The Southern Ocean, the most southerly of Earth's oceans, is where the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic meet. Here, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current encircles the planet unimpeded by continents and separates Antarctica from the rest of the global ocean, creating a unique environment home to a diverse and distinctive marine ecosystem that is especially vulnerable to a changing climate. The Southern Ocean plays a fundamental role in the meridional overturning circulation and serves as a window to the deep ocean, providing a critical sink of anthropogenic heat and carbon dioxide.
This class will leverage the expertise of Southern Ocean and Antarctic scientists at UW to explore this extreme and remote environment. Students will gain a holistic understanding of the Southern Ocean through the interaction of physical, chemical and biological oceanographic processes and an insight into current Southern Ocean research.
Co-taught with Alison Gray
OCEAN 497C/506C
SOUTHERN OCEAN
OCEAN 531
MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
Covers phytoplankton in the marine environment: evolution, ecology, primary productivity, and physiology, emphasizing their role in the global carbon cycle; spatial and temporal distributions of phytoplankton and how these patterns may change as ocean conditions change; and methods for determining distributions and rates in different ocean ecosystems. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: even years; W.
OCEAN 535
BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY
Examines major patterns and processes in upper ocean pelagic ecosystems, emphasizing quantitative analysis of mechanisms controlling production and abundances of organisms, from plankton to fish. Introduces interdisciplinary study of effects of anthrogenically induced changes in climate and ocean chemistry on organisms, ecosystem processes, and biogeochemical cycles. Offered: A.
OCEAN 201
INTRODUCTION TO OCEANOGRAPHY LAB
Ocean 201 is a 2-credit companion lab course for Ocean 200. It is open to both majors and non-majors.
In this course you will have the opportunity to experiment with oceanographic concepts through laboratory and field experiences, and learn about the scientific method of inquiry as it applies to the study of geology, physics, chemistry, and biology of the ocean. We emphasize topics that explore current challenges faced by the ocean and its ecosystem.
Each week’s activities are designed to highlight a fundamental question in ocean research that is covered in Ocean 200. Through these activities you will learn how we develop a scientific appreciation for the world we inhabit. You will also gain the skills necessary to communicate your knowledge to others. Most importantly, at the end of this class, we hope you will be able to read lay reports of scientific studies and think critically about how the study was designed and what the results really mean. In other words, you will understand how we do science and will therefore have a better appreciation of the role that science plays in your everyday life.