Geophysics

Type of degree: Ph.D.

Brief overview of program: Geophysics emphasizes the application of general principles of mathematics and experimental physics to fundamental problems of the oceans, oceanic and continental lithosphere, and crust and deep interior of the Earth. Research interests of the group include: observational and theoretical studies of electric and magnetic fields in the oceans and on the land; paleomagnetism; theoretical seismology with special emphasis on the structure of the Earth from free-oscillation and body wave studies; broadband observational seismology, including ocean bottom and multichannel seismology; earthquake source mechanisms; the measurements of slow crustal deformations using satellite and observatory methods on continents and in the oceans; marine geodynamics and tectonophysics; gravity measurements; geophysical inverse theory; magnetohydrodynamics of the core of the Earth; geophysical instrumentation for oceanic and continental geophysical measurements; acoustic propagation in the oceans.A central intellectual challenge of physical oceanography is understanding the range of space and time scales that are involved. For example, it is difficult to imagine that the same wind that blows leaves across a lawn is responsible for driving the surface circulation of the Pacific Ocean, yet it is true. Centimeter capillary ripples roughen the sea surface so that the atmosphere can grip the water and produce wind waves. Some of these waves propagate to distant beaches where they break as surf, and transport sediment. But surface waves also deposit momentum into the deeper ocean, driving ocean gyres within which water spirals for decades. On even longer times scales- -centuries to millennia- -the entire stratification of the ocean changes in response to cooling at the poles and evaporation in the tropics. To observe these processes physical oceanographers use a combination of acoustical, optical, satellite, and in situ measurements. Recent technological advances, such as autonomous sampling and acoustic tomography, are producing an increasingly detailed picture of the three-dimensional ocean circulation. Because of these new technologies, oceanic processes that are now seen dimly, or not at all, will be uncovered. Understanding this exciting new data with powerful computer models, fluid mechanics, and modern descriptive tools is the future of physical oceanography.

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Email: siodept@sio.ucsd.edu

Phone: 858-534-3206