A list of suggested journal topics is provide here.  We also welcome the use of other topics for journaling.  If you would like to develop your own topic, please consult with a member of the teaching team no later than the beginning of the second week of class. 

Click on the headings below for a description of each suggested topic.  Please note that the descriptions are provided to encourage thought about potential topics; journaling need not follow the exact line of inquiry suggested by the descriptions below.

Impacts of oceans on military operations
The invasion of Tarawa (in 1943) was the first stop in the U.S. military's "island hopping" campaign in the Pacific.  One of the most grueling parts of the battle was caused by a coral reef fringing the main island - the invasion occurred at low tide and most of the attackers had to wade hundreds of yards ashore under fire.  What changes in doctrine did the U.S. adopt because of Tarawa, and how does that doctrine continue to this day?  How have the geologic, physical, and biological aspects of the oceans affected more recent military operations?  What new technologies and strategies have been developed to enhance operational success in coastal zones? (back to suggested journal topics)

Harnessing tidal energy
The Bay of Fundy (between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world.  This regular rise and fall has been harnessed by Canada to provide a clean source of electrical power (really!).  How does tidal power work, where might it be used, and what environmental effects does it have? (back to suggested journal topics)

Coastal zone management
The beaches of Southern California are, at least in part, artificial.  Most of the large beaches near Los Angeles were enlarged in the 1940's because dredged material from nearby shipyards was placed on them.  However, California's "new" population in the 50's and 60's came to regard large SoCal beaches as normal - as beaches returned to their pre-war equilibrium, people complained about coastal erosion.  What has California done to mitigate the "problem" of beach erosion near L.A.?  What should be done?  How has the coastal "erosion" issue been tackled in other areas (including the Great Lakes)? (back to suggested journal topics) 

Tsunami and coastal populations
The 1896 Sanriku tsunami killed over 30,000 people on the northeastern coast of Japan.  Entire villages were wiped out, and Japan's northern fishing fleet was devastated.  As a direct result of the event, the northeastern coast of Japan resembles a castle town, or a fortified coastline.  What structures have the Japanese built to protect against tsunami?  Do they work?  Given that an even larger tsunami struck the Pacific Northwest in 1700, why hasn't that coastline been similarly reinforced? (back to suggested journal topics)

Impacts of ocean storms on coastal zones
The 1991 "unnamed" storm in the North Atlantic has been described as "perfect," and immortalized in film. Although less well-known, smaller storms routinely batter one of the most developed coasts in the world.  What hazards face residents of Atlantic coastal communities, and what engineering and political safeguards are in place to minimize the loss of property and life? (back to suggested journal topics)

El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
The atmospheric/oceanic interaction known as the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dramatically affects oceanic and atmospheric conditions over a broad region of the world, with significant impacts on climate, economics, human health and the environment.  Over the past 20-25 years, a significant amount of scientific effort has focused on the early detection of ENSO and prediction of ENSO development.  What is ENSO?  How does it affect people and the environment?  What new tools has the scientific community developed to better detect and predict ENSO?  How have societies responded to higher-quality ENSO predictions? (back to suggested journal topics)

Impacts of natural climate variations on fisheries
Fishing is critical to the economy of the Pacific Northwest, including the states of Oregon and Washington.  In recent decades, salmon catches off Washington and Oregon have declined dramatically; much of this has been attributed to the construction of dams and other land-based activities.  Oceanographers have however recently described a mode of Pacific Ocean climate variability, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation or PDO, which may also affect North Pacific salmon harvests.  What is the PDO and how might it impact fisheries?  How does the recent discovery of the PDO challenge fisheries managers, who must cope with both natural and human-induced impacts on fish yields? (back to suggested journal topics)

Sea level rise and society
Approximately 37% percent of Earth's human population lives within 100 km of a coastline.  Scientific measurements indicate that sea level is rising in some of these most populous regions of the planet and climate assessments suggest that this trend will accelerate in the future.  How do scientists measure sea level changes?  What are the implications of rising sea level for developed countries, such as the U.S., which have significant infrastructure in at-risk zones?  What are the implications for less developed countries that have fewer resources available to help them adapt in the future? (back to suggested journal topics)

Arctic ice and changing climate
Scientific measurements indicate that "permanent" Arctic sea ice has thinned by as much as 40% during the summer season over the past few decades.  According the the best consensus available from computer simulations of future climate, the Arctic is the region where "global warming" will occur earliest and most dramatically.  What is the state-of-the-art and what are the challenges of measuring Arctic ice thickness?  How would thinning ice affect regional and global climate?  How would thinning ice affect Arctic food webs and indigenous cultures? (back to suggested journal topics)

The state of scientific knowledge of future climate
Much of the debate about climate change has focused on the difficulty of predicting future climate change.  Because data is often sparse and uncertain and our knowledge of interactions between various elements of the climate systems is incomplete, scientists and policy-makers rely heavily on computer simulations of future climate.  What are the strengths and limitations of the current generation of computer climate models?  What breakthroughs in data quality and modeling techniques might improve the quality of climate projections within the next decade?  In what areas will computer climate models continue to be uncertain for the foreseeable future?  How should these uncertainties factor into future policy decisions? (back to suggested journal topics)

