Oceanography Course Descriptions

From FSU General Bulletin 2003-2005

Probe Photo DEFINITION OF PREFIXES
ISC: Interdisciplinary Sciences
MAP: Mathematics Applied
OCB: Biological Oceanography
OCC: Chemical Oceanography
OCE: General Oceanography
OCG: Geological Oceanography
OCP: Physical Oceanography
PSC: Physical Sciences

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

ELEMENTARY

ISC 2003
Global Change, Its Scientific & Human Dimensions (3). Prerequisites: Two years high school science,two years high school math. Global environmental change, scientific andhuman dimensions, and international public policy implications.

OCE 1001 (Sections 1 & 2)
Elementary Oceanography (3). Prerequisite: MGF 1106 or 1107. Structure and motion of the ocean and itsenvirons, properties, populations, and energy budget. Not intended forupper-division science or mathematics majors. Upper-division science ormathematics majors are encouraged instead to take OCE 4011.

PSC 2800C
Earth Science for EC/EETeachers (4). For a complete description, see interdisciplinary sciencecourses listed in the College of Arts and Sciences chapter of theGeneral Bulletin.

SCIENCE PREPARATORY

ISC 4931r
Special Topics in EnvironmentalScience (1-3). Analyzes new scientific developments in the Earth'schanging environment system and its links to human activities and policies.An emphasis on ocean, atmosphere, and terrestrial environments, and thehuman dimensions of their change will strengthen students' interdisciplinary understanding of environmental science. Specific topics will vary fromyear to year. May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours.

OCE 4011
Principles of Oceanography (3). Prerequisite: A science major or minor. Dynamicmotions and life processes in the marine environment. Long-term geologichistory of the oceans and recent changes caused by man.

ADVANCED

OCB 4637
Marine Benthic Ecology(3). Prerequisite: ZOO 4203C or as a corequisite with permission of instructor.The physical setting and ecological organization of the communities foundin the rocky intertidal, in the fouling habitat, on sandy beaches, in subtidalsoft bottoms, and in the deep sea is presented through lectures, substantial reading, and class discussions.

OCC 4002
Basic Chemical Oceanography(3). Prerequisites: CHM 1046. Chemical composition of seawater, carbondioxide system, nutrients, trace elements, and biogeochemistry.

OCE 4017r
Current Issues in Environmental Science(3). Taught at an introductory level, this class includes discussions of current ground-breaking research, environmental problems, and approaches to solving them. This course consists of presentations by experts on their current research topics or environmental issues. May be repeated to a maximum of six (6) semester hours.

OCG 4050
Geological Oceanography(3). Structural and oceanographic setting of continents and ocean basins,plate tectonics, ocean margins, marine sediments, and ocean history.

SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION

OCE 4905r
Directed Individual Study(1-3). (S/U grade only.) May be repeated to a maximum of ten (10) semester hours.

OCE 4906r
Directed Individual Study(1-4). Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. May be repeated, subject tolimitations that may apply from the individual student's major departments,to a maximum of eighteen (18) semester hours.

OCE 4930r
Studies in Oceanography(1-4). Prerequisites: See instructor. Topics vary. May be repeated when contentchanges, for a maximum of nine (9) semester hours.

GRADUATE COURSES

CORE CURRICULUM

OCB 5050:
Basic Biological Oceanography(3). Introduction to the organization of benthic and planktonic communitiesin the ocean.

OCC 5050:
Basic Chemical Oceanography(3). Prerequisite: CHM 1046. The chemical composition of seawater, carbondioxide system, nutrients, trace elements, biogeocemistry.

OCG 5051:
Basic Geological Oceanography(3). Structural and oceanographic setting of continents and ocean basins,plate tectonics, ocean margins, marine sediments, and ocean history.

OCP 5050:
Basic Physical Oceanography (3). Prerequisite: MAC 2311. Seawater properties, currents, waves, tides,and acoustics. Not open to students in physical oceanography option.

BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

OCB 5305
Marine Nekton: Larval Fish to Whales(3). Overview of marine nekton including bony and cartilaginous fishes, cephalopods, reptiles and mammals. A survey of the taxonomy, anatomy/functional morphology and physiology of these groups including aspects of their relationships with humans.

