Graduate Program

Physical Oceanography is the general study of the fluid dynamics of the ocean. These dynamics include large scale “Geophysical Fluid Dynamics,” where currents are coupled to atmospheric dynamics and are forced by a combination of wind-driven pressure gradients, the earth’s rotation, and spatial gradients in surface buoyancy (a function of the water’s heat content and salinity). However, oceanographic fluid dynamics also encompasses the study of smaller-scale motions such as surface waves, internal waves, turbulence, and the study of boundary layers, where the ocean interacts with the atmosphere above and the seafloor below. Since the movements of ocean waters to a large extent determine the fate of constituents such as macro- and micro-nutrients, atmospheric gases, suspended sediments, and passive plankton, an understanding of the basics of physical oceanography and the atmospheric dynamics driving the ocean is essential for understanding the biology, chemistry, and geologic setting of the ocean.

Professor McPhee-Shaw teaches the physical oceanography curriculum at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. MS-142 is the introductory course and is one of MLML’s core curriculum classes. Because MLML students are involved in such a wide array of marine research, this class is aimed at an interdisciplinary group of students. Nonetheless, the backbone of the course is an understanding of how we apply Newton’s laws to the motion of water on a rotating planet, and students are expected to learn how to use basic physics and mathematics in solving problems and understanding ocean circulation, waves, and tides. Since air masses are governed by fundamentally the same forces that drive water masses, and the earth’s wind field predominantly drives the ocean’s surface circulation, we start out considering both the atmosphere and the ocean. Of course, ocean transport of heat affects the atmosphere to such an extent (think of the Gulf Stream’s poleward transport of heat and its role in keeping Europe’s climate mild) that we can’t just “start” with the atmosphere. However, in this course we try to bring things back to the simplest physical concepts possible, and students get used to assessing pressure and buoyancy gradients at both small and large scales and thinking about how to predict the resulting fluid motions.

Dr. McPhee-Shaw started at MLML in fall, 2004, so the curriculum is undergoing revision, but graduate courses include “Methods in oceanographic data analysis” (MS263), “Advanced Physical Oceanography/Ocean Circulation and Mixing” (MS 261), and a new course entitled “Coastal Dynamics” co-taught with Dr. Ivano Aiello. Dr. McPhee-Shaw will be offering a new course in Fall 2008 entitled "Physiology and Fluid Mechanics" (i.e. the mechanics of swimming and flying). This will be co-taught with Dr. Lara Ferry-Graham. Dr. McPhee-Shaw also co-taught, with Ferry-Graham and Ebert, a graduate seminar on Large Marine Ecosystems.

Students who do a masters degree within the Physical Oceanography lab tend to be those who are interested in working in applied and interdisciplinary studies. For example, a student might choose to measure the currents around a kelp forest in order to determine the advection of material in and out of the kelp canopy at a variety of time scales. In this case, a student would also work closely with Dr. Graham and students in the phycology lab. A student might wish to examine tidal and subtidal (lower frequency than the tide) currents and their role in transport of sediment and other constituents over the shelf and or Monterey Canyon, or focus on internal tides and internal bores. Students in this discipline may examine the physical dynamics affecting nutrient transport, phytoplankton blooms, or certain aspects of coastal marine chemistry. Interdisciplinary, applied research is the typical approach here at MLML, but that does not preclude a thesis that looks only at physical oceanographic questions, or one that delves more into an instrumentation-methods question.

Moss Landing is at the heart of Monterey Bay. This gives us close proximity to Elkhorn Slough, the Monterey Canyon and nearby continental shelf and slope, upwelling centers to the north and south of the Bay, and interesting nearshore environments including a gradient in wave energy and highly productive ecosystem, and enables us to find fascinating and often poorly understood oceanographic dynamics right outside our door. We are also positioned in the middle of a group of other distinguished research institutions including the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey (http://www.oc.nps.navy.mil/), the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (http://www.mbari.org) right here in Moss Landing, and UC Santa Cruz (http://oceansci.ucsc.edu/) and the U S Geological Survey in Santa Cruz. Because the physical oceanography group is relatively small at MLML, we often collaborate with scientists from these institutions, providing an excellent opportunity for students to gain exposure to a wide array of oceanographic research.

Students interested in applying to MLML and working in the Physical Oceanography lab must contact Dr. McPhee-Shaw directly and should, if possible, visit and get a sense of what we do here. For a great description of student life, particularly regarding funding issues and other such challenges, see Dr. Graham’s website for prospective students (http://phycology.mlml.calstate.edu/, then click on “Graduate Program”).

Home ....... Faculty, Staff and Students.......... Graduate Program ........... Oceanography Links