Course Description
This course helps students develop an understanding of the ocean and the dynamic interactions with other Earth systems. Students will learn about the geological, chemical, biological and physical factors affecting the Earth and ocean. Current issues such as climate change, sea level rise, and chemical pollution will be examined. A field trip may be required.
Course Content
- Origin of the oceans: big bang, galaxies, solar nebula, earth formation, outgassing, early life, oceans on other planets.
- History of ocean science: voyages of discovery and colonization, Cook, Ross, Wilkes, Maury, Challenger expedition, Beagle voyages, Nansen, Meteor cruises, military-derived ocean technology, ocean drilling programs.
- Plate tectonics and ocean basins: tectonic plates, earthquakes, Earth’s layers, age of the Earth, Alfred Wegener’s ideas, evidence for plate tectonics, plate boundaries (divergent, convergent, transform), bathymetry and seafloor mapping, continental shelf / slope / rise, abyssal plain, trenches, ridges.
- Ocean sediments and rocks: sediments types (particle size, source), distribution, composition, thickness, sedimentary record, ocean floor rock types.
- Water: chemical bonds, heat capacity, density and temperature, salinity, moderation of atmospheric temperature, salinity / temperature / latitude, density layers, water masses, refraction of light and sound, light penetration spectrum, water as solvent, seawater composition, gases, chemical equilibrium.
- Atmospheric circulation: composition and density, solar heating variation, Coriolis Effect, circulation cells, on/offshore winds, storms, monsoons, hurricanes.
- Ocean circulation: effect of winds, Ekman spiral, gyres, boundary currents, countercurrents/undercurrents, upwelling, downwelling, Langmuir circulation, ENSO, La Nina, thermohaline circulation.
- Waves: characteristics, effect of wind/depth/interference, refraction, diffraction, reflection, internal waves, storm surges, tsunamis, oscillations in confined areas.
- Tides: gravity and inertia, amphidromic points, patterns of tides, tidal currents.
- Coasts and estuaries: erosional and depositional coastlines, beaches, deltas, estuaries, reefs, islands.
- Life in the oceans: physical and chemical factors, productivity, ecology, ecosystems, plankton, algae, plants, animals, Carbon / nitrogen / phosphorus cycles, coral and other reefs, life at hydrothermal vents.
- Resources of the ocean: law of the sea, petroleum, methane hydrates, minerals, fish and other life, whales.
- Contemporary issues: waste disposal (industrial and residential), sea-level rise, increasing ocean temperatures, decreasing biodiversity, eutrophication, coral bleaching, oil spills, national control of resources.
- Labs may cover the following topics:
- Use of maps and graphs to describe and interpret data.
- Bathymetry
- Sea floor spreading.
- Tides.
- Materials of the sea floor (sediments and rocks).
- Sea water temperatures.
- Salinity
- Currents, waves.
- Life in the sea, food webs.
- Productivity, nutrients.
- Seawater chemistry
- Minerals and Rocks.
Learning Activities
Lecture, lab, possible field trip. Text and other readings will be assigned.
Means of Assessment
| Participation |
0-10% |
| Lab assignments |
10-30% |
| Term paper or project |
10-30% |
| Term exam(s) and/or quizzes |
30-50% |
| Final exam |
30% |
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Appreciate the interaction of ocean, atmosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.
- Describe the circulation systems of the atmosphere, ocean and mantle.
- Identify and describe the materials of the ocean, atmosphere and lithosphere.
- Understand the major physical, chemical and biological processes occurring within the ocean.
- Illustrate ocean science concepts using maps, graphs, and other methods.
- Conduct simple directed experiments and explain purpose, procedures and results.
- Discuss contemporary environmental issues using knowledge of ocean sciences.
Textbook Materials
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
Survey course text for oceanography or ocean science:
- e.g. Garrison, T., Oceanography, An Invitation to Marine Science, Brooks/Cole; latest edition.
- e.g. Segar, Douglas A., Introduction to Ocean Sciences, W.W.Norton; latest edition.