OCB 5515
Marine Microbiology (3). The role of microorganisms in the economy and productivity of thesea. The role of microbes in geological and geochemical processes.

OCB 5566
Zooplankton Ecology(3). Ecology of marine micro and macro zooplankton; major topics includebiogeography, life histories, effects of physical, chemical, and biologicalfactors on population dynamics. Open to advanced undergraduates withconsent of instructor.

OCB 5565
Marine Primary Production(3). Factors that affect the biomass production and spatial distributionof phytoplankton, seagrasses, and macroalgae in the ocean will be described. The key role of marine primary production in the global carbon cycle willbe explained.

OCB 5600
Biological Fluid Dynamics(3). (S/U grade only.) Prerequisite: Algebra. Designed to introduce biologicaloceanography and biology graduate students to the consequences of fluidflow for biological systems. The text, Vogel's "Life in Moving Fluids,"is supplemented by movies, problem sets, and demonstrations. Studentswill present a chapter from the text plus supplementary material at eachmeeting.

OCB 5636
Marine Microbial Ecology(3). The diversity, distribution and roles of marine microbes, whose membersinclude viruses, bacteria, archaea and protists, will be presented throughlectures, readings, class discussions, and field trips to regional marinehabitats.

OCB 5639
Marine Benthic Ecology(3). Prerequisite: ZOO 4203C; college-level statistics recommended.Open to advanced undergraduates with consent of instructor. The physicalsetting and community organization of these habitats are presented throughlectures and substantial readings: rocky intertidal, sand beach, subtidalsoft bottom, coral reef, deep-sea habitats.

CHEMICAL AND GEOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

OCC 5052
Aquatic Chemistry(3). Prerequisites: CHM 3400; OCC 5050. Thermodynamics, acid-base and redoxreactions in natural waters, solution-precipitation reactions, complexformation, case studies of composition of seawater, and controlling processes.

OCC 5062
Marine Isotopic Chemistry(3). Prerequisites: OCC 5050; OCP 5050; Corequisite: CHS 4100C. Applicationof radiochemistry and stable isotope geochemistry in the oceanographic andenvironmental sciences.

OCC 5065
Environmental Chemistry(3). Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Principles of water chemistry,hydrology and systems analysis applied to solving problems in water quality.

OCC 5415
Marine Geochemistry(3). Prerequisite: OCC 5050. Introduction to geochemistry of earth withemphasis on processes controlling elemental cycling between the earth'scrust, oceans, and atmosphere. Controls on the chemical composition ofseawater and its geological history.

OCC 5416
Organic Geochemistry (3).Prerequisite: OCC 5050. Occurrence and transformations of organic substancesin the marine environment.

OCC 5417
Geochemical Ocean Tracers(3). Prerequisites: OCC 5050; OCP 5050. Mixing models and processes affectingdissolved concentrations and distributions of chemicals and radiotracersin the world's oceans.

OCC 5554
Atmospheric Chemistry(3). Prerequisites: CHM 4410; OCP 5050; OCC 5050. Formation and transportof atmospheric trace gases and aerosols.

OCG 5457
Stable Isotopes as Tracersin Aquatic Ecosystems (3). Prerequisites: a course in chemistry anda course in mathematics, 1000 level or higher. The course will discussthe notation, fractionation effects, laboratory techniques and applicationof stable isotopes to aquatic ecosystems. Discussions will includeapplications for stable isotope tracing techniques for deep sea sediments,estuaries and wetlands. Their uses extend from revealing climatichistory to variations in food web dynamics.

PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

Map 5431
Introduction to FluidDynamics (3). Prerequisites: PHY 3048C, MAP 4153; Corequisite: MAP 4341,5345, or consent of instructor. Physical properties of viscous fluids,kinematics of flow fields, governing equations, viscous flow. Dynamicsof viscous incompressible fluids, vorticity, boundary layer flow, potential flow.

MAP 6434r.
Advanced Topics in Hydrodynamics(2). Selected topics such as stability problems, linear and nonlinear theories;regular and singular perturbation techniques. Also offered in the departmentsof Mathematics, Computer Science, and Meteorology. May be repeated fora maximum of eighteen (18) semester hours.

