Ocean Sciences - Winter 1999

[OCEA-001-01][OCEA-080B-01][OCEA-101-01][OCEA-140-01][OCEA-240-01][OCEA-280-01]

This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to oceanography focusing on biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes. It covers topics including: origins and structure of planet Earth and its oceans; co-evolution of Earth and life; plate tectonics; liquid water and the hydrologic and hydrothermal cycles; salinity and elemental cycles; ocean circulation; primary production and nutrient cycles; plankton and nekton; life on the sea floor; near shore and estuarine communities; future environmental problems our oceans face.

This class may be credited toward the General Education Code: IN requirement. Students whom have taken, or may wish to take, the Earth Sciences 1 oceanography course may receive credit for both classes.

For more details on this course, check out the OCEA 1 class web site and syllabus <http://wwwcatsic.ucsc.edu/~mari1/> from last year.

We focus on the development of Earth as a habitable planet, from its origins to human impacts on global geochemical cycles in the ocean and atmosphere. We seek to define the scientific basis for understanding the magnitudes and temporal scales of these effects.

You are expected to have a background equivalent to high school chemistry and to have passed Subject A if enrolling for W credit.

General Education Codes: T2, W elective

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Course # GEN ED

OCEA-080B-01 Topical Course in Nat Sci

OCEA-080B-02 Topical Course in Nat Sci and Writing Intensive

REQUIRED SECTIONS: Sign up for Day/Time

PLEASE NOTE: This class focuses on the development of Earth as a habitable planet, from its origins to human impacts on global geochemical cycles in the ocean and atmosphere. We seek to define the basis for understanding the magnitudes and temporal scales of these effects. Our emphasis is on the scientific causes and explanations of these effects. This is not a class about policy, public or private, to ameliorate these changes, however, the discussion sections may deal with policy issues.

Course Reading Material:

Mackenzie, R. T., (1998). Our Changing Planet - An Introduction to Earth System Science and Global Environmental Change, Prentice Hall.

Lovelock, J., (1988). The Ages of Gaia - A Biography of Our Living Earth, W. W. Norton and Company.

Course Requirements (all sections):

Attendance at lectures.

Attendance and participation in weekly discussion sections, including participation in preparation and presentation of section project.

Three (3) short (1.5 - 2 pages of text) written assignments; PLUS two (2) longer (4 - 5 pages of text) written assignments. Text is to be double-spaced, typewritten (preferably using a word processor), with a reference list and pertinent figures or tables for each paper.

Mid-term exam

Final exam

Course Evaluations will be based on your performance on these requirements.

Additional requirements for general education code "W" section will be explained in section meetings. Writing intensive students will also be evaluated based upon their revisions and interactions with the writing tutor.

COURSE SYLLABUS

INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW

EARTH'S EARLY DEVELOPMENT Elemental synthesis and solar system formation Earth's formation and segregation

A DYNAMIC EARTH Plate tectonics Origin of oceans and atmosphere Evolution of life and atmosphere

GAIA Introduction to Daisyworld Evolution of atmospheric composition

DYNAMIC GLOBAL CYCLES Elemental and global carbon cycles Hydrologic and hydrothermal cycles

After the Warming I

MIDTERM EXAM

DYNAMIC CLIMATE CYCLES Glacial-Interglacial Cycles Rapid Climate Change

GREENHOUSE EFFECT Chemistry, causes, and global warming

SOILS, FORESTS & DEFORESTATION

After the Warming II

CATASTROPIC EVENTS Mass Extinctions Volcanic effect on climate

ACID RAIN Chemistry, causes and effects

STRATOSPHERIC OZONE DEPLETION Chemistry, causes and effects

CATCH-UP / REVIEW

PRESENTATIONS OF SECTION PROJECTS

FINAL EXAM

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the marine environment stressing the interaction of physical, chemical, geological and biological factors in the ocean. The course provides the oceanographic background for studies in marine biology.

Prerequisites: Chemistry 1C, Physics 6B or 7B, and Mathematics 11B or 19B.

Students taking the prerequisite physics and math courses concurrently may enroll in the course with permission from the instructor.

The instructor is Professor Ken Bruland <http://natsci.ucsc.edu/acad/oceansci/kwbCV.html>.

For more details, check out the class web site and syllabus <http://wwwcatsic.ucsc.edu/~ocea101/> from last year.

This course provides a discussion of selected topics in marine pelagic ecology, especially regarding physical and biological factors affecting production in marine food chains, adaptations to the pelagic habitat, and the distribution of planktonic organisms.

Prerequisite: Biology 20B is required, plus one additional marine science course is recommended as preparation.

Undergraduates should enroll in OCEA 140. (Also offered as Biology 146. Students may not receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to seniors, or juniors may enroll with permission of the instructor.

Graduate students should enroll in OCEA 240. (They may not receive credit for OCEA 240 if they've already taken OCEA 140/BIOL 146.)

The instructor is Professor Mary Silver <http://natsci.ucsc.edu/acad/oceansci/mwsCV.html>.

For more details, check out the class web site and syllabus <http://natsci.ucsc.edu/acad/oceansci/os140.html> from last year.

BIOL 146: Biological Oceanography .

Also offered as Ocean Sciences 140. See the OCEA 140 description for details, or check out the class web site and syllabus <http://natsci.ucsc.edu/acad/oceansci/os140.html> from last year.

Professor: Peggy Delaney, Ocean Sciences
E-Mail: delaney@ucsc.edu
Office: A450 EMS
Phone: 9-4736

COURSE OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

overview of marine geology
morphology of provinces and the ocean basins

PLATE TECTONICS

paleomagnetism and age of the oceanic crust
major plates, types of plate boundaries
seismicity, heat flow, volcanism, driving mechanisms

OCEANIC SEDIMENTS

ocean biogeochemical cycles and ocean sediments
distribution in space and time -- plate stratigraphy
calcium carbonate sediments and the CCD
opaline silica sedimentation
detrital, authigenic, organic sediments
particle flux and sediment transport

INTERSTITIAL WATERS IN MARINE SEDIMENTS

SEDIMENT DATING

SEDIMENT MIXING BY ORGANISMS

OCEANIC CRUST AND LITHOSPHERE
evidence about structure: seismic, ophiolites, drilling and dredging models of ridge processes hydrothermal activity

CONTINENTAL MARGINS
classification and distribution of continental margins active and passive margins, sea level

PALEOCEANOGRAPHY
goals and methods, climate history of the last 3 m.y. climate and ice volume history of the past 100 m.y. paleogeographies and past ocean circulation

OVERVIEW AND THE FUTURE

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Problem sets (3)

Leading scheduled class discussions of journal articles (at least once for undergraduates, at least once plus a discussion overview for graduate students)

Participation in class discussions

Preparation of one set of weekly study questions (graduate students)

Mid-term exam

Take-home final exam

Proposal and oral presentation of proposal

Evaluations will be based on performance on above requirements, on overall participation in class and discussion section, and on comprehension of course material demonstrated in interactions with instructor and teaching assistant. The lecture and discussion information is critical to your understanding and performance in this class.

COURSE READINGS:

The Ocean Basins: Their Structure and Evolution (Open University Course Team, Pergamon Press, 1989)

Ocean Chemistry and Deep-Sea Sediments (Open University Course Team, Pergamon Press, 1989)

Earth Sciences 102/Ocean Sciences 280 Course Reader, selection of journal articles forming the basis of in-class, student-led discussions

Revised 7/27/04.