Introductory Oceanography Themes Covered in This Course
I. Plate Tectonics, Seafloor
Physiology, and Marine Sediments Theme (Exam 1)
A.
History of Oceanography
1. What were the interests of ancient civilizations in oceanography?
2. Who, and how did the oceans get explored?
3. What were the major questions that early explorers asked about the
oceans?
4. How did early explorers figure out where they were when out of sight of
land?
Specifically, cover
Polynesian exploration, Viking exploration, and Captain Cook’s voyages.
B. Earth Formation
1. Age
of universe/Big Bang theory
2. Age of earth
3. Age of ocean basins
4. How are these ages determined?
5. Where
did the ocean water come from?
6. Evolution
of the atmosphere
C. Earth’s Interior
1. Overall
structure vs depth –crust/mantle/core
2. Temperature
vs depth
3. Crust/mantle/core
D.
1. Names
and locations of oceans, continents, and seas
2. Ocean
basins regions: shelf, slope, rise, ..
3. Major
features on the seafloor
4. Difference
between continents and ocean basins: why are continents higher than the ocean
floor?
5. Life at
mid-ocean ridges
E. Plate Tectonics
1. Theory
of plate tectonics
2. Sea floor Spreading
3. Transform
4. Subduction
5. Relationship between plate boundaries and
observable phenomena
a. Topography
b. Quakes
c. Volcanoes
d.
e. Seafloor age
6. Miscellaneous facts about plate tectonics
a.Age of oldest ocean crust, and where
is it?
b. Be able to draw tectonic map
(rough) of Atlantic and
of the major divergent, convergent, and transform
boundaries.
F. After this
theme, students should be able to:
1. Identify
the continents and ocean basins on a world map
2. Draw an
approximate tectonic map on a gray-scale physiographic map of the world
3. Use
topography, quakes, volcanoes, and age data to identify a plate boundary type.
4. Be
able to argue for the theory of plate tectonics, citing evidence and earth
data.
II. Seawater Properties, Atmosphere and Ocean Circulation
Systems Theme (Exam 2)
A. Properties of Water
1. How
water is special (molecular geometry)
2. Freezing
and boiling points
3. Heat
capacity
4. Latent
heat and transfer of heat through evaporation and condensation
B.
Seawater
and Its Composition
1. Definition
of Salinity
2. Constituents,
major and minor, dissolved gases, nutrients
a. Heat
b. Salts
(major constituents)
c. Dissolved gases
d. Nutrients
e. Trace elements
3. Balance
of constituents:
a. Possible sources and sinks
i. Sun
ii. Atmosphere
iii. Rivers
iv. Mid-ocean ridge
b. Residence time
c. Rivers vs
mid-ocean ridge inputs
4. Transport
of constituents
a. Wind-driven transport
b. Density transport (vertical)
i. Relationship between
density, temperature, and salinity
c. Atmospheric transport
i. Evaporation
ii. Rainfall
iii. Airborne, aerosols
C. Ocean Structure
1.
Vertical structure
a. Thermocline
b. Halocline
c. Pycnocline
d. Latitudinal variations
2.
Classification and distribution of ocean water masses
a. Surface water masses
b. Intermediate water masses
c. Deep water masses
d. Bottom water masses
D.
Atmosphere and Atmospheric Circulation
1. Buoyancy and air density
a. Function of temp, humidity,
2. Vertical
structure. Troposphere, tropopause, etc. Vertical stratification.
3. Average
earth surface temperature and atmospheric heating
4. Overall
circulation pattern, no Coriolis effect
5. Coriolis
effect and circulation
(show Coriolis animations)
6. Quick
scat wind animations
7. Global
circulation pattern (data), circulation cells, height of cells.
8. Wind
zones: “roaring 40’s”, trades, doldrums, horse latitudes.
9. Rainfall
and climate zones
10. Heat
transport by the atmosphere
11. Effect
of continents
12. Monsoons
E. Data Relevant to Atmospheric Circulation
1. Global
average temperatures, hotter at equator
2. Global
winds and wind zones
3. Rainfall
F. Ocean Surface Circulation
1. Wind
driven
a. west wind and trade
wind belts
b. Ekman
spiral
c. Upwelling (now we can explain the cold water in the
eastern part of the ocean basins).
2. Major
patterns of surface circulation –
a. Ocean basin-wide geostrophic gyres
b. Western, eastern, and transverse
surface currents
c. Countercurrents and undercurrents
d. Westward intensification
c. Gulf stream, and
3. El
Nino, caused by air-sea interaction
G.
1. Data
relevant to deep ocean circulation (we know what the constituents are, so let’s
look at some cross-sections and see if we can interpret them).
a. Temperature
b. Salinity
c. Nutrients
d. Dissolved
gases
2. Temperature/Salinity/Density
(review)
3. Shallow
mixing due to wind and Ekman spiral.
