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Geological and Physical Oceanography

Analytical Thinking
Communication

Course Description

Oceanographic principles of the geological and physical structure, composition, and processes of the ocean with emphasis on general oceanic circulation, water properties, waves and tides, coastal physical processes, turbulent mixing, sediment transport.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
All graduate students will be required to take the two midterms and a comprehensive final and to do homework assignments and all exercises, similar to the undergraduate students. Graduate students will in addition receive more extensive homework assignments and will be required to write a 10-15 page term paper on a current problem in oceanography that we have discussed in lectures.


Athena Title

Geol Phys Oceanography


Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite

PHYS 1112-1112L or PHYS 1212-1212L or PHYS 1252


Semester Course Offered

Offered spring


Grading System

A - F (Traditional)


Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be able to apply their knowledge of physical processes to explain observations of ocean circulation and transport.
  • Students will be able to apply their knowledge of geological processes to explain observations of marine geology and geophysics.
  • Students will be able to integrate their understanding of physical and geological processes in the ocean to interpret and predict earth system function in key regions of the global ocean.
  • Students will be able to analyze ocean data (observations) and solve basic equations to calculate geophysical properties of the earth’s ocean and climate.
  • Students will learn to research, assimilate, analyze, and effectively communicate scientific findings concerning the ocean.

Topical Outline

  • In this course we will learn about the physical and geological processes that shape Earth’s ocean. This course will provide the student with the necessary skills to carry out mathematical calculations while understanding their limitations, and thus giving a physical interpretation of the solutions obtained. Students will explore the scientific literature on a topic of physical and/or geological oceanography of their choice, and through a series of scaffolded assignments, develop and present a summary of research in a short in-class presentation and as a final research paper. We will examine the ocean and atmosphere as a coupled system driven by energy from the Sun and how plate movements influence wind-driven and thermohaline circulation. We will discuss origins and movement of marine sediments, and once we understand the modern ocean, we use this knowledge on basic principles of marine geology to infer ocean and climate changes over geologic time. We will explore coupled atmosphere-ocean processes that regulate climate, and investigate the processes that result in cycles over a range of time and length scales, including the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), ice ages, and the long-term carbon cycle. We will explore waves in deep and shallow systems, and use basic theory to predict how waves respond to changes in bathymetry as they travel. We will then examine how the Earth/Moon/Sun system generates tide-producing forces and contrast equilibrium and dynamic frameworks that describe their variability. We will discuss the physical and geological drivers of coastal, nearshore, and estuarine environments in terms of sea level, terrestrial inputs, sedimentology, and sediment transport. Finally, we will synthesize how this variability of the physical/geological processes that shape Earth’s ocean on large to very small time and length scales, and discuss the impacts of human activities on future oceans and climate. Evolution of the planet, ocean, atmosphere and biosphere Global and ocean heat fluxes; orbitals and ice ages Atmospheric circulation Effects of earth rotation; Coriolis acceleration Ekman layers Wind driven circulation – geostrophic force balance, ocean gyres, vertical structure What we know about ocean circulation during the ice ages Rock cycle, sediments, stratigraphy Shape of ocean basins, observations for plate tectonics Theory of plate tectonics Plate tectonics - consequences in the modern world History of ocean basins and paleo-circulation Properties of seawater Water mass creation and thermohaline circulation Icehouse/Greenhouse Earth: paleo- and altered thermohaline circulation Weathering reactions and long-term global carbon cycle Long-term global carbon cycle, carbonate rocks, shales Sea level over time (effects of tectonics, ice, climate) Waves – characteristics, shallow and deep water waves, conservation of wave energy El Niño and the Southern Oscillation Tides – equilibrium theory, dynamic theory, tidal currents Estuaries, estuarine circulation Coastal stratigraphy and sedimentology (rivers and estuaries) Beach processes, sediment transport Nearshore and estuarine circulation – human impacts El Nino and other decadal cycles - effects on climate Anthropogenic climate change: atmosphere and ocean Future sea level rise and the coasts

Institutional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.


Communication

The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.



Syllabus