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| Week | Date Assignments Resources |
Topics | Reading | |||||
| 1 | August 27 Assignment 1 |
Class business • Attendance & introductions • Class policies • Highlights of the course Origin of the Earth, its oceans and life on our planet |
• Chapter 2 • App. IX |
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| 2 | September 3 Assignment 2 |
Layers of the Earth • The low areas that hold the water in the ocean • Layers inside the Earth Basic science • Melting and solidification of solids Plate tectonic activity and shaping the ocean basins • What's a plate and how does it move? • Key processes that shape the Earth's surface - Seafloor spreading & subduction • Features of the seafloor associated with seafloor spreading and subduction • Types of plate margins - Divergent, convergent and transform • Earthquakes and volcanoes • Unusual habitats for life |
• Chapter 3 |
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| 3 | September 10 Alternate Assignment 3 included with Assignment 2 |
No class this week Alternative assignment |
• Chapter 4 |
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| 4 | September 17 Assignment 4 |
Basic science • Mass, density, convection, isostatic equilibrium, gravity • Gravitational and magnetic fields Plate tectonics • Evidence - Hotspots? Hawaii as an example • Paleomagnetic anomalies in oceanic crust Continents and their margins • The difference between continents and lithospheric plates • Shape of continental margins • Continent vs. plate margins • Types of continental margins - Active vs. passive • Radiation of species |
• Chapter 4 |
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| 5 | September 24 Assignment 5 Midterm 1 |
Mapping • Charting unknown seas • The size of the Earth • Determining location on a sphere - Latitude and longitude • Determining the shape of an area on a sphere • Determining depth - SONAR and satellite altimetry • Making maps • Using geospatial information • Migration, invasive species • First midterm No scantron needed. *** September 25 - Last day to apply for "CR/NC" *** |
• App. I, III, IV • Chapter 1 | |||||
| 6 | October 1 Assignment 6 |
Marine Sediments • What is sediment? • Layers of sediment as a historical record • The succession of life in a changing world • Types of marine sediments • Deep sea drilling technologies • Marine "micro" fossils • Sediment resources of economic value |
• Chapter 5 • Chapter 7:195-197 • Chapter 17:478-480 |
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| 7 | October 8 Assignment 7 |
Water in the ocean • The extent of the ocean • The volume of water in the ocean • Mass, temperature, density, volume and sea level • Phases of water - solid, liquid, gas - and energy • Water cycle and "reservoirs" of water on Earth • Transport of matter and energy • Tagging and monitoring the ocean |
• Chapter 6 • Chapter 8: 211 |
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| 8 | October 15 Assignment 8 |
Seawater chemistry • What is water? • Water as a solvent • Polarity of the water molecule • The hydrogen bond • Energy, temperature and phase • Forming and dissolving solids in a solution • Salinity of seawater • Variations in salinity near the sea surface • Dissolved gases in seawater • Seawater as a source of nutrients for living things • How animals deal witrh salinity, temperature and depth variations |
• Chapter 7 • App. VIII • Chapter 17: 480-481 |
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| 9 | October 22 Assignment 9 |
The atmosphere • Convection, atmospheric pressure and winds • Surface winds • Coriolis deflection • Water in the air - vapor and clouds • Sea breezes and monsoons • Transport of matter and energy • Development of storms and hurricanes • How surface winds make water move • Living in air vs. water |
• Chapter 8 • App. V |
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| 10 | October 29 Assignment 10 Midterm 2 |
Waves Part I • What is a wave? • Wave type #1: Capillary waves • Wave type #2: Wind waves • Waves vs. currents: Transport of energy vs. matter • Waves and coastal erosion • Waves and currents as a source of energy • Surfing • Second midterm No scantron needed. |
• Chapter 10: 264-283 • Chapter 17: 481-484 |
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| 11 | November 5 Assignment 11 |
Waves Part II • Wave type #3: Tides • Simple model for observed daily, monthely and annual tidal patterns in San Diego • The actual interaction between forces that generate tides and the shape of the Earth's surface • Tides as a source of energy • Wave type #4: Tsunami • Events that displace seawater and generate tsunami • The risk of tsunami - San Diego vs. Cascadia • Wave type #5: Seiche • Lunar cycles and life |
• Chapter 10: 284+ • Chapter 11 |
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| 12 | November 12 |
Ocean currents • Surface ocean currents • Surface vs. deep ocean currents • The thermocline • Surface winds that drive surface currents • Ekman transport • Upwelling - coastal and equatorial • El Ni�o and the Southern Oscillation • Deep ocean currents • Transport of matter and energy • Satellite remote sensing |
• Chapter 9 |
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| 13 | November 19 Midterm 3 |
Coasts • Beaches and the coastal cell model • Reversible change driven by seasonal storms • Shaping coasts by erosion and deposition • Evolution of coasts driven by sea level change • The imprint of tectonic setting and change over geologic time • Coastal hazards • Human modification of coasts • Brief overview of other types of coasts • Tidepools *** November 12 - Last day to drop *** • Third midterm No scantron needed |
• Chapter 12 |
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| --- | November 26 |
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY! |
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| 14 | December 3 |
Life in the ocean I • Biological systems on land and sea • Solar radiation, matter, enegy and life • Key processes - Photosynthesis and respiration • Key photosynthesizers - Phytoplankton • Primary productivity • Trophic relationships • Concept of limiting nutrients • Mariculture |
• Chapter 13: 347-361 • Chapter 14 • Chapter 2: 49-50 |
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| 15 | December 10 |
Life in the ocean II • Chemosynthesis • Nearshore and open ocean marine environments • Availability of light and food • Examples of adaptation • Intro to concepts in ecology • Petroluem and other "fossil" fuels • Geoengineering |
• Chapter 13: 360+ • Chapter 14 • Chapter 17: 475-478 |
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| 17 | December 17 |
• Final exam is on Thursday at 8:00-10:00 p.m. |
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Updated: August 24, 2009 | ||||||||