Following introductions to the field of physical oceanography and to
the governing equations for oceanographic flows, we describe the inverse
energy cascade of two-dimensional turbulence and observational evidence
for the existence of this cascade in the oceanic mesoscale eddy field.
We discuss numerical results suggesting that bottom friction plays an
important role in arresting the inverse cascade in the ocean --- i.e. in
preventing it from becoming fully developed. We also discuss numerical
results suggesting that bottom friction plays an important role in the
oceanic energy budget. We conclude by describing funded projects
for graduate students; to extend the above results with more realistic
models.
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