PDF of this syllabus, including Critical Concepts (pdf)
Meets: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm, Benson 180
Professor: Tom Marchitto, tom.marchitto@colorado.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 2-4 pm, Benson 435
Text: Garrison, Oceanography: An Invitation to Marine Science, 6th edition. This text is highly recommended as a supplement to the lectures, but is not strictly required. You will not need to use the online resources for this book.
Prerequisites: any two-course sequence of natural science core courses
Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science (3 credits)
Course description: Investigates the broad-scale features and dynamics of the Earth’s oceans. The course is roughly divided amongst the four main disciplines of oceanography: marine geology, marine chemistry, physical oceanography (i.e., circulation), and marine biology. Students will learn that there is much overlap and interdependence between these disciplines. Specific topics include seafloor spreading, marine sediments, salinity, biogeochemical cycles, ocean structure, currents, waves, tides, primary production, marine ecology, global warming, and much more.
Grading: 25% homework, 40% midterm exams, 25% final exam, 10% clicker questions. Letter grades for exams will be based on class-wide curves. Homeworks and clicker questions will not be curved.
Homework: Five homework assignments will allow students to apply what they have learned in class to practical problems. These problem sets are not intended to simply prepare students for exams, but rather are intended to develop problem solving and quantitative skills that are not tested on exams. Some basic (high school level) math and critical thinking will therefore be required. Assignments are to be handed in during class. Late assignments will lose 10% credit per day (not per class meeting). Assignments will be available online as pdf files. Download free Adobe pdf Reader here, if necessary.
Exams: There will be three midterm exams (20% each), but students may drop their lowest midterm grade. The final, which is cumulative, cannot be dropped. Exams will test students’ understanding of oceanographic concepts and facts, and will be mostly multiple choice plus several short-answer questions. Exams missed due to illness may only be made up if a doctor's note is provided.
Exam 1 basic lecture outline (pdf)Clickers: The use of clickers (iClicker, available at the CU Bookstore) is intended to promote student learning by informing the professor what the students are thinking, and by providing a forum for students to learn from each other. The clicker technology allows for the engagement of all students, allows for increased course-related communication between students, and facilitates the feedback loop between students and professor. Most lectures will require you to answer several questions using the clicker, typically on new concepts arising in class. You will receive two points for answering the question, plus (usually) one additional point for a correct answer. Your five lowest clicker scores (i.e., from five class days) will be dropped from your final clicker score. This five class credit is intended to cover those days when your clicker is misplaced or out of order, and days when you cannot attend class for whatever reason. Clicker questions will start in lecture on Thursday 1/15 and will begin counting toward your grade on Tuesday 1/20.
Tutoring: Geological Sciences graduate students are available for free tutoring related to this course and other GEOL courses, M-Th, 12-4 pm, Benson 1B57 (basement level).
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Religious or other obligations: If you have any conflicts with scheduled exams because of religious or other obligations, please notify me at least two weeks in advance of the conflict to request special accommodation. See Registrar's policy on final exam conficts (three on same day).
Disabilities: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services within the first two weeks of class, so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
Note on academic honesty: Students are allowed to work together on homework problems, but are not allowed to simply copy each other’s work. Copying constitutes cheating under the CU Honor Code.