OCP 5056
Introduction to PhysicalOceanography (3). Prerequisite: PHY 2049C, MAP 2302, or consent ofthe instructor. Properties of seawater, equations of motion and continuityof volume, geostrophic motion, stability and double diffusion, ocean currents.

OCP 5160
Ocean Waves (3). Prerequisite:OCP 5253 or consent of instructor. Topics included are: general propertiesof waves; surface gravity, capillary, inertia-gravity, internal, Kelvin,Rossby; continental shelf and coastal trapped waves; many illustrationsof how ocean variability can be described by free and forced waves.

OCP 5253
Fluid Dynamics: GeophysicalApplications (3). Prerequisites: MAP 5431 and partial differentialequations, or consent of instructor. Shallow-water theory, Poincare, Kelvin,and Rossby waves; boundary layer theory; wind driven ocean circulationmodels; quasigeostrophic motion on a sphere, thermocline problem; stabilitytheories. Also offered by the departments of Mathematics, Computer Science,and Meteorology.

OCP 5255
Stability of GeophysicalFluid Flows (3). Classical linear stability theory of fluid flows withexamples and applications in geophysical fluid dynamics. Specific topicsinclude inviscid, viscous, and stratified parallel shear flow, thermalconvection, double-diffusive systems, and rotating systems.

OCP 5259
Eddies and Rings as HeatExchange Mechanism (3). Prerequisites: MAP 5431; OCP 5056, 5253, 5285. Migratory behavior of eddies, rings and gyres. Evolution and decay of eddies in the upper, deep and intermediate ocean.

OCP 5262
Coastal Ocean Dynamics(3).Prerequisites: MAP 5431, OCP 5253, or consent of instructor. Dynamics ofwind-driven coastal flow. Effects on coastal flows of coastline geometry,bottom topography, friction, and density stratification. An overview ofthe physical processes for advanced graduate students.

OCP 5263
Equatorial Dynamics (3).Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Forced and unforced equatorialocean waves, reflection of equatorial waves from ocean boundaries, equatorialcurrents, El Niño/Southern Oscillation dynamics.

OCP 5265
Main Ocean Thermocline(3). Prerequisites: MAP 5431, OCP 5261, or consent of instructor. Large-scaleocean dynamics and observations. Linear theories. Classical nonlinear theories.Ventilated-thermocline model and applications. Relation of thermoclineto ocean circulation.

OCP 5271
Turbulence (3). Prerequisite:OCP 5253. Turbulent transport of momentum and heat; dynamics of turbulence;homogeneous isotropic turbulence; wall bounded shear flows; statisticaldescription of turbulence; spectra. Also offered by the Department of Meteorology.

OCP 5285
Dynamic Oceanography(3). Prerequisite: OCP 5056. Currents with friction, effects of turbulence,thermohaline circulation, waves.

OCP 5551
Physics of the Air-SeaBoundary Layer (3). Prerequisites: OCP 5285, MET 4302, or consent ofinstructor. Flux of momentum, heat and water; study of air sea interaction;mechanisms of exchange and budgets. Also offered by the Department of Meteorology.

SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION AND SEMINAR

OCB 5930r
Special Topics in Biological Oceanography (1-3). May be repeated to a maximum of thirty (30) semester hours.

OCB 5939r
Biological Oceanography Seminar (1). (S/U grade only) Meets weekly for reports and discussionsof recent biological oceanographic research within and outside of the department.May be repeated for a maximum of ten (10) semester hours.

OCC 5419C
Advanced Biogeochemistry: Field Methods and Concepts(3) Prerequisites: BSC 2010; CHM 1046. This course teaches a hands-on approach for the elucidation/quantification of environmental parameters and microbial processes and provides students with a tool kit of relevant field and lab techniques which may be used in a variety of environmental settings.

OCC 5930r
Special Topics in Chemical Oceanography (1-3). May be repeated to a maximum of thirty (30) semester hours.

OCC 5939r
Chemical Oceanography Seminar (1). (S/U grade only.) Meets weekly for reports and discussