Interdisciplinary Oceanography
Lectures for Spring 2008

This is a general outline of the material that will be discussed each day, and we will probably deviate from it as the course progresses. It is meant to be an overview of the topics to be discussed in roughly the order they will be discussed. Some topics may take more or less time than listed.

You must read the appropriate chapter before coming to class, and you must turn in your solution to each day's problem. See the Class Syllabus for details.

14 January 2008 - Introduction

• Course syllabus and goals
• How can we find information on the web?
• What web based material can be trusted?
• Using your computer to build a reference library of articles.

16 January 2008 - Earth System Science

Problem 1. Earth's systems are strongly influenced by life on earth. Please list a few systems influenced by life, and how life influences the systems.

CO₂ and the Role of the Ocean in Climate

You may have read that climate is warming, that the warming will lead to disaster if we don't stop burning fossil fuels, and that we may be required to stop driving our cars. What's happening? Is it really that bad? Are there other ways to solve the problem? Isn't earth just warming up naturally as a result of coming out of the last ice age?

18 January 2008 - The Ocean and Climate

Problem 2. The web page on the C0₂ problem includes information on sources of C0₂, but nothing about sinks. Knowing something about the earth's systems, and about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, what might be some processes that remove C0₂ from the atmosphere?

21 January 2008 - No Class Today, Martin Luther King Holiday

23 January 2008 - The CO₂ Problem

Problem 3. The web page Importance of the ocean in Climate lists many ways the ocean is important. It doesn't, however, list the fundamental reason why it dominates the earth system. Why is the fundamental reason why the ocean is so important?

25 January 2008 - Earth's Radiation Balance, Oceanic Heat Fluxes

Problem 4. Explain very simply, in one paragraph, how greenhouse gases increase earth's surface temperature.

28 January 2008 - What is the Evidence for Global Warming?

Problem 5. How has earth's temperature changed over the last few hundred thousand years?

30 January 2008 - Abrupt Climate Change and the Ocean's Circulation

Problem 6. How does the sinking of water in the far north Atlantic influence northern-hemisphere climate?

1 February 2008 - Carbon Cycle in the Ocean and the Iron Hypothesis plus Microbial Food Web

Problem 7. Give an example of a feedback loop, in the carbon cycle, that influences global warming.

4 February 2008 -Modeling the Climate System

Problem 8. Predictions of climate for the rest of the century are based on models. How good are these climate models? Please provide evidence that justifies your answer.

6 February 2008 - Climate Change Policy Issues

Problem 9. Based on your readings, please come to class prepared to defend your opinion on global-change policy. Bring a one sentence summary of your opinion and a one-paragraph summary of the basis for your opinion.

El Niño and Role of Ocean in Weather

El Niño is influencing the weather everywhere according to lots of newspaper articles. Or is it really El Niño that is causing changes in the weather? Why should events in the equatorial Pacific be so much in the news? How can events so far away influence our weather?

8 February 2008 - Tropical Heat Budgets

Problem 10. Find at least two newspaper articles that mention El Niño or La Niña. What do they say?

11 February 2008 - Equatorial Currents and Typical El Niño

El Niño Definition
El Niño is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather and climate around the globe - NOAA.

Problem 11. Why does El Niño have such a large influence on global weather patterns?

13 February 2008 - Observing the Tropical Pacific

Problem 12. Please use an atlas or other source of information to estimate the width of the Pacific along the equator in degrees of longitude, and the distance between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn in degrees of latitude. Now, express these values as a percentage of the circumference of earth.

15 February 2008 - Forecasting El Niño and Teleconnections

Problem 13. What is the El Niño forecast for this Spring, March-June 2008? For an answer, go to the Forecast Forum of the Climate Diagnostics Bulletin issued monthly by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. Can you trust the forecast?

18 February 2008 - El Niño Policy Implications

Problem 14. Please list at least three major industries in this country that would benefit from improved seasonal forecasts of temperature and precipitation, and how the forecasts benefit each industry.

20 February 2008 - Quiz 1

This is an open book quiz covering global change and the role of the ocean in climate change, coastal erosion, tsunamis, and storm surges.

22 February 2008 - During Class Time: Meet with Your Team and Begin Picking a Topic For Your Class Report

Today, form your teams of four to do the required class report, and select a topic for your report. Please read the Syllabus section on the class project, and the web page with more information on the report. Please provide me with one or two paragraphs describing the topic your team will include in your end-of-semester report.
A brief outline of your team report is due Monday 25 February.

