Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
MIT OpenCourseWare
Turbulence in the Ocean and Atmosphere
Art: US Army, US Weather map from 1872, 1872 · Public domain
- Instructors
- Prof. Glenn Flierl, Prof. Raffaele Ferrari
- Term
- Spring 2007
- Level
- Graduate
- What's inside
- 1 lecture note · 25 other files · 13 web pages
- Materials open
- MIT OCW
Other versions of this course
- 12.820 · Spring 2007 · Study here (this version)
- 12.820 · Spring 2006 · Study here
About this course
Source: MIT OpenCourseWare 12.820 Turbulence in the Ocean and Atmosphere, Spring 2007, Prof. Glenn Flierl, Prof. Raffaele Ferrari — original course page on ocw.mit.edu ↗. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Study order: MIT's own listing order, section by section. Taken from MIT's published course files, downloaded from ocw.mit.edu on September 23, 2026. How RedLectern is built.
Materials are grouped the way MIT organized them. A verified, course-wide order has not been established here.
Before you start
Prerequisites are not listed here. Check MIT's own syllabus for this course.
How this course was organized
What's here, and what isn't
- A lecture sequence of 16 items is confirmed. It stays as organized materials rather than a full course order.
Not included here
7 items from the source could not be safely included:
- MIT's page format for this item wasn't recognized clearly enough to place it safely. (7 items)
Materials by section
Grouped by section, as MIT organized them. Not sequenced or ordered.
Lecture Notes
254 items in this section
8 files
Lectures 4-6
76 images
- b range Open ↗
- conv1.png Open ↗
- closer Open ↗
- conv2a.png Open ↗
- conv3.png Open ↗
- conv3a.png Open ↗
- T=0 Open ↗
- T=100 Open ↗
- T=1000 Open ↗
- conv4.png Open ↗
- conv4a.png Open ↗
- 50*crit Open ↗
- 75*crit Open ↗
- 100*crit Open ↗
- 200*crit Open ↗
- 500*crit Open ↗
- 50*crit wide Open ↗
- conv-bbar-200.png Open ↗
- conv-bbar-500.png Open ↗
- conv-nu-2.png Open ↗
- conv-nu-10.png Open ↗
- conv-nu-50.png Open ↗
- conv-nu-75.png Open ↗
- Nu 95 Open ↗
- conv-nu-100.png Open ↗
- conv-nu-200.png Open ↗
- conv-nu-500.png Open ↗
- various Ra T Open ↗
- rho=2 Open ↗
- rho=10 Open ↗
- lor-r20-t0-t.png Open ↗
- Page 9: lorenz eqns tau=0 · rho=20 Open ↗
- Page 9: lorenz eqns tau=10 · rho=20 Open ↗
- lor-r24.1-t0-t.png Open ↗
- rho=24.1 Open ↗
- lor-r24.2-t0-t2.png Open ↗
- lor-r24.2-t0-t.png Open ↗
- rho=24.2 Open ↗
- lor-r25-s1.png Open ↗
- sensitivity Open ↗
- lor-r25-t0-t.png Open ↗
- rho=25 Open ↗
- lor-r40-t10-t.png Open ↗
- rho=40 Open ↗
- lor-r80-t10-t.png Open ↗
- rho=80 Open ↗
- mfanu50.png Open ↗
- mfa,f=0.1 Open ↗
- mfa,f=1 Open ↗
- mfa,f=5 Open ↗
- theta=0 Open ↗
- theta=0,99,162,274 Open ↗
- theta=0,72,144,216,288 Open ↗
- theta=0,55,118 Open ↗
- Page 16: plumes · b vs z Open ↗
- Page 16: plumes · r vs z Open ↗
- W vs. z Open ↗
- Page 16: plumes in stratification · b vs z Open ↗
- Page 16: plumes in stratification · r vs z Open ↗
- surf-f5.png Open ↗
- surf-f5a.png Open ↗
- Page 15: thermals · b vs t Open ↗
- Page 15: thermals · W vs. t Open ↗
- Page 15: thermals · Z vs t Open ↗
- Page 15: thermals in stratification · b vs t Open ↗
- W vs. t linear Open ↗
- Page 15: thermals in stratification · W vs. t Open ↗
- Page 15: thermals in stratification · Z vs t Open ↗
- wb_fin_500.png Open ↗
- theta=45,135 Open ↗
- theta=0,60,120 Open ↗
- p greater than -0.33 Open ↗
- Nu-Ra Open ↗
- mfasurf.png Open ↗
- surf.png Open ↗
- surfa.png Open ↗
Lecture 9
45 images
- R=3.3 full Open ↗
- R=3.4 full Open ↗
- R=3.5 full Open ↗
- R=3.45 full Open ↗
- R=4 full Open ↗
- psi Open ↗
- pdf of zeta Open ↗
- Page 5: Point vortex simulations · n=3 Open ↗
- delta solutions Open ↗
- Page 5: Point vortex simulations · n=4 Open ↗
- delta Open ↗
- single vortex trajectory Open ↗
- spectra Open ↗
- v0.gif Open ↗
- circular Open ↗
- v1.gif Open ↗
- n=2 Open ↗
- v2.gif Open ↗
- Page 7: Vortex waves · n=3 Open ↗
- v3.gif Open ↗
- Page 7: Vortex waves · n=4 Open ↗
- v4.gif Open ↗
- n=8 Open ↗
- v5.gif Open ↗
- elliptical Open ↗
- v6.gif Open ↗
- strong shear Open ↗
