Introduction to Oceanography GEOL 2503

Dr. David BushUniversity of West GeorgiaDepartment of Geosciences

Introduction

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Why do we care about the oceans?

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Do we care about the oceans?

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There is something for everybody!

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Why Study the Oceans?

• Scientific curiosity• Travel• Commerce• Food• Minerals including salt• Fresh Water• War/Defense

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Earth—The Water Planet

• Water 71% of Earth surface area– oceans and seas

• Land 29% of Earth surface area– includes lakes, streams, rivers

• Earth is a water planet but efforts are concentrated on land

• Oceanography studies all aspects of oceans

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Oceanography includes all aspects of study, but there are four main areas.

• Geological Oceanography• Chemical Oceanography• Physical Oceanography• Biological Oceanography

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Geological Oceanography

• Size and shape of ocean basins

• Ages of the sea floor• Ocean rocks versus

continental rocks• Sediments that cover the seafloor

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Chemical Oceanography• Sea water composition• Extracting useable materials dissolved in seawater• Obtaining fresh water from seawater• Dissolved gases and their exchange between sea and air• Buffer reactions

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Physical Oceanography

• Water motion—waves, currents, tides

• Transmission of energy—sound, heat, light

• Water masses • Pressure

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Biological Oceanography

• Life of the sea• How sea life affects

environment• What life needs for optimum

development• Food chains• Migration patterns• Habits of food fish, prey,

and predators

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There are many other areas of Oceanography, including:

• Engineering• Meteorology• Ecology

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Marine Engineering• Equipment to secure

samples 7 miles below ship

• Breakwaters, piers, seawalls

• Extracting power from energy of waves and tides

• Designing submarines and other submersibles

• Drilling platforms for oil and gas exploration

• Nuclear waste disposal?South Coast of Sicily, Italy. Sea Walls and jetties used to create a harbor. Peter A. Scholle

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Oceans and Meteorology• Oceans determine world climatic conditions • Oceans affect local weather• Oceans are dominant factor in heat budget• Oceans are the

“flywheel of

atmospheric

circulation”

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Marine Ecology• Pollution• Extinction of

marine species

• Loss of wetlands

• Negative environmental impacts

A sea otter feeding offshore Southern California. They were hunted almost to extinction, mainly for fur.

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Textbook—not required

• An Introduction to the World’s Oceans (tenth edition)

• by Sverdrup and Armbrust—published by McGraw-Hill

• Not required, but strongly recommended

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Syllabus Review

• We will quickly review the syllabus in class• Log into the class WebCT site to see the full

syllabus• Pay special attention to the class calendar,

announcements posted, and emails for important items.

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Course Packs

• Required• Include all PowerPoint slides• Available in the bookstore

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Contacting me

• Please email me via CourseDen and not my regular UWG email

• Office phone 679-839-4057