2024-04-08 - 2024-04-12
Norbert Frank
Heidelberg University
The Ocean plays a key role in the climate system as heat engine and giant chemical powerplant. Here, I will introduce physical oceanography from its historical foundation to its present challenges and regarding future ocean warming and global change. Starting with the heat, friction, and density forcing we will derive and explore the motion fields from the surface to the abyss. Subsequently, we plunge into the marine chemical and biological cycles from the sources of matter via its transformation to its sinks. Finally, we will discover that the inherent coupling of the Ocean's thermal, motion, and matter states lead to solely two semi-stable natural climate states. These are expressed in the mean Earth surface temperature, global ice volume, and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration over the past 800'000 years. But how does the future Ocean state fit in the picture?
