GS 108 Oceanography

Surveys basic geological, physical, chemical, and biological processes of oceans, including geology, plate tectonics, seawater properties, waves, currents, tides, ocean life, biodiversity, marine resources and pollution. Lab included.

Credits

4

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Identify, describe, and interpret geological, physical, chemical, and biological processes of the world ocean, including plate tectonics, seawater properties, waves, currents, tides, ocean life, biodiversity, fisheries, and marine resources and pollution
2. Evaluate and question media reports about these subjects
3. Assess and examine problems related to the ocean's influence on climate and global climate change, coastal erosion and sediment deposition, marine physical and biological resources, pollution, and other impacts on human civilization
4. Identify and compare various technologies developed for studying oceans, including depth sounding; measuring temperature, pressure, and salinity of ocean water; sampling sea floor sediment and rock; and identifying and measuring the impacts of human activity on marine life
5. Identify the limits of our scientific knowledge about some aspects of the ocean, such as the properties of the ocean floor and our incomplete knowledge of marine life
6. Assess marine hazards such as tsunamis, hurricanes, storm surges, and coastal erosion and how they relate to human society
7. Identify appropriate technologies being developed to mitigate structural damage, loss of human life, and destruction of the environment due to these hazards
8. Apply the theory of plate tectonics to explain the processes that form ocean basins and shape the sea floor
9. Apply the theory of evolution and related concepts to understand life in the ocean
10. Describe and explain how the Coriolis effect influences the movement of ocean water
11. Describe and explain how the Ekman transport concept explains why water in a surface current does not move in the same direction as the wind that forms the current
12. Describe the major physical and biological marine resources, how these resources benefit human society, and how exploitation of these resources can cause serious problems for humans, marine organisms, and the environment