A&O SCI 201AGeophysical Fluid Dynamics I
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences · 4 units · Graduate courses (200-299)
Fundamental equations of motion. Atmospheric and oceanic approximations. Rotating reference frame. Density stratification. Geostrophic adjustment and balance. Potential vorticity conservation. Vortex dynamics. Acoustic, gravity, inertial, Rossby, and Kelvin waves. Barotropic and baroclinic instability. Ekman boundary layers. Oceanic wind gyres: Sverdrup balance and western boundary currents.
Letter grading.
When it runs
Not on the schedule for any of Fall 2025 through Spring 2027. UCLA publishes only that window, so this does not mean the course is gone — check the official listing.
Requisites
UCLA lists no requisites for this course.
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
Nothing — this is an entry point.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
A&O SCI 201A
- A&O SCI 201BGeophysical Fluid Dynamics II
- A&O SCI 211Planetary Wave Dynamics and Teleconnections in Atmosphere/Ocean
- A&O SCI 216BWave Motions in Tropical Atmosphere
- A&O SCI 212ANumerical Methods in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
- A&O SCI 212BNumerical Modeling of Atmosphere I
2 courses list this as a requisite. The whole downstream is here — 6 courses over 2 levels. Every course here opens its own tree.