Course Descriptions
OCEA 5001 Oceanography Graduate Seminar
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This is a mandatory course for all MSc students. It is also available to PhD students, who, however cannot use it to fulfill the minimum course requirements for their degree. Satisfactory performance in the course components is required throughout the degree program in order for the student to be permitted to register for the course in their final year. The main objectives of the course are to assimilate, evaluate and communicate scientific information in different settings.
FORMAT: Seminar
FORMAT COMMENTS: Sea time, presentations
OCEA 5004 Oceans and Global Change
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course examines the role and response of the Oceans to global change, including alterations in currents and circulation, increases in sea level and storm surges, changes in ocean chemistry, modification to the types and patterns of sediment deposition, alterations in the abundances and distributions of organisms, and overall productivity. The course will discuss means of predicting these changes and their effects.
FORMAT: Lecture
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
PREREQUISITES: Permission of instructor
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4000.03
OCEA 5110 Geological Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course provides a broad survey of geology and geophysics as they apply to the oceans. The course content covers methods and observations with quantitative applications to an understanding of marine geophysical and geological processes. The topics covered include the origin of ocean basins, plate tectonics, heat flow, gravity, and magnetics (1/3 of the course); patterns and processes of sediment transport and deposition, and the paleoceanographic reconstruction of past climates (2/3 of the course).
NOTES: No previous background in Geology or Geophysics is required for enrolled graduate students; however, such previous training will enhance student learning. Training in calculus and statistics will also prove to be advantageous.
FORMAT: Lecture
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4110.03,
ERTH 4110.03
OCEA 5120 Physical Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course introduces graduate students to the physical properties and dynamics of the oceans. Topics range from global circulation down to the small scales of turbulence. Fact and theory are blended throughout. Quantitative problem solving is emphasized in assignments.
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4120.03
OCEA 5130 Chemical Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course covers the major and minor constituents of sea water, the controls on its chemical composition, nutrient cycling, gas exchange, and the influence of the oceans on atmospheric chemistry. Other topics included are chemical tracers, and radiochemical dating methods, stable isotope studies, chemical speciation and chemical models of sea water.
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4130.03
OCEA 5140 Biological Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The goal is to describe how physical, chemical and biological processes interact to determine the species composition, biogeochemical activities, and trophic structure of marine communities. Outstanding problems currently facing biological oceanographers and earth systems scientists are discussed, as are current attempts and methodologies to address them.
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4140.03,
BIOL 4661.03, 5661.03,
MARI 4661.03
OCEA 5210 Time Series Analysis in Oceanography and Meteorology
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course describes the application of advanced time series analysis in oceanography and meteorology. Time and frequency domain approaches are covered. Students will develop their own computer programs to analyze real observations. Specific topics include stationarity, auto and cross covariance functions, power and cross spectra, and state space models.
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4210.03,
STAT 5390.03,
STAT 4390.03
OCEA 5220 Numerical Modelling of Atmospheres and Oceans
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course discusses numerical modelling techniques for simulating atmospheric and oceanic circulations. Material includes: review of governing equations; finite difference, finite element, and spectral methods; Eulerian, semi-implicit and semi-Lagrangian time integration techniques; accuracy and stability analyses; data assimilation and ensemble prediction methods; and boundary treatment for ocean models.
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4220.03
OCEA 5221 Ocean Dynamics
CREDIT HOURS: 3
An advanced course for students in Physical Oceanography and Atmospheric Science that studies the basic equations governing rotating geophysical flows, plus applications. Topics include geostrophy, conservation of potential vorticity, quasi-geostrophic dynamics, geostrophic adjustment, response to surface forcing (steady and unsteady).
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4221.03
OCEA 5222 Estuary, Coast and Shelf Dynamics
CREDIT HOURS: 3
An advanced course in the physical processes operative on the continental shelf. Topics include long waves, tides, tidal mixing, thermohaline circulation, wind forcing, upwelling, etc.
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4222.03
OCEA 5230 Biology of Phytoplankton
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course presents the phytoplankon in the context of their evolutionary history and ecological diversity, with an emphasis on their adaptations and acclimation to different environments and their role in food webs and in biogeochemical cycling.
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4230.03,
MARI 4662.03,
BIOL 4662.03
OCEA 5241 Special Topics in Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
OCEA 5242 Special Topics in Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
OCEA 5250 Acoustical Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course covers the basic theory of sound propagation and scattering in the ocean environment, and the applications to acoustic remote sensing of the ocean interior. Topics include: normal modes; ray theory; scattering from particles, bubbles and biota; sonar theory and operation.
CROSS-LISTING:
OCEA 4250.03
OCEA 5290 Advanced Chemical Oceanography
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course presents research topics in chemical oceanography, taught as 3-4 self-contained modules. Examples include, the oceanic C02 system and its relation to climate change, chemical reactions in sediments, photochemistry in the upper ocean, and inferring the chemistry of ancient oceans through the isotope record in sediments.
FORMAT: Lecture
PREREQUISITES:
OCEA 5130
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4290
OCEA 5311 Fluid Dynamics I
CREDIT HOURS: 3
An introduction to the theory of fluid dynamics, with some emphasis on geophysically important aspects. Contents: tensor mathematics, flow kinematics, equations of motion, viscous flow, potential flow, convection, turbulence, and basic aerodynamics. Occasional reference will be made to current research topics, especially those in Physical Oceanography.
CROSS-LISTING:
PHYC 5311.03
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4311.03,
PHYC 4311.03/
OCEA 5320 Seafloor Mapping
CREDIT HOURS: 3
A graduate-level course on ocean mapping technologies and techniques for study of the seabed environment. Acoustic remote sensing technologies, ground-validation techniques, and data processing and integration methods using geospatial software are covered. The focus of the course is on how these approaches are used to study and map the geology and biology of the ocean floor.
FORMAT:
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 2
LAB HOURS PER WEEK: 2
PREREQUISITES: Permission of instructor
EXCLUSIONS:
OCEA 4320.03
OCEA 5330 Benthic Ecology
CREDIT HOURS: 3
A graduate course on major topics of benthic ecology, such as animal-sediment relationships, ecosystem processes and geospatial patterns of structure and dynamics of benthic communities. Courses consist of two lectures per week and one journal discussion session. The last three weeks are devoted to a class research project.
FORMAT: Lecture
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
EXCLUSIONS:
BIOL 4666.03,
OCEA 4330.03,
MARI 4666.03
OCEA 5331 History of Marine Science
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course describes the development of the marine sciences from biological, chemical, physical and geological knowledge going back to the 17th century or earlier. It includes the important voyages of exploration, the development of marine biology, ocean circulation and plate tectonics, also the importance of technological changes upon marine science.
CROSS-LISTING:
BIOL 4664.03,
HIST 3073.03,
HSTC 3331.03,
OCEA 4331.03,
SCIE 4001.03,
MARI 4664.03
OCEA 5370 Deep Sea Biology
CREDIT HOURS: 3
We focus on the biology of organisms inhabiting the deep sea: physiological adaptations to the physicochemical and geological environment; spatial and temporal distributions of biological assemblages; and regulatory factors of these assemblages, such as currents, food availability, reproduction and recruitment. Also, we delve into unique habitats, such as hydrothermal vents.
EXCLUSIONS:
BIOL 4370.03,
OCEA 4370.03,
MARI 4370.03