An interactive course in numerical methods for the earth sciences

Physical oceanography and atmospheric science are becoming more and more dependent on numerical simulation, modeling, and computationally intensive data analysis. Traditionally, students in these fields received a strong background in mathematics, physics, and the earth sciences but little background in modeling. They arrive with a variety of backgrounds but require a hands-on acquaintance with a wide range of practical numerical methods fairly early in their graduate education. The authors have written a self-paced, computer-based course at the first year graduate-last year undergraduate level on numerical modeling for earth science students. The course is Web based with explanations, interactive examples, and codes available on-line. Students are required to investigate numerical solutions and modify existing skeleton code. Upon completing the course they have an understanding of the properties of numerical schemes and a set of numerical tools directly relevant to their research.