4. Deep
circulation patterns
a. Water masses NADW, etc.
b. Speed of deep currents
c. Age of water
5. Thermal
conveyor belt
III. Waves and Shorelines Theme (Exam 3)
A. Classification and Propagation of Ocean Waves
1. Types of ocean waves
2. Wave velocity vs wavelength
2. Deep
and shallow water wave velocities
3. Breaking
waves
4. Refraction, reflection, diffraction
B. Origin and Nature of Wind Waves
1. Storms and their effect of wave size and distribution
2. The
“Force” scale
3. Analyze current wave data
from the web
C. Origin and Nature of Tsunami
1. Triggering
mechanisms and wave behavior
2. Tsunami as a coastal hazard
3. Early detection and warning
D.
Origin and Nature of Tides
1. Earth,
Moon and Sun and tidal patterns
2. Effects of tides on coastal regions
3. Tides and marine life
E. Classification, Anatomy, and Processes of
Shorelines
1. Erosional vs depositional processes and
features
2. Primary vs
secondary types
3. Beaches, terraces, bluffs, and estuaries
F. Effect of Waves on Shorelines
1. Winter and summer beaches (high energy and low energy)
2. Longshore and rip currents and the transport of sand
3. Harbors, seawalls, and other beach structures
4. Coastal
erosion and mitigation
5. Waves
and surfing
IV. Marine Life, Resources, and Environmental Concerns Theme (Final Exam )
A. Classification, evolution, habitats, physical
factors, and nutrient distribution
1. Classification of marine life
a. Plants: phytoplankton
b. Animal
c. Relative biological mass of marine life types
2. Evolution
Theory of marine life
a. Examination of the theory
b. Marine fossil record
c. Explanation, predictions and
significance
3. Marine
Habitats
4. What are the essential conditions that support marine life?
a. Light
i. Photosynthesis and respiration
ii. Penetration of light into seawater
b. Nutrients
i. Oxygen
ii. CO2
iii. Nitrate
iv. Phosphate
v. Cycling of nutrients, food web
c. Sources
and sinks of nutrients
d. Transport
of nutrients
i. Atmosphere
iii. Upwelling and mixing
iv. Sinking and deposition
B. Primary Productivity
1. What is “primary productivity?”
2. Who are the primary producers?
3. Controlling factors and Distribution of
primary production
4. The ocean’s biological pump and it’s
crucial role in sustaining life on this planet
C. Focus on the Various Phyla of Marine Animals
1. Invertebrates
2. Fishes
3. Birds and
reptiles
3. Mammals
D. Communities of Marine Life
1. Open ocean
2. The benthos
3 Shorelines
E. Ocean Fishing Issues
1. What
are the major “fisheries?”
2. Overfishing
a. What is “sustainable”
fishing and what are the parameters that must be considered when planning a
sustainable fishery?
i. Reproduction rate
ii. Harvest rate
iii. Habitat
size
iv. Availability of food source
b. What are some examples of
species that have been overfished and what policies have been implemented to
help the fisheries recover?
i.
ii. Sardine fishery in
iii. Whale harvests
iv. Tuna and swordfish
v. Orange roughy
c. What are some of the fishing techniques that
contribute to loss of species?
i. Drift nets
ii. By-catch issues
iii. Environmental damage to habitat (trawling)
d. What about fish farming?
What are the positive and negative effects of fish farming?
3. Fishing Policies
a. Who are the “stakeholders?”
b. What is “tragedy of the
commons?”
c. Catch limits
d. Marine reserves and “no take
zones”
e.
f. FishBanks game
F.
Non-biological Marine Resources
1. Hydrocarbon deposits
2. Mineral
bottom deposits
3. Dissolved mineral ions
4. Fresh water from desalinization
5. Transportation
6. Recreation
G. Ocean Pollution
1. What is “pollution”?
2. Types of marine pollution
3. Pollution
sources
4. Severity of the problem
5. Possible solutions
H. Climate
1. Equilibrium temperature of earth, a balance between incoming and
outgoing solar energy
2. Greenhouse
effect
3. Climate history from ice cores, tree rings, etc.
4. The climate “system”
5. Climate
feedback
a. Positive and negative feedback
6. Heat transfer from equator to poles: ocean currents vs
atmospheric circulation
7. Carbon cycle and CO2
8. Global warming and melting glaciers and polar ice
I.
Environmental Issues and The
1. Understand how the ocean,
atmosphere, and human activities might influence environmental
systems that
affect the welfare of a specific country.
2. Realize the importance
and responsibility of each individual in making educated choices and
decisions
concerning the health of the ocean and the coastal environment.
3. How to take positive
personal action in doing the right things towards maintaining and improving the
health of the
ocean and the coastal environment.