Introduction to Oceanography GEOL 2503 Dr. David Bush University of West Georgia Department of Geosciences Introduction

2 Why do we care about the oceans?

3 Do we care about the oceans?

There is something for everybody! 4

5 Why Study the Oceans? Scientific curiosity Travel Commerce Food Minerals including salt Fresh Water War/Defense

6

7 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

8 Oceanography includes all aspects of study, but there are four main areas. Geological Oceanography Chemical Oceanography Physical Oceanography Biological Oceanography

9 Geological Oceanography Size and shape of ocean basins Ages of the sea floor Ocean rocks versus continental rocks Sediments that cover the seafloor

10 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

11 Physical Oceanography Water motion— waves, currents, tides Transmission of energy—sound, heat, light Water masses Pressure

12 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

13 There are many other areas of Oceanography, including: Engineering Meteorology Ecology

14 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

15 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”

16 Marine Ecology Pollution Extinction of marine species Loss of wetlands Negative environment al impacts A sea otter feeding offshore Southern California. They were hunted almost to extinction, mainly for fur.

17 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

18 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 s for important items.

19 Course Packs Required Include all PowerPoint slides Available in the bookstore

Contacting me Please me via CourseDen and not my regular UWG Office phone