Coastal Erosion, Storm Surges, and Tsunamis

Your uncle was planning on buying a beachfront house southwest of Galveston beyond the end of the seawall. Now, after the hurricanes of 2005 and the great 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, he is worried. Since you are taking an oceanography class, he asks you: What is the possibility that his beach house will be wiped out by a hurricane or a tsunami? After all, New Orleans was safe for centuries, now it is destroyed. Tsunamis were rare in the Indian Ocean, but then the big one hit. Is a coastal house safe? What advice can you give him?

Before you can give an answer, you need more information.

25 February 2008 - The Annual Cycle of a Coast

30 Minute Film- Portrait of a Coast

This is a beautiful film that follows the seasonal cycle of a New England coast noting problems caused by coastal development. Although it shows New England, the same processes apply to any low, sandy coast with barrier islands, including the Texas gulf coast. While watching the film try to remember:

1. Why are beaches important?
2. What is the seasonal cycle of the beach? When is it highest, when lowest?
3. What five processes influence the beach?
4. How does coastal development lead to problems?
5. What are the problems?

Team Report Due: Description of what subject your team will present at the end of the semester.

27 February 2008 - Types of Coasts, and Beach Processes

Problem 15. How do beaches in California differ from beaches in Texas?

29 February 2008 - Beach Erosion and Coastal Structures

Problem 16. What types of changes did Hurricane Rita produce along the coast where it came ashore?

3 March 2008 - Storm Surges

Problem 17. What factors led to the breaching of the levees surrounding New Orleans and the flooding of the city by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

5 March 2008 -Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and the Great Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004.

Problem 18. Knowing about the Indian Ocean tsunami, what type of measurements and information might be needed to warn residents of Galveston Island of an approaching tsunami? Please be specific about the warning network. Where might a earthquake occur that could produce a tsunami. How could it be detected?

7 March 2008 - Coastal Erosion Policy Issues

Problem 19. Who should be responsible for storm-surge damage to structures along the Texas coast? Please provide a basis for your answer

10 March 2008 - 14 March 2008 - Spring Break

Where are my Orange Roughy
Julie loved orange roughy. She liked it even better than catfish. Her mother liked it because it was cheap compared with most other fish at the market. But now it was seldom for sale. Her mother asked the manager at the fish counter and he said he couldn't get it any more.

Can we help Julie?
Can we find out what happened to the orange roughy? To prepare for this section, look up orange roughy at http://www.fishbase.org/search.cfm so we know what fish we are learning about. Then write down possible explanations of why the fish is no longer sold. For example, few were sold so the market stopped carrying it. etc.



Orange Roughy (Slimehead): Hoplostethus atlanticus
From New Zealand Seafood Industry.

17 March 2008 - Fisheries Issues and the Tragedy of the Commons

Problem 20: What is the tragedy of the commons? The term was used by Garrett Hardin in his now famous article in Science in 1968. Hardin, Garret. "The Tragedy of the Commons." Science, 1968. 162:1243-8. He wrote a follow-up to the article in 1998, "Extensions of The Tragedy of the Common"."

19 March 2008 -Fish and Fisheries

Problem 21. What has been your personal involvement with fish? If you fish, what has been your experience as a fisher? If you eat fish, what kind and how often? If you never catch or eat fish, just write that down.

21 March 2008 - Reading Day, No Class Today

24 March 2008 - Marine Food Webs

Problem 22. Give another example of a marine food web. Remember, a food web is not a food chain. For example, use information from the PEER curriculum at Texas A&M University to describe the marine web in a Texas lagoon.

26 March 2008 - Global Distribution of Phytoplankton and Upwelling Regions

Problem 23. Where geographically are phytoplankton most common in the ocean? List typical types of geographic regions. Do these regions coincide with the regions with the most fish that we discussed in Fish and Fisheries?

28 March 2008- Invertebrates: The Other Marine Food Source

Problem 24. Shrimp farming appears to be an ideal way to avoid the problems of over fishing of wild shrimp. But is it all beneficial? What are the environmental disadvantages of shrimp farming? Please cite evidence for your conclusions.

31 March 2008- Fisheries Policy Issues

Problem 25. What is Texas government doing to reduce over fishing of shrimp and environmental problems of shrimping?
Recreational regulations for shrimp are in the shrimp regulations from the Texas Parks and Wildlife. Commercial regulations are in the Commercial Fishing Guide. More information is in the Texas Shrimp Industry Report (5.9 MB) of Sept 2002, and 2005 Annual Report (1.5 MB).

2 April 2008 - Quiz 2

This is an open book quiz covering coastal erosion and fisheries.

Coastal Pollution

Every year, millions of people worldwide begin living near the shore, joining the billion or so people already living in the coastal zone. What is the impact of all these people?

