OCEA 5240 Special Topics in Oceanography
NB: This course has been renamed Modules in Oceanography and is temporarily on hiatus.
Course Description:
This course consists of three modules. The modules change from year to year depending on student interest and lecturer availability. Students must complete three modules (not necessarily in the same term) to gain credit for the course.
The course works like this: You alert the course coordinator (Markus Kienast) that you are interested in completing the course and send them a ranked list of modules you’d like to take. You can select from the modules already scheduled or suggest ones, from the list below, that would be particularly useful to you. The coordinator arranges for new modules based on there being a critical mass of interest (usually 3 students, but directed studies are also possible). You complete modules over 1 or 2 years and register for the course in the year you expect to complete your last module. Your final mark from each module will be averaged to give you a final mark in the course. Each module will take place during one third of a term (i.e. 4 weeks or 12 lecture-hours) and have the workload of one third of a course. It may be delivered in any format (lectures, directed studies, etc.). The beauty of this course is that over a few terms, students will be able to mix and match to create a course that best supports their research interests.
This course is offered in each winter term. Please contact Markus if you are interested in taking it. At the moment we’re scheduling modules for Fall 2013 and planning for 2014. (Whether a module is offered will depend on the appropriate faculty member being willing and able to teach in any given session). The list of faculty proposed modules is:
Bio-Optics (John Cullen)
This module will focus on understanding the foundations of bio-optical oceanography, especially the relationships between the ecology and physiology of phytoplankton and the optical properties of sea water. Learning will be achieved through careful reading of key papers in bio-optical oceanography prior to student-lead discussion of each paper in class. A preparatory meeting will be held in late January, during with important topics will be introduced and the reading list identified. The papers will be discussed in April and May.
Paleo-oceanography / Paleo-climatology (Markus Kienast)
Objective analysis of recent global climate change requires a quantitative understanding of pre-anthropogenic climate variability. This module will introduce basic principles and tools of paleo-oceanography and paleo-climatology, and will provide a review of key records and fundamental mechanisms. Examples will vary based on interest.
Marine Particles (Paul Hill)
A firm grasp of the processes governing transport of particles in the sea forms a basis for understanding marine biogeochemical cycles. This module explores the various roles of particles in the sea and the processes that govern them. Topics to be covered include sources and types of marine particles, marine particle size distributions, particle settling velocity, particle aggregation and mass transfer to and from small particles.
Introduction to the Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics (Tetjana Ross)
An understanding of fluid mechanics is essential to many sub-disciplines within oceanography, yet many oceanography students begin their careers without any background in this subject. Gaining a working knowledge of fluid mechanics is challenging because of extensive use of mathematics unfamiliar to many new students. This module is designed to assist students with no formal training in fluid mechanics develop a solid understanding of the foundations of this important field. It starts with a basic presentation of scalars, vectors and tensors, and then it works through basic operations with these quantities. From there, the principles of conservation of mass and momentum are described in intuitive, physical terms before translating them into mathematical symbols. By the end of the module, students will have derived equations for the continuity of mass and conservation of momentum.
MATLAB for Oceanography (Katja Fennel)
Analysis and visualization of oceanographic data (including measurements and output from numerical models) increasingly relies on high-level software applications. This module will cover, in a hands-on format, practical examples of data analysis and visualization using MATLAB, powerful software that is widely used in oceanography and the natural sciences. Basic familiarity with MATLAB is a prerequisite (please enquire if in doubt). Topics include advanced plotting in 2D and 3D, numerical solution of differential equations, simple box model applications and an introduction to object-oriented programming. Topics will be tailored to and finalized based on student interest.
Fundamental Data Analysis (Chris Taggart/Dan Kelley)
Topics will cover fundamental data analyses from collection, formatting, conventions, conversion and transformation through to visualisation techniques and interpretation and on to fundamental statistical/quantitative analyses - in most cases from an oceanographic data perspective. The course is intended to take all that you should have learned as an undergrad and combine it with the view of preparing to analyse your own research data. This module is intended to be introductory and should not be taken after an advanced data analysis module (e.g. "Advanced Data Analysis").
Acoustical Oceanography (Alex Hay)
The module covers the basic theory of sound propagation and scattering in the ocean environment, and the applications to acoustic remote sensing of the ocean interior. The areas of application include: Physical oceanography, biological and fisheries oceanography, and marine geophysics and geology.