- v7.gif Open ↗
- weak shear Open ↗
- v8.gif Open ↗
- balanced Open ↗
- v9.gif Open ↗
- adverse Open ↗
- v10.gif Open ↗
- adverse weak Open ↗
- v11.gif Open ↗
- R=4 Open ↗
- v12.gif Open ↗
- R=3 Open ↗
- v13.gif Open ↗
- R=3.5 Open ↗
- E and Z Open ↗
- variance and kurtosis Open ↗
- kbar vs time Open ↗
- long example Open ↗
Lecture 10
20 images
- psi Open ↗
- b5qbar.png Open ↗
- sigma Open ↗
- phi=0;beta=0 Open ↗
- beta=0.5 Open ↗
- beta=1 Open ↗
- beta=2 Open ↗
- beta=5 Open ↗
- phi=30;beta=0 Open ↗
- phi=45;beta=0 Open ↗
- phi=60;beta=0 Open ↗
- phi=30;beta=2 Open ↗
- phi=45;beta=2 Open ↗
- phi=60;beta=2 Open ↗
- t14.png Open ↗
- t15.png Open ↗
- t16.png Open ↗
- t17.png Open ↗
- t18.png Open ↗
- energies Open ↗
Lecture 12
7 images
Lecture 13
- Effective Diffusivity Download
- Vorticity and streamfunction Open ↗
- QGPV and QGPV fluxes Open ↗
- Diffusivity Download
- Streamfunction Open ↗
Lecture 16
19 images
- alpha=0.01 Open ↗
- alpha=0.1 Open ↗
- Page 8: psi · alpha=0 Open ↗
- alpha=0.002 Open ↗
- alpha=0.004 Open ↗
- alpha=0.008 Open ↗
- alpha=0.016 Open ↗
- alpha=0.032 Open ↗
- alpha=0.064 Open ↗
- alpha=0.128 Open ↗
- Page 9: poincare sections · alpha=0 Open ↗
- strong Open ↗
- weak Open ↗
- steady Open ↗
- mean drift Open ↗
- mean sq displacement Open ↗
- lin vs act sd Open ↗
- growth rates Open ↗
- effective k,v Open ↗
Lecture 17
23 images
- Eddy enstrophy Open ↗
- phi Open ↗
- phia Open ↗
- PV gradients Open ↗
- mean PV gradients Open ↗
- Zonal flow Open ↗
- Page 3: Diagnostics · mean Open ↗
- full Open ↗
- F=100,beta=0.1 Open ↗
- Page 2: Examples · mean Open ↗
- r=0,u1 neg F1=20 Open ↗
- r=0,u1 pos F2=4 Open ↗
- r=0.01,u1 neg Open ↗
- r=0.1,u1 neg Open ↗
- r=0.01,u1 pos Open ↗
- r=0.1,u1 pos Open ↗
- sigma vs r Open ↗
- no nonlinearity Open ↗
- nonlinear Open ↗
- bciperenslog.png Open ↗
- bciperens.png Open ↗
- full energy Open ↗
- zonal flow Open ↗
Lecture 18
14 images
Lecture 20
- two waves Open ↗
- summary Open ↗
- dispersive amp=0.1 Open ↗
- one soliton amp=1 Open ↗
- two amp=3 Open ↗
- three amp=7 Open ↗
Lecture 21
22 images
- Fr=0.1 Open ↗
- Fr=0.2 Open ↗
- Fr=0.3 Open ↗
- Fr=0.4 Open ↗
- Fr=0.5 Open ↗
- Fr=0.6 Open ↗
- Fr=0.7 Open ↗
- Fr=0.8 Open ↗
- Fr=0.9 Open ↗
- Fr=1.0 Open ↗
- k=2,m=2,cp=0.25,cg=0.18,-0.18 Open ↗
- k=2,m=1,cp=0.4,cg=0.089,-0.18 Open ↗
- k=1,m=2,cp=0.2,cg=0.36,-0.18 Open ↗
- Uk/N=1.01 Open ↗
- Uk/N=1.1 Open ↗
- Uk/N=1.5 Open ↗
- Uk/N=2 Open ↗
- Uk/N=0.99 Open ↗
- Uk/N=0.9 Open ↗
- Uk/N=0.8 Open ↗
- Uk/N=0.7 Open ↗
- Linear solution Open ↗
Assignments
Other materials from this course
Course outline
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 2: Transition to Turbulence ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 3: Statistics and Turbulence ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 9: 2D Turbulence ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 10: QG Turbulence ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 11: Mean-Field Approximation
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 12: SQG Turbulence ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 13: Effective Diffusivity ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 14: Transformed Eulerian Mean ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 15: Transformed Eulerian Mean in 3D ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 16: Particle Motions, Stokes’ Drift ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 17: Baroclinic Turbulence ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 18: Gyres ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 19: Turbulent Boundary Layers ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 20: Nonlinear Internal Waves, Solitary Waves ( PDF )
Lecture Notes · Lecture Notes
Lecture 21: Topographic Waves ( PDF )
MIT OpenCourseWare, Prof. Glenn Flierl, Prof. Raffaele Ferrari, 12.820 Turbulence in the Ocean and Atmosphere, Spring 2007.
License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Edition: Spring 2007 · Open the original course on OCW ↗
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