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T 1/13:
Oceans and oceanography
world ocean, origin, history of oceanography, challenges
1.1-1.3; 2.6-2.7
HOV Alvin
WHOI Dive and Discover
Th 1/15:
Ocean bathymetry
concept inventory, electromagnetic spectrum, sonar
6.21-6.26; 4.1-4.12
Interactive global bathymetry (NOAA)
T 1/20:
Ocean crust
layered Earth, ocean vs. continental crust, isostatic equilibrium
3.1-3.10
Interactive isostasy demo
Th 1/22:
Plate tectonics
interior heat, convection, paleomag, hotspots
3.11-3.16; 3.23-3.25
Plate motion from GPS (JPL)
T 1/27:
Plate boundaries
mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones, transforms
3.18-3.22; 4.13-4.19
Plate boundaries map
Th 1/29:
Marine sediments
sizes, Stokes Law, biogenic, terrigenous
5.1-5.19; 17.4-17.5
1st homework due
LDEO Deep-Sea Sample Repository
T 2/3:
Physical properties of seawater
H-bonds, heat capacity, ice, density
6.1-6.13
Th 2/5:
Earth's energy (im)balance
Greenhouse effect, ocean warming, sea ice loss
18.22-18.25
GISS temperature trends
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
T 2/10: First Exam (covers 1/13-2/5, oceans to energy imbalance)
Th 2/12:
Global atmospheric circulation
Coriolis effect, atmospheric cells, geostrophy
8.4-8.13; Appendix V
2nd homework due
T 2/17:
Upper ocean circulation
current measurement, Ekman transport, gyres, ACC
9.22; 9.1-9.6
Th 2/19:
Upwelling and El Niño
coastal and equatorial upwelling, ENSO dynamics
9.10-9.15
NOAA Climate Prediction
IRI's ENSO page
T 2/24:
Deep ocean circulation
vertical structure, thermohaline flow, heat transport
6.15-6.19; 9.16-9.21
Th 2/26:
Waves at sea
wave forces, deep vs. shallow, wind waves, sea state
10.2-10.14
3rd homework due
T 3/3:
Waves at the shore
breaking, refraction, seiche, tsunami
10.1; 10.15-10.16; 10.23-10.29
NOAA Tsunami page
Th 3/5:
Tides
Earth-moon-sun gravitation, amphidromic points
11.1-11.15
T 3/10: Second Exam (covers 2/12-3/5, atmospheric circulation to tides)
Th 3/12:
Coasts
Law of the Sea, beaches, erosion, sea level rise
17.28-17.31; 12.2-12.18; 12.32
4th homework due
T 3/17:
Chemistry of seawater
salinity, steady state, residence time, inputs, outputs
7.1-7.11; 17.7-17.8; 17.12
Periodic table of the elements in the North Pacific
Th 3/19:
Ocean pH and the carbon cycle
fluxes, DIC, alkalinity, pH, acidification
7.15; 7.17; 13.11; 13.21
T 3/24, Th 3/26: Spring Break
T 3/31:
Life in the sea
taxonomy, mobility, adaptations for ocean conditions
13.1-13.2; 13.17; 13.23; Fig. 13.26; 15.20-15.24
Th 4/2:
Biogeochemical cycles
photosynthesis, respiration, Redfield ratios, nitrogen, phosphorous, oxygen
7.12-7.14; 7.16; 13.4; 13.10; 13.12-13.13
T 4/7:
Primary producers
phytoplankton, seaweeds, limitation, eutrophication
13.6; 14.1-14.11; 14.13-14.16; 18.9
Th 4/9:
Pelagic marine heterotrophs
energy & mass transfer, zooplankton, squid, fishes
13.3; 13.8; 14.12; 15.16-15.19
5th homework due
T 4/14: Third Exam (covers 3/12-4/9, coasts to pelagic heterotrophs)
Th 4/16:
Fisheries and pollution
maximum sustainable yield, bycatch, toxicity, plastics
17.17-17.21; 18.2-18.8; 18.10
MBARI Seafood Watch
T 4/21:
Deep sea fishes and cetaceans
bioluminescence, toothed whales, baleen whales
16.16; 15.35-15.38
Th 4/23:
Benthic marine communities
FCQs, ecology, rocky vs. sandy shores, coral reefs, deep sea
16.2-16.15; 16.17
T 4/28:
Chemosynthetic communities
hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, whale falls
13.5; 16.18-16.20; 17.11
Nautilus Minerals seafloor mining
Th 4/30:
Wrap-up
concept inventory, the future
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
M 5/4 (1:30-4:00): Final Exam (covers entire course, with ~40% on material after the third midterm exam)
