Lower-Division

OCEA 1 The Oceans

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 EART 1.

Credits

5

Instructor

Christopher Edwards, Carl Lamborg

General Education Code

SI

Quarter offered

Winter, Spring, Summer

OCEA 80A Life in the Sea

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.

Credits

5

Instructor

Marilou Sison-Mangus, Jonathan Zehr

General Education Code

SI

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

OCEA 80B Our Changing Planet

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.

Credits

5

Instructor

Phoebe Lam, Jerome Fiechter, Pratigya Polissar

General Education Code

PE-E

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

OCEA 90 Fundamentals of Climate

Quantitative introduction to climate comprising five modules: atmosphere-ocean circulation, atmospheric teleconnections, El-Nino Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and global warming. Hands-on statistical methods are applied to real-world observations to develop a quantitative understanding of climate.

Credits

5

Instructor

Christopher Edwards, Andrew Moore, Claudie Beaulieu

Repeatable for credit

Yes

General Education Code

SR

Quarter offered

Fall, Winter, Summer

Cross-listed courses that are managed by another department are listed at the bottom.

Cross-listed Courses

EART 172 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

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 EART 272. Students cannot receive credit for this course and EART 272.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

OCEA 172

Instructor

Christopher Edwards

Requirements

Prerequisite(s): PHYS 107 or AM 107; MATH 22 or MATH 23B recommended.

Quarter offered

Spring

EART 272 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

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 EART 172.

Credits

5

Cross Listed Courses

OCEA 272

Instructor

Christopher Edwards

Requirements

Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.