Ocean Sciences Course Descriptions
2011-12 General Catalog
A312 Earth and Marine Sciences Building
(831) 459-4730
http://oceansci.ucsc.edu/
Lower-Division Courses
1. The Oceans. F,S
An interdisciplinary introduction to oceanography focusing on biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes. Covers topics such as 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. Students may also enroll in and receive credit for Earth Sciences 1. (Note: General Education credit will not be granted for this course and Biology 80D.) (General Education Code(s): SI, IN, Q.) M. McCarthy, C. Edwards
80A. Life in the Sea. S
The ecology of plants and animals in oceans and coastal areas. Consideration of life in various marine habitats, including the open ocean, rocky shores, estuaries, and the sea. Includes field trips. High school biology and chemistry courses are recommended prior to taking this course. (General Education Code(s): SI, T-2 Natural Sciences.) The Staff
80B. Our Changing Planet. F,W
Interdisciplinary scientific perspective on Earth system, focusing on human impacts on global environment. Introduces concepts of Earth system science and explores topics such as global warming, ozone depletion, pollution, deforestation, and future climate change. Prerequisite(s): high school chemistry course recommended. (General Education Code(s): PE-E, T2-Natural Sciences.) The Staff, A. Moore, M. McCarthy
Upper-Division Courses
101. The Marine Environment. W
An introduction to the marine environment stressing the interaction of physical, chemical, and geological factors in the ocean. Provides the oceanographic background needed for studies in marine biology. Students taking the prerequisite math courses concurrently may enroll in the course with permission from instructor. Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 1C and Mathematics 11B or 19B. Students taking the prerequisite math courses concurrently may enroll in the course with permission from instructor. A. Moore, J. Zehr
102. Oceans and Climate: Past, Present, and Future. *
An introduction to Earth's environment, particularly its oceanic and climatic components. Emphasizes interactions between chemical, physical, biological, and geological processes, and fundamentals of past, present, and future global environmental change. Provides backgrounds for specialized courses in oceanic or climatic change. Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 1C. A. Ravelo
118. Marine Microbial Ecology. S
The study of marine bacteria and their role in the marine ecosystem. Emphasis on biochemistry and physiology in relation to metabolic activity and elemental cycles, trophic interactions, and flows of material and energy in marine food webs. Exams and term paper required. Students cannot receive credit for this course and Ocean Sciences 218. Prerequisite(s): Biology 20C or 21C, and Chemistry 1C. J. Zehr
120. Aquatic Chemistry: Principles and Applications. S
An integrated study of the chemical behavior of natural waters with an emphasis on both principles and applications. Topics include chemical equilibrium, kinetics, acids/bases, oxidation/reduction, complexation, solid dissolution and precipitation, and reactions on solid surfaces. Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 108B or 112C. K. Bruland
124. Aquatic Organic Geochemistry. W
Introduction to organic geochemistry with emphasis on aquatic environments. Explores how non-living organic matter shapes biogeochemical cycles by carrying and sequestering reduced carbon and major nutrients and examines influence of chemical structure and environmental factors on transport and fate of organic molecules. Provides an introduction to organic biomarkers. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 224. Prerequisite(s): basic college chemistry (Chemistry 1B, 1C); at least one quarter of college level organic chemistry required (e.g., Chemistry 7). M. McCarthy
130. Biological Oceanography. S
Biological description of sea, with emphasis on processes and patterns. Topics include microbial dynamics, phytoplankton and zooplankton production, and ecology of marine food webs. Emphasis placed on understanding how physical, chemical, and geological environment shapes biology and ecology of oceans, including such topics as harmful algal blooms, global estimates of productivity, and effects of humans on environment. Students may not receive credit for this course and Ocean Sciences 230. Prerequisite(s): previous course in ocean sciences recommended. Enrollment restricted to juniors (with instructor approval), seniors, graduate students. R. Kudela
172. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. W
Introduces fluid motion influenced by rotation. Topics include the Coriolis force, geostrophic flow, potential vorticity, the shallow water model, quasigeostrophic approximation, planetary waves, Ekman theory, thermal wind, models of the large-scale oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and equatorial dynamics. Taught in conjunction with course 272. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 272. (Also offered as Earth Sciences 172. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Prerequisite(s): Physics 107; Mathematics 22 or 23B recommended. Offered in alternate academic years. C. Edwards
199. Independent Study. F,W,S
Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. The Staff
Graduate Courses
200. Physical Oceanography. F
Introduction to the physics of the ocean-atmosphere system. Structure of the ocean and atmosphere. Energy balance and radiative transfer. Atmospheric circulation; weather and climate. Physical properties of seawater, air-sea interaction, mixing, water masses, ocean circulation, waves; CO2 and global change. Designed for beginning graduate students in ocean sciences and upper-division science majors. Calculus and physics recommended as preparation. A. Moore
211. Climate Dynamics. *
