Course Description
Laboratory and fieldwork in chemical, biological, sedimentological, and physical oceanographic processes and methods in southeast estuarine, coastal, and shelf environments.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to write a 5-10 page research proposal outlining a research project on a current problem in oceanography.
Athena Title
Field Study in Oceanography
Non-Traditional Format
A field study course taught off-campus.
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will learn the basic physical, chemical, and geological oceanographic processes which operate in the coastal zone. Emphasis will be placed on the interrelationship among the subdisciplines of coastal oceanography,with intensive instruction in laboratory methods and field measurements. Field trips will include day cruises on an oceanographic research vessel and participation in ongoing investigations on estuarine, coastal, and shelf processes. In addition to learning about the basic oceanographic research problems in the nearshore zone, students will also learn about environmental problems inherent to this region. Students will be evaluated on their participation in the lecture, laboratory, and field components and on an independently-designed and executed research project. All undergraduate and graduate students will take the same exams. In addition, graduate students will be required to write a 5-10 page research proposal outlining a research project on a current problem in oceanography. Experiential Learning: This course is at its core experiential. It is taught off-campus at the Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, or at field sites such as Costa Rica, Moorea and Fiji; it gives students hands-on experience with state-of-the-art oceanographic equipment and techniques; and it provides students with the opportunity to work closely with a faculty member to design and carry out a research project, to analyze and synthesize the results, and to communicate those results to other course participants.
Topical Outline
Lectures, laboratory, and field exercises will cover the following topics as they apply to the coastal zone. Emphasis will be placed on interrelationships between physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes, with some consideration of anthropogenic influences on coastal processes. Coastal Physical Oceanographic Processes Tides Wind-Driven Currents Estuarine Processes Stratification Coastal Depositional Processes and Environments Biogeochemical Processes and Cycling In the Coastal Zone Organic Matter Sources and Sinks Diagenesis Origin and Fate of Anthropogenic Compounds in Coastal Regions Benthic Processes Organism-Sediment-Flow Interactions Organism-Geochemical Interactions Bethic Primary Production Water Column Processes Primary and Secondary Production Planktonic Ecosystems Microbial Food Webs Reproductive Ecology/Larval Transport Remote Sensing
Syllabus