 20 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Jan 21 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Age-structured populations and the Leslie matrix |
Fennel |
| Thursday | Jan 23 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Leslie matrix model in depth; exmaple |
Fennel |
| Monday | Jan 27 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Jan 28 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Linear algebra III | Dever |
| Thursday | Jan 30 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Population stability example (populatoin of China) | Dever |
| Monday | Feb 3 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Feb 4 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Linear algebra IV | Fennel |
| Thursday | Feb 6 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Linear algebra V; back to Pacific salmon | Fennel |
| Monday | Feb 10 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Feb 11 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Quiz | Richaud |
| Thursday | Feb 13 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Linear regression |
Dever |
| Monday | Feb 24 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Fennel |
| Tuesday | Feb 25 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | General linear regression I | Fennel |
| Thursday | Feb 27 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | General linear regression II |
Fennel |
| Monday | Mar 2 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | |
| Tuesday | Mar 3 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | SVD and general inverse explained | Fennel |
| Thursday | Mar 5 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | General linear regression III |
Fennel |
| Monday | 9 Mar | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Kenneth Rowe 3080 | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Mar 10 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Multivariate data, Discriminant analysis, Cluster analysis |
Fennel |
| Thursday | Mar 12 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Riley room | Principle Component Analysis (PCA)/Emprirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis |
Fennel |
| Monday | Mar 16 | suspended | |||
| Tuesday | Mar 17 | suspended | |||
| Thursday | Mar 19 | suspended | |||
| Monday | Mar 23 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Zoom | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Mar 24 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Zoom | PCA/EOF II |
Fennel |
| Thursday | Mar 26 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Zoom | PCA/EOF III |
Fennel |
| Monday | Mar 30 | 3:35 pm – 4:25 pm | Zoom | Lab | Richaud |
| Tuesday | Mar 31 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Zoom | Numerical techniques I |
Fennel |
| Thursday | Apr 2 | 4:35 pm – 5:25 pm | Zoom | Numerical techniques II | Fennel |
| Friday | Apr 17 | 1pm - 3pm | Zoom | Final project presentations | Fennel/Richaud |
Last slide deck and scripts: |
Lecture and Lab Materials (password protected):
Lecture materials are located: here
Lab materials are located: here