Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute Introduction Video
Class B Fire Prop
Common Core Courses:
Scientific Programming (ISC 5305) and Applied Computational Science-1, ACS-1 (ISC 5315) is the core set.
Physical science and mathematically prepared students who are interested in the environment and natural systems; meteorology students interested in the role of aerosols, particulates, and gases emitted by forest fires and prescribed burning; physics or engineering students desiring to apply their knowledge to combustion in a natural environment, wildland fire experts who desire to further their academic career, computationally oriented students who desire a problem of direct importance to society, management and agency personnel who deal with the impact of wildland fires.
There is a long history of studies on the ecological effects of fire, and some work in engineering setting on the mechanisms of fire generation and propagation. However, to our knowledge there is no other formal PhD framework for the study of fire in a degree program as a fluid dynamical phenomenon, with complex physical, chemical, and turbulent interactions with the environment.
Major requirements will be ISC5305, ISC5315, Fire Dynamics core courses plus 12 credit hours from the elective courses.
Fire Dynamics core courses:
GFD 5936 Advanced Topics in Fire Dynamics. May be repeated for up to 4 semester hours.
This graduate seminar course will expose students to a set of selected topics in fire dynamics research through a variety of methods(group discussion of ongoing student research, faculty research, and outside speakers). Students will additionally prepare and present a short research presentation suitable for a conference.
Topics will be drawn from different disciplines of fire dynamics, including fluid dynamics, meteorology, physics, computational sciences, ecology, forestry.
Interested graduate students from related natural sciences (Physics, Meteorology, Environmental Sciences or Studies, Biology, Geosciences, or Chemistry, etc.) are welcome. Instructor permission required.
GFD5500L Fire Dynamics Field School Research and Operations in Prescribed Fire - 3 credits
This course will provide a multidisciplinary hands-on apprenticeship to the field methods most commonly used in prescribed fire. It will give graduate students the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of the complexity of weather and the atmospheric boundary layer and fire as a fluid system, and its dynamics through the active participation in prescribed fire field research, operations, organizational and management concepts. It is an entry-level preparation for students considering a career in fire dynamics, fire science and management. This course represents a "real-world" practical project experience with time and budget constraints. Students will propose field measurements and produce a short research paper, and present scientific results
Students will have the opportunity to learn and practice basic land survey techniques, basic site fuels evaluation, basic preparation of burn units, public outreach activities via the project website, and involvement in the organizational and logistic requirements of staging and operating a field project. Students will be introduced to, and work with, various types of surveying, photographic, video, and computer equipment during the course of the field school.
Interested graduate students from related natural sciences (Physics, Meteorology, Environmental Sciences or Studies, Biology, Geosciences, or Chemistry, etc.) are welcome.
Graduate Courses
GFD 6905r Directed Individual Study (3). (S/U grade only.) May be repeated to a maximum of (48) semester hours.
GFD 6915r Supervised Research (1-5). (S/U grade only.) May be repeated to a maximum of five semester hours.
GFD 6925 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Colloquium (1). (S/U grade only.)
GFD 6935r Seminar (1-2). (S/U grade only.) May be repeated to a maximum of two (2) semester hours.
GFD 6980r Dissertation (1-12). A student may not enroll for GFD 6980r prior to passing the
preliminary (comprehensive) examination. Students must establish their ability to handle modern computer techniques applicable to their research.
GFD 8964r Doctoral Preliminary Examination (0). (P/F grade only)
GFD 8985r Dissertation Defense (0). (P/F grade only)
(Existing applied math, fluid dynamics, meteorology, engineering, and chemistry courses.)
Elective Courses:
Engineering
Viscous fluid flows, turbulent flows, introduction to computational mechanics, water resources and environmental engineering, hydraulics, hydrology, ground water, and Combustion.
Courses: CEG 5125,5415, 5515, 5635; ECH 5934r, EGM 5456,5810, 6845; EML 5422, ENV 5045.
Geological Sciences
Geophysics, geomechanics, geophysical methods, seismology, modeling of groundwater flow, hydrology.
Courses: GLY 5425, 5455, 5465, 5556, 5573, 5575, 5825, 5826, 5827, 5868r.
Mathematics
Numerical analysis, vector and tensor analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations, matrix algebra, integral transforms and asymptotics, perturbation theory, hydrodynamic stability, wave propagation theory.
Courses: MAD 5708, 5738, 5739, 6408r; MAP 5207, 5217, 5345, 5346, 5423, 5431, 5441, 5512,
5513, 6434r, 6437r, 6939r.
Meteorology
Atmospheric thermodynamics, atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric circulation, weather prediction, satellite observations and remote sensing.
Courses: MET 5311,5312, 5340r, 5471, 5541r, 6308r, 6561r.
Oceanography
Stability of geophysical fluid flows, turbulence.
Courses: OCP 5056, 5253, 5256, 5271, 5285, 5551, 5930r, OCE 5009L.
Physics
Magnetohydrodynamics, principles of thermodynamics, mechanics, electricity and magnetism, theoretical dynamics, electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, astrophysics/combustion.
Courses: PHY 5246, 5346, 5347, 5524.
Statistics
Computational methods in statistics, statistical procedures for the natural sciences, statistical inference, probability, multivariate analysis, stochastic processes, applied time series analysis. Courses: STA 5106, 5206, 5326, 5327, 5440, 5447, 5807r.
Scientific Computing
Numerical methods, scientific visualization, scientific computing, Applied Computational Science II. Courses: ISC 5226, 5227, 5228, 5307, 5316