Physical Oceanography Research Focus

Physical oceanography is one of the research areas that graduate students can pursue in the Department of Marine Sciences.

Faculty

Graduate students work directly with our faculty to design a plan of study that fits their research and career goals. Our faculty's research interests have an emphasis on understanding fluid dynamics in the coastal environment, but the collective expertise of the group touches on a wide range of physical oceanographic phenomena, including:

  • Wind/wave interactions.
  • Air/sea gas transfer.
  • Mixing and turbulence.
  • Sea level rise.
  • Coastal resilience.
  • River plume dynamics.
  • Estuarine modeling.
  • Coastal circulation modeling.
  • Heat budgets.
  • Remote sensing.
  • Aquatic optics.
  • Acoustic oceanography.

In addition to sea-going observational work facilitated by the R/V Connecticut, our research techniques include numerical circulation simulations, inverse modeling, analytical and theoretical studies, laboratory experiments, the development of in-situ instruments, and satellite data analysis.

Courses

Our program combines traditional core courses in the oceanographic subdisciplines with interdisciplinary advanced offerings and intensive seminar courses. We offer the following physical oceanography courses:

  • MARN 5060 Dynamic Physical Oceanography
  • MARN 5061 Advanced Dynamical Oceanography
  • MARN 5062 Sediment Transport
  • MARN 5063 Estuarine Circulation
  • MARN 5064 Air-Sea Interaction
  • MARN 5065 Physical Oceanography
  • MARN 5066 River Influences on the Marine Environment
  • MARN 5067 Synoptic Meteorology
  • MARN 5068 Ocean Fluid Dynamics
  • MARN 5200 Oceanographic Data Analysis
  • MARN 6001 Mathematical Models in Marine Sciences
  • MARN 6002 Mathematical Models in Marine Sciences: Practicum

Contact Us

For more information, please contact Michael M. Whitney, associate professor of marine sciences:

Phone: 860-405-9157
michael.whitney@uconn.edu