Time Series Analysis with Ocean Applications (Keith Thompson/Tetjana Ross)
This module provides an overview of the main concepts of Time Series Analysis (e.g., stationarity, auto and cross correlation, power and cross spectra) and shows how they are used to solve real problems faced by oceanographers. The focus is on applications rather than theory. Students are encouraged to bring their own data sets to class for discussion and analysis.
Measurements and models of marine primary productivity (John Cullen)
The objective of this module is to provide the foundations for understanding the underlying assumptions and sources of error in descriptions of primary productivity in the ocean. Methods for measuring marine primary productivity will be reviewed, as will models for estimating productivity from observations of ocean colour or other optical properties of the ocean. Effects of ultraviolet radiation will be considered.
Turbulence and Mixing (Tetjana Ross)
All the action is at small scales. Nevertheless, turbulence and mixing have far reaching consequences in the ocean, from influencing global circulation to distributing the building blocks of the food-web, nutrients and micro-organisms. Based on the framework of fluid dynamics, this module introduces basic turbulence theory, including Reynolds decomposition and stresses, turbulence in stratified flow and spectra, as well as an overview of measurement strategies.
Data Assimilation (Keith Thompson)
Oceanographers and atmospheric scientists often have to deal with sparse, noisy observations. To make sense of such observations they often employ simplified representations of reality (i.e. models) which, by definition, are always wrong in some way. How do we extract the maximum information from inadequate observations and erroneous models? This module provides a review of data assimilation techniques as presently used in oceanography and atmospheric science. A common Bayesian framework will be used to fit the techniques into perspective, and also identify their strengths and weaknesses. Emphasis will be placed on the description of practical techniques that the students will be able to use in their future research.
Early Diagenesis: A Primer (Bernie Boudreau)
Early diagenesis is the term used to describe all the biological, chemical and physical changes that occur in sediments after their deposition. These include compaction, mixing by organisms, decomposition of organic matter and nutrient regeneration, and the dissolution and preservation of biogenic inorganic solids. Diagenesis controls the formation of oil and methane hydrates, dictates the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, constitutes the ultimate sink for anthropogenic CO2, and plays an important role in the geochemical cycles of a host of elements. This module introduces the student to the dominant diagenetic processes observed in sediments and their causes.
Observational Technologies (John Cullen/Marlon Lewis/Tetjana Ross)
Topics will vary based on interest. Could include satellite observations, laboratory techniques, typical or specialised field techniques (e.g. bio-optics, microstructure). There is currently no observations oriented course in the Department of Oceanography.
Advanced Data Analysis Techniques (Keith Thompson)
Topics will include poly-spectral techniques, linear and non-linear empirical orthogonal functions, singular vectors and fastest growing modes and principal oscillation patterns as applied to oceanographic data.
Instabilities (Dan Kelley)
Topics will vary based on interest. Building upon OCE 5311.03 (Fluid Dynamics I), the topics could include convective instability, double-diffusive instabilities, shear instabilities, and instabilities in geophysical fluids. The approach will touch on applications, observations, and theory.
Marine Optics (Marlon Lewis)
The module will focus on fundamental aspects governing the propagation of light in the sea. Topics will include sources of variability in radiative boundary conditions, variations in optical properties of the ocean interior, and those of the benthos. Consequences of optical variability for biological, chemical and physical oceanographic processes will be explored, as well as practical aspects dealing with remote sensing, underwater visibility, and other applied aspects.
Modules completed (2009-2012):
Time Series (Tetjana Ross) Feb 6 through Mar 14, 2012
Paleo- oceanography/climatology (Markus Kienast) Jan 19 through Feb 14, 2012
MATLAB for Oceanography (Katja Fennel) Oct. 3 through Oct. 14 , 2011
Marine Particles (Paul Hill) Feb. 28 through Mar. 24, 2011
Time Series (Tetjana Ross) Jan. 24 through Feb. 18, 2011
Acoustical Oceanography (Alex Hay) Nov. 5 through Dec. 6, 2010
MATLAB for Oceanography (Katja Fennel) Sep. 3 through Sep. 24, 2010
Time Series (Keith Thompson) Nov. 16 through Dec. 11, 2009
Fluid Mechanics (Tetjana Ross) Oct. 19 through Nov 13, 2009
Paleo- oceanography/climatology (Markus Kienast) Mar. 2 through Mar. 27, 2009 Marine Particles (Paul Hill) Jan. 26 through Feb. 20, 2009