4 April 2008 - The Coastal Zone

Problem 26. How does the limit of submerged lands under the control of Texas differ from that of all other states except Florida, and why?

7 April 2008 - Introduction to Coastal Pollution

Problem 27. What are the most important pollution problems in Texas coastal waters?

9 April 2008 - Sources of Marine Pollution

Problem 28. List common activities that you do that increase pollution of Texas' coastal waters.

Report Outline Due. Please provide me with a detailed, one-page outline and summary of what your team will include in your end-of-semester report. Your end-of-semester report is due the day of your presentation

11 April 2008 - Alien Species

Problem 29. Find information about one alien species that has caused great damage along a coast of any country. What is the species, when was it introduced, and what damage has it caused?

14 April 2008 - Harmful Algal Blooms

Problem 30. What are some effects on human health caused by harmful algal blooms?

16 April 2008 - Oil Spills and Aftermath

Problem 31. What was the long-term result of the largest oil spill in US waters, the Valdez spill in Prince Williams Sound Alaska?

18 April 2008 - Coastal Pollution Policy Issues

Problem 32. Explain why what happens in Brazos County must be considered when devising a plan for managing Galveston Bay.

21 April 2008 - During Class Time: Meet with Your Team to Prepare Presentation and Make-Up Exam

Presentation of Reports

To be fair to all groups, you will have exactly 10 minutes for your presentation. I will time your presentation and ask you to stop after 10 minutes. You will not be interrupted during your presentation. I will use 1-2 minutes for questions after the presentation. Please give me a written copy of your report at the time of your presentation. All team members must sign the report. If you will use the computer for the presentation, please put your talk on the computer before class. There will not be time during class. I suggest you bring the presentation on a URL thumb drive.

I suggest you practice your presentation to stay on time.

23 April 2008 - Presentation of Reports I

• 10:20 AM: Team 1: Michelle Cohen, Thomas Jones, Collin Lawrence, Jerald Meadows: Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).
• 10:32 AM: Team 2: Jackie Allahar, Johnson Dietz, Jonathan Marshall, Stephen Pfiester: Manmade Islands off Dubai.
• 10:44 AM: Team 3: Nathan Garza, Justin Robinson: Non-point Source Pollution of Galveston Bay.
• 10:56 AM: Team 4: Adam Arms, James Brenton, Zach Driver, and Julie Rinn: Underwater Erosion Offshore of Texas.

25 April 2008 - Presentation of Reports II

• 10:20 AM: Team 5: Stephanie Kampschmidt, Jake Little, Bernard Ng, and Raheel Zubairy: Ocean Floor Volcanoes and Their Influence.
• 10:32 AM: Team 6: Marlen Gonzalez, Brian Rosenberg, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Jonathan Wheat: Climate Change Influence on Grey Whale Migration.
• 10:44 AM: Team 7: John Bandas, Rob Blake, Autumn Kidwell, and Andy Lister: Environmental Effects of Horns Rev Wind Farm.
• 10:56 AM: Team 8: Megan Ingram, Jaclyn Robb, and Christopher Rodie: Panama Canal and Biological Invasion.

28 April 2008 -Presentation of Reports III

• 10:20 AM: Team 9: James Sonnenberg, Brandon Wacasey, and Kevin Zwerneman: Influence of Weather on Fishing Conditions.
• 10:32 AM: Team 10: Michael Blalock, Patricia Kreger, Jonathan Mock, and Jessica Struck: Magnetic Anomalies in the Ocean.
• 10:44 AM: Team 11: Clint Doughty and Andrew Wheeler: Over Fishing of Tuna and Its Effects on the Environment.
• 10:56 AM: Team 12: Aaron Ferrel, Matt Mahrer, Ryan Stanfield, and Jorge Torres: Influence of the Ocean on the Indian Monsoon.

29 April 2008 - Redefined Day Presentation of Reports IV

• 10:20 AM: Team 13: Juan Baca, Jeffrey Phillips, Nikolas Reinsvold: Artificial Islands off Dubai.
• 10:32 AM: Team 14: John Chapa, Jonathan Cotten, Mandy Clinton, Justin Turbeville, and Tina Tsounakas: Effect of Global Warming on Great Barrier Reef.

A Final Thought

Now that the course is ending, what will you do next? Will you:

"Choose your reality with careful thought and emotion, and then take the next necessary step–that of responsible action, achieving balance by combining wisdom and compassion... By our individual thoughts and dreams we create the world around us in a very real way."
Eve Bruce in Shaman, M.D. (2002), page 170.

You have gained some wisdom about the ocean, and compassion for the creatures who live in it. What future ocean will you help create?

6 May 2008 - FINAL EXAMINATION 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Revised on: 21 April, 2008