Course Description:
This course deals with
aspects of geology, chemistry, physics, climatology, environmental science
and biology as they apply to the oceans. Its goal is to present science in
a social context and to give students the foundation needed to be intelligent
participants in important societal discussions that involve environmental
issues touching on oceans, climate and coastal zones. The course meets for three 50-minute lectures per week. There will be 3 exams and a term project required. Earth Science
120 has no prerequisites.
Major topics covered include:
- history of ocean use and oceanographic investigations
- origin of the Earth and its oceans
- geography and physiography of ocean basins
- evolution of ocean basins (plate tectonics)
- oceanic sediment and sediment transport mechanisms
- ocean chemistry
- physical characteristics of ocean water
- surface and subsurface circulation of ocean waters
- ocean-atmosphere interactions (including climate, monsoons,
hurricanes, and El Niño events)
- origin and description of waves and tides
- coastlines and their management
- marine organisms and their classification
- marine ecology and ecosystem description
- oceanic resources (physical, chemical and biological)
- pollution of the oceans (environmental issues)
Course Objectives:
- The goals for this
course are fairly simple. We would like to communicate the basics of the subject
of oceanography, of course, but more importantly, we want to make you more
aware of the principles that control the physical world around you. Understanding
how the earth-atmosphere-ocean system functions will give you the background
to deal with real-world problems such as coastline management (including hurricane
damage), the occurrence and prediction of earthquakes and volcanic hazards,
global warming and its consequences, ozone destruction, ocean pollution (including
tanker spills), how to blame almost everything bad in your life on "El
Niño", and similar topics. We also hope to dispel the notion that
science is mystical, obscure, unfathomable, frightening or useless. We would
like you to work with real data and see that science represents
a systematic gathering of direct observations that are then interpreted through
a series of hypotheses and theories until more polished and satisfying "laws"
are established. Science is a process of observing, interpreting and, most
of all, continually questioning even its most fundamental concepts.
- Although we
will be pointing out in lectures those things that we feel are important for
you to know, our major interest is for you to learn some of the generally
useful language (terminology) that scientists and engineers use to communicate
about oceanographic matters, to learn the fundamental principles that govern
global marine processes, and to understand how those principles relate to
environmental and social problems of our time.
So jump into Oceanography — you might
just enjoy it!
For more detailed information click on
one of the index topics (at left) -- some topics (such as course notes and exam
banks) are only available from on-campus sites.