Introduction to the dynamics of the Earth climate system. Topics: climate system components; the global energy balance; radiative transfer; the hydrological cycle; general circulations of the atmosphere and ocean; El Niño; the North Atlantic Oscillation; the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Undergraduates may enroll by permisssion of instructor. Previous courses in calculus and ocean sciences or earth sciences are recommended. A. Moore
213. Biogeochemical Cycles. *
Overview of biogeochemical cycles, present and past, and geochemical models. Topics include: marine, terrestrial, and global views of the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur, and oxygen cycles, and the evolution of these cycles and Earth's redox balance through geologic time. (Also offered as Earth Sciences 213. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Upper-division undergraduates may enroll with instructor approval. College-level chemistry and an upper-division course in at least one relevant discipline are recommended. M. Delaney
215. Predicting the Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate. *
Introduction to the theory and practice of operational prediction in meterology, oceanography, and climate. Topics: observations and estimation theory; dynamic adjustment and initialization; estimation theory; data assimilation; forecast verification; predictability; ocean state estimation; seasonal forecasting. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Undergraduates may enroll with instructor approval. Courses 200, 264, Earth Sciences 272, or equivalents are recommended. A. Moore
218. Marine Microbial Ecology. S
Recent developments in the study of marine bacteria and their role in the marine ecosystem. Emphasis on biochemistry and physiology in relation to metabolic activity and elemental cycles, trophic interactions and flows of material and energy in marine food webs. Exams and research paper required. Students cannot receive credit for this course, course 118, and Biology 171. Biology 20C and Chemistry 1C recommended. J. Zehr
220. Chemical Oceanography. W
A chemical description of the sea; emphasis on the chemical interactions of the oceans with the biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. Topics include biogeochemical cycles and the use of chemical tracers to study oceanic and coastal processes. Course designed for graduate students; available to upper-division science majors. K. Bruland
224. Aquatic Organic Geochemistry. W
Introduction to organic geochemistry with emphasis on aquatic environments. Explores how non-living organic matter shapes biogeochemical cycles by carrying and sequestering reduced carbon and major nutrients and examines influence of chemical structure and environmental factors on transport and fate of organic molecules. Provides an introduction to organic biomarkers. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 124. M. McCarthy
230. Biological Oceanography. S
Biological description of sea, with emphasis on processes and patterns. Topics include microbial dynamics, phytoplankton and zooplankton production, and ecology of marine food webs. Emphasis placed on understanding how physical, chemical, and geological environment shapes biology and ecology of oceans, including such topics as harmful algal blooms, global estimates of productivity, and effects of humans on environment. Students may not receive credit for this course and course 130. Prerequisite(s): previous course in ocean sciences recommended. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. R. Kudela
260. Introductory Data Analysis in the Ocean and Earth Sciences. S
Introduces data analysis methods regularly encountered within the ocean and earth sciences. Topics include: error propagation; least squares analysis; data interpolation methods; empirical orthogonal functions; and Monte Carlo methods applied to problems drawn from oceanographic and earth sciences datasets. Introduces and uses a high-level computing and visualization package, MATLAB. Student project consists of analysis of the student's own dataset. (Also offered as Earth Sciences 260. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Prerequisite(s): previous course in ocean or earth sciences is recommended. Enrollment restricted to graduate students; undergraduates with permission of instructor. C. Edwards
272. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. W
Introduces fluid motion influenced by rotation. Topics include the Coriolis force, geostrophic flow, potential vorticity, the shallow water model, quasigeostrophic approximation, planetary waves, Ekman theory, thermal wind, models of the large-scale oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and equatorial dynamics. Students cannot receive credit for this course and course 172. (Also offered as Earth Sciences 272. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Physics 227 is recommended as preparation. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. Offered in alternate academic years. C. Edwards
280. Marine Geology. F
Geology of the marine environment. Topics include controls on the types, origin, and distribution of marine sediments; geology of oceanic crust; evolution of continental margins and plate boundaries; introduction to paleoceanography. Students cannot receive credit for this course and Earth Sciences 102. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. M. Delaney, A. Ravelo
285. Past Climate Change. S
Reviews the fundamentals of climate dynamics and explores how Earth's environment is a product of the interaction of its components. Uses examples of climate change from historical and geologic records, and from predictions of the future. Recommended for junior, senior, and graduate students in the sciences. A. Ravelo
286. Introduction to Ocean Modeling. *
Fundamental concepts and ideas that underpin numerical modeling of the ocean. Topics include numerical methods and solutions of partial differential equations (PDEs), ocean circulation, wave dynamics, ocean ecosystem model, and MATLAB programming. Enrollment restricted to graduate students, or to seniors by permission of instructor. A. Moore