Earthquakes and society
California has invested significantly in preparations for major earthquakes.  This is not however true of other states that are at similarly high risk for seismic catastrophes.  For example, although seismic activity is less frequent in the Pacific Northwest, it is potentially every bit as destructive as along the major fault zones in California, yet building codes in the Pacific Northwest states are far less strict than those in California.  Modifying building codes to handle large seismic events is an expensive proposition.  How do scientists determine which regions are particularly at risk for seismic damage in the event of an earthquake?  How does society decide the appropriate level of regulation in areas with infrequent, but potentially devastating seismic events? (back to suggested journal topics)

Thermohaline circulation and climate
Evidence from marine sediments indicates that the thermohaline (density-driven) circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean fluctuated dramatically during and following the last ice age.  Much of this was due to the infusion of vast amounts of glacial meltwater into the North Atlantic basin, and to changes in the pathways by which this meltwater reached the North Atlantic.  How do glacial cycles affect thermohaline circulation?  How has this affected climate on continents bordering the North Atlantic?  Why are scientists now focusing on potential changes in North Atlantic thermohaline circulation that may occur as a result of warming ocean temperatures? (back to suggested journal topics)

Abundance and diversity of deep-sea life
Until the HMS Challenger expedition in the 1870's, many people thought that the sea below 1800 feet was an "azoic" zone, completely devoid of life.  The Challenger expedition clearly demonstrated the fallacy of this view; to this day, deep-sea species continue to be discovered, indicating that our knowledge of deep sea biology is far from complete.  How has technology changed our view of the deep sea over the past 150 years?  What is our current view of deep sea biology and ecosystems? With enhanced exploration of the deep sea, comes increased incentive and increased risk of exploiting a potentially fragile part of our planet's ecosystem.  What elements of the deep sea are potential targets for human utilization?  How might these uses impact deep sea organisms and ecosystems? (back to suggested journal topics)

Monsoons
The monsoon is an wide-spread ocean-atmospheric interaction with dramatic affects on a substantial fraction of human population (including large swaths of Africa, India and Asia).  How does coupling of the ocean and atmosphere combine to generate monsoons?  How do monsoons affect society?  Could changes in global climate affect the intensity and regularity of monsoons? (back to suggested journal topics)

Bioamplification of pollutants and human health
Mercury (and other toxic metals) are currently a serious threat to human health.  These substances can be ingested from seafood high in the trophic pyramid, such as tuna and swordfish, and cause severe health affects in humans.  How did the food supply get this state?  What are the implications of this form of marine pollution for the seafood industry and for human health? (back to suggested journal topics)

Fisheries management
Historically, there is a repeated pattern of behavior in fishing industry crashes, illustrated dramatically by declines in cod harvests in the Atlantic, anchovetta harvests off the coast of Peru and numerous other instances.  Why do these crashes occur?  What are their economic, social and environmental impacts?  Why have people had such difficulty managing these resources? (back to suggested journal topics)

Coral reefs and ecotourism
Coral reefs are ecological treasures, as well as engines for significant economic development.  How has ecotourism affected the health of coral reefs?  Do this activity help or harm reefs?  How do some countries keep their reefs healthy while reaping economic benefits from them, while other countries destroy their reefs for short-term economic gain?  What is the future of coral reef survival? (back to suggested journal topics)

Medicines from the sea
Many medicines are developed from natural sources, such as plant and animal material found in rainforests and oceans.  What is the state of development of new medicines from the sea?  How have the latest anticarcinogens and other new drugs been developed from ocean sources?  What is the history of the industry, and what needs to be done to develop it wisely? (back to suggested journal topics)

Gas hydrates
The sea contains significant energy resources, including methane (natural gas) found in gas hydrate deposits on some continental slopes.  Why do we have such large reserves of gas hydrates globally in ocean sediments?  What is the significance of these for (1) climate change, past and present, (2) energy sources and economic development?  What methods are currently being used or developed to harvest the methane in a controlled fashion, while avoiding catastrophic releases during harvest? (back to suggested journal topics)

Estuaries, ecology and fishing
Estuaries are highly biologically productive regions where freshwater mixes with seawater in sheltered environments.  In many regions of the world today (including many coastal zones in the U.S.), the ecological health of estuaries is threatened by a variety of sources, including pollution, development, and habitat loss.  How do estuaries "work" physically, chemically and biologically?  What is the state of estuaries today?  How do estuaries contribute to the economy?  How does the health of estuaries affect the offshore fishing industry? (back to suggested journal topics)

Earth's oceans and the search for extraterrestrial life
In the 1970's scientists discovered new and completely different forms of life that occupy extreme environments within the oceans.  The "chemosynthetic" organisms at the base of the food chain in these environments tolerate extreme physical conditions (e.g., temperatures of 650 deg F) and thrive in the complete absence of sunlight.  Scientists are now investigating chemosynthetic communties as a model for extraterrestrial life within our solar system.  How do chemosynthetic communties "work"?  How do they differ from most ocean communities?  Where are scientists focusing the search for chemosynthetic communities within our solar system and why? (back to suggested journal topics)