Below is an illustrative course schedule comprising ~ 35 one-hour classes based on the Marshall and Plumb text given to undergraduate students at MIT.
September
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Lecture 2 Equilibrium T of Earth Read: |
8 | |
| 9 | 10
Lecture 3 Greenhouse effect |
11 | 12
Lecture 4 More complex Greenhouse models |
13 | 14
Lecture 5 Vertical structure of atmosphere: hydrostatic balance Read:
|
15 |
| 16 | 17
Lecture 6 Convection in water Read:Chapter 4 |
18 | 19
Lecture 7 Dry convection in air: adiabatic lapse rate |
20 | 21
Lecture 8 Potential temperature
|
22 |
| 23 | 24
Student holiday
|
25 | 26
Lecture 9 Moist Covection |
27 | 28
Lecture 10 Moist Convection (contd)
|
29 |
October
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 30 | 1
Lecture 11 Meridional structure of atmosphere Read Chapter 5 |
2 | 3
Lecture 12 Ang. Mtm: |
4 | 5
Lecture 13 Differentiation following the motion Read Chapter 6 |
6 |
| 7 | 8
Columbus Day |
9 | 10
Lecture 14 Equations of motion applied to a fluid |
11 | 12
Lecture 15 Equations of motion |
13 |
| 14 | 15
Lecture 16 Equipotential surfaces |
16 | 17
Lecture 17 Inertial Circles |
18 | 19
Putting things on the sphere. |
20 |
| 21 | 22
Lecture 18 Balanced flow: geostrophy Read Chapter 7 |
23 | 24
Lecture 19 Taylor Proudman Theorem |
25 | 26
Lecture 20 Thermal Wind |
27 |
November
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 28 | 29
Lecture 21 Review |
30 | 31
Lecture 22 Ageostrophic motion and Ekman layers |
1 | 2
Lecture 23a The Hadley circulation Read Chapter 8 |
3 |
| 4 | 5
Lecture 23b The general circulation of the atmosphere |
6 | 7
Lecture 23c Atmos. general circulation: eddy regime |
8 | 9
Lecture 24 The ocean and its circulation Read Chapter 9 |
10 |
| 11 | 12
HOLIDAY
|
13 | 14
Lecture 25 Ocean circulation: inferences from balanced dynamics |
15 | 16
Lecture 26 Ekman layers in the ocean Read Chapter 10 |
17 |
| 18 | 19
Lecture 27 Taylor-Proudman on the sphere |
20 | 21
Lecture 28 Laboratory model of wind-driven ocean circulation |
22
Thanksgiving |
23
Thanksgiving |
24 |
December 2007
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 25 | 26
Lecture 29 Theory of ocean gyres |
27 | 28
Lecture 30 Thermohaline Circulation Read Chapter 11 |
29 | 30
Lecture 31 Theoretical ideas on thermohaline circulation |
1 |
| 2 | 3
Lecture 32 Laboratory model of thermohaline circulation
|
4 | 5
Lecture 33 The ocean and its role in climate Read Chapter 12 |
6 | 7
Lecture 34 Source-sink flow and western boundary currents |
8 |
| 9 | 10 Revision |
11 | 12
Revision: last day of classes
|
13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17
Exam week |
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |