From 25 to 29 July, the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics (SOED) invited research scientist Hou Yijun from Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences to deliver the summer session of 2022 Ocean-Star Open Course “Ocean DynamicsⅠ”. This open course was given in offline classroom while some students participated via a video link. More than 150 young researchers and students from universities and research institutions including Zhejiang University, Xiamen University, Ocean University of China, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, South University of Science and Technology of China and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology attended the course.

Group photo of the open course Ocean Dynamics Ⅰ

Dr. Hou Yijun has set a solid theoretical foundation and accumulated rich teaching experience in ocean dynamics. He was good at explaining the profound theories in simple language, and building a humorous, relaxing and intriguing atmosphere. Using simple paper and water bottle rotation experiments, Dr. Hou vividly demonstrated the influence of Coriolis force and rotation effect of earth on the dynamics of homogeneous flow. In the subsequent courses, Dr. Hou used succinct mathematical equations to present clear derivations, focusing on teaching the homogeneous flow and stratified flow dynamics. He derived dispersion relation of motion equations through dimensional analysis, static approximation, Boussinesq approximation, Fourier transform, etc., so that students can understand the basic fluctuations in the earth's fluids (gravitational waves, internal gravitational waves, inertial waves, Rossby waves, etc.), and appreciate the beauty of ocean dynamic equations.

Dr. Hou uses a water bottle to explain the Coriolis force and rotation effect of earth on the dynamics of homogeneous flow

In addition, Dr. Hou also patiently answered the questions raised by the offline and online students, including the observation and data analysis of ocean waves, the generation mechanism of baroclinic Rossby, and the resonance of wind and waves. During the open course, Dr. Hou always emphasized that ocean dynamics is equivalent to advanced mathematics in marine science, so students majoring in marine sciences should build a solid foundation in this subject, so that they could experience the tranquility and beauty of ocean dynamics, solidifying their theoretical foundation for future scientific research.

SOED plans to organize Ocean Dynamics Ⅱ in October, and we welcome students and young researchers who are interested in this subject to register with the relative open courses. The notice of the subsequent course information will be posted on the official website and WeChat Public Account of SOED.