Oceanography Introductory Lecture
This is a text version of the notes from the Introductory Lecture
Today’s Focus Question: Where is
Earth's water?
Note: There will always be a focus question associated with each
lecture.
This will help you organize your notes and serve as an internally built
study guide.
Feel free to email the instructor (
comments about the format and ease of use of these online notes.
1. Welcome to Oceanography (Geol 21080, Sec. 001)
2. Course Objectives
- Learn principles of geological, chemical, physical and biological
oceanography
- Emphasize:
a) relationships among these systems
b) relationships between the ocean and humans
- Gain a more scientific view of the world
3. Class Schedule
4. Grading
Midterms (best 2 of 3, 30%
each)
60%
Final
Exam
40%
Total
100%
Exam format: multiple choice
Midterms - not cumulative
Final - cumulative
5. Office Hours and Email
6. Class Resources
Text: Garrison, Oceanography: An Invitation to Marine Science, 4th
or 5th or 6th Ed.
- new and used copies at the bookstore
- copies on 3-hour and 2-day reserve at the Kent Campus library
Course web site:
http://dept.kent.edu/geology/courses then
click on courses with web pages, click on oceanography section 1
- Class Schedule and Notes
- Study Tips
- Grading
Policy
- Study Questions
- Academic
Calendar
- Careers in Oceanography
- Accommodation
Info
- Careers in Geology
- Frequently Asked Questions -
Just for Fun
- Check Your Grades
Online - Academic Resources
7. Online Class Schedule,
8. Checking Your Grades
- Posted online via Vista http://vista.kent.edu/
- Access Vista using your university computer account
- Exams will be passed back during class to help you with studying for the
final
9. How to Approach this Course
- Attend lectures, read the text, use web resources
- Use strategies that work with your own learning style
- Focus on understanding concepts
- Ask questions during class or office hours
Have fun!
Oceanography is an exciting topic!
10. Today’s Lecture-Introduction: Earth:
Ocean Planet
About 70% of Earth's surface is covered by ocean
About 97% of water near the Earth's surface is found
in the ocean
11. What is Oceanography?
Oceanography is the scientific study of the ocean, its life forms and bordering
lands
Branches:
Marine Geology
Chemical Oceanography
Physical Oceanography
Biological Oceanography
Marine Resource Management
12. What is Science?
- A world-view based on observations, experimentation and interpretation
- Seeks to uncover natural laws that describe how the universe
"works"
- These laws are expressed in the physical world as reproducible phenomena
- The fundamental assumption of science is that we can make sense of the world
around us.
13. Scientific Inquiry
Hypothesis=a testable speculation about the world
Experiment=controlled test to evaluate a hypothesis
Theory=hypothesis consistently supported by data (i.e., theory of relativity)
Law=principle explaining a natural process that has been consistently observed
(e.g., gravity)
Inductive Approach: Observe and Seek to Explain
Deductive Approach: Predict and Seek to Observe
14. Marine Geology
Study of:
-Earth's composition and structure
-Marine sediments
-History of Earth's climate
Why it's important...
Understanding earthquakes
Knowing the form of the sea floor
Understanding the history of climate change
15. Chemical Oceanography
Study of:
- Ocean's dissolved solids and gases
- Relationships between these and other elements of the ocean environment
Why it's important..
Chemistry affects ocean circulation and marine life
Climate is affected by chemical cycling in the ocean
16. Physical Oceanography
Study of:
- Waves and currents
- Ocean, atmosphere, sea ice interactions
Why it's important...
Physics affect all facets of the marine environment
Understanding ocean circulation is essential for unraveling the mysteries of
climate change
17. Biological Oceanography
Study of:
-Nature and distribution of marine life
-Relationships between living and non-living components of the ocean
Why it's important...
- Provides insight to our own biology
- Sources of food, pharmaceuticals, commodities
- The ecological health of the oceans is tied to the land
18. Marine Resource Management
- Energy (e.g., oil, natural gas)
- Materials (e.g., sand, gravel)
- Food and commodities
- Shipping and transportation
- Recreation
Why it's important:
Stewardship of marine resources is important to society and to the future of
the ocean
19. Oceanography - An Interdisciplinary Science
Many future breakthroughs will occur at boundaries between traditional
scientific disciplines
Environmental concerns:
- Climate change (sea level rise, reduced polar ice changes in weather)
- Sustainable fishing
- Pollution
- Habitat destruction
Dealing with these issues requires scientific and
political solutions
21. The Hydrologic Cycle
-Water on the Earth’s surface moves from reservoir to
reservoir
-It moves at different rates, and stays in any one particular reservoir for
differing
amounts of time
-Sometimes the distribution of water on the planet’s
surface changes dramatically, as during ice ages, for example
-The amount of time water stays in one particular reservoir is called the
residence time.
In order of smallest to greatest residence time, here are the major reservoirs:
Reservoir
Atmosphere (water vapor)
Biosphere (living tissues)
Hydrosphere (surface water)
Cryosphere (glacial ice)
Lithosphere (including ground water)
22. Preview of Next Lecture
Origins of Earth and Oceans
Focus Question: Why is the Earth the only planet in the solar system
with liquid water?
Today's lecture: Edition 6: pgs 1-6 (Edition 5: pgs 1-7)
Thursday's lecture: Ch 2, Appendices I and II