Basic aspects of oceanography: ocean basins and plate tectonics, shallow and deep ocean circulation, waves and tides, marine biology and ecology, marine sediments, chemistry of seawater, paleoceanography, and environmental oceanography.
Athena Title
Elementary Oceanography
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to critically evaluate scientific information related to marine geology, physical, biological, chemical, and paleoceanography by assessing sources, analyzing data, and synthesizing evidence before forming conclusions about oceanographic processes and issues.
Students will be able to apply scientific reasoning and problem-solving skills to interpret oceanographic data, analyze environmental challenges, and develop solutions to real-world issues such as climate change, marine resource management, and ocean acidification.
Students will be able to communicate oceanographic concepts effectively in written, oral, and visual formats by constructing clear arguments, presenting scientific findings, and engaging in discussions about marine science and its global significance.
Students will analyze the interconnectedness of oceanographic systems and their influence on global communities, economies, and ecosystems, recognizing the interdependence between human activities and marine environments.
Students will synthesize knowledge across multiple disciplines by integrating concepts from geology, chemistry, physics, and biology to develop innovative approaches for addressing contemporary oceanographic challenges.
Students will collaborate effectively in scientific inquiry and problem-solving, leveraging diverse perspectives and collective strengths to explore oceanographic phenomena and propose sustainable solutions for marine environmental issues.
Topical Outline
This course on Oceanography examines human activities that
include fishing by lines, nets, and dredges, overfishing of
marine ecosystems, human impacts on coral reefs, offshore
drilling, pollution, and waste disposal in the ocean. In this
context, it examines how cultural, economic, or political forces
lead to these activities and how they influence enactment of
solutions and remediation. Exercises examine data about human
impacts, such as overfishing, and their geopolitical context.
Overview of human interaction with the oceans
The seafloor and ocean basins
Ocean currents and human harvesting of their mechanical energy
Waves, their impact on coastlines, and human harvesting of their
mechanical energy
Tides and human harvesting of their mechanical energy
Marine ecosystems:
Natural and anthropogenically-influenced cycling of nutrients,
and the economic drivers of the latter
Changes in nutrient availability with warming of the sea surface
Marine organisms and human influences on them
Fishing and overfishing, and geopolitical constraints on
solutions
Coral reefs and effects of warming and acidification on them
Vent and seep ecosystems, effects of subsea mining on them,
and the economics of such mining
Paleoceanography and responses of the oceans to climate change
in the Quaternary period
Oceans of the future in response to anthropogenic climate change
and acidification