290. Proseminar.
290A. Topics in Chemical Oceanography. *
A weekly seminar series covering recent developments in chemical oceanography. Different topics and approaches will be stressed from year to year. May be repeated for credit. K. Bruland
290B. Topics in Biological Oceanography. *
Explores different problems of special interest in biological oceanography. Different topics and approaches will be stressed from year to year. May be repeated for credit. M. Silver
290C. Topics in Marine Geochemistry. *
Selected topics in geochemistry. Discussion of theoretical models, different approaches, and recent research. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated for credit. M. Delaney
290D. Topics in Marine Microbiology. *
A weekly seminar series covering topics in environmental microbiology. Topics vary from year to year, and will include research in ecology, methodology, biochemistry and physiology of bacteria. Emphasis on the role of bacteria in biogeochemical cycling from microzone to global scales, with particular focus in marine systems. May be repeated for credit. J. Zehr
290E. Topics in Climatic and Oceanic Change. *
Weekly seminar series covering recent developments in climatic and oceanic change. Different topics and approaches stressed from year to year. Prerequisite(s): interview with instructor prior to first class meeting. May be repeated for credit. A. Ravelo
290G. Topics in Physical Oceanography. *
Weekly seminar series covering topics in physical oceanography as well as biological-physical interactions in the oceans. Different topics and approaches stressed from year to year. Enrollment restricted to graduate students; undergraduates may enroll with permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. The Staff
290H. Topics in Ocean Optics. *
Examines recent developments and application of bio-optics to the marine environment, including theory, instrumentation, and remote sensing. Different topics and approaches emphasized from year to year. Prerequisite(s): previous course in ocean sciences recommended. Enrollment restricted to graduate students; senior undergraduates with permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit. R. Kudela
290J. Topics in Marine Organic Geochemistry. *
Examines recent developments in uses of organic geochemistry to trace oceanographic and biogeochemical processes. Focuses on introduction to organic biomarkers, current literature, and evolving applications. Different topics and approaches emphasized from year to year. Prerequisite(s): previous course in ocean sciences and organic chemistry are recommended. Enrollment restricted to graduate students; seniors with instructor's permission. May be repeated for credit. M. McCarthy
292. Seminar (no credit). F,W,S
Weekly seminar on various topics attended by faculty, graduate, and upper-division undergraduate students. J. Zehr, M. McCarthy, C. Edwards
293. Graduate Research Seminar (2 credits). W
Weekly seminar series covering a spectrum of topics in oceanography. Designed for Ph.D. program graduate students in ocean sciences and those in biology, Earth sciences, chemistry, and physics with research interests in oceanography. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. The Staff
296. Teaching in Ocean Sciences (2 credits). F
For new and/or relatively inexperienced graduate students in pedagogy of ocean sciences. Role and responsibilities of teaching in ocean sciences described and developed. Includes discussions about effective teaching methods; hands-on issues for work in the laboratory; university expectations; and regulations regarding teaching, organizational strategies, time management, and working with instructors and staff. Prerequisite(s): graduate standing or permission of instructor. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. C. Edwards
297. Independent Study.
Independent reading, research, and written reports not related to thesis research. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. The Staff
299. Thesis Research.
Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. The Staff
Revised: 8/13/12
