This introductory course surveys four broad topics:

  • Marine Geology: The forces that shape our Earth and its global ocean;听
  • Physical Oceanography: The forces that move our oceans;听
  • Marine Biology: The flora and fauna that inhabit our oceans;听
  • Global Climate Change: The anthropogenic forces that are impacting oceans.

You will quickly learn that there is significant overlap and interdependence between these disciplines.听

Oceanography is not just about facts and figures. Below are some fundamental concepts that form the core of the science that you must learn in order to understand the basic processes operating in the oceans. These concepts by no means cover everything that you are expected to learn, but rather form a foundation of fundamental principles and ideas. Some of these concepts will probably be familiar to you, but perhaps their application to oceanography will be new. You will find that many of the concepts are applicable to multiple aspects of oceanography and will appear repeatedly during the course.

Learning Objectives

  • Draw conclusions from oceanic data by interpreting plots and graphs;
  • Be able to use logic, data, reasoning, critical thinking, and/or the scientific method to formulate and/or answer a question that is posed about oceanic systems;
  • Apply principles from the course to inform everyday choices relating to our oceans and our climate;听
  • Develop an enthusiasm for the skills and perspectives of all fields within oceanic science.

In this course, you will

  • Investigate the interrelationships of geological, physical, biological, and chemical processes found in our oceans;
  • Investigate and derive a 鈥渧iew鈥� of our planet鈥檚 density stratified interior using opportunistic seismic events;听outline the history and physics of plate tectonics;听and analyze/predict the unique propagational tendencies of compressional (P type), surface, and transverse (S type) seismic waves;
  • Graph ocean thermal, density, and salinity profiles and investigate the resultant vertical stratification;听investigate and predict tidal variations caused by the sun and the moon;听analyze the energy coupling of the atmosphere and ocean and mathematically calculate the characteristics of wave propagation;听derive the directions and intensity of the ocean currents from wind driven Ekmann transport and dynamic topography;听and听trace the refraction of underwater sound in response to varying ocean temperatures;听听
  • Investigate the sources of ocean primary production and analyze the upper trophic levels that rely so critically on its success;听outline and profile the remarkable taxonomic diversity of the ocean鈥檚 major invertebrate phyla;听and听identify marine mammal types (baleen and toothed whales) from recorded underwater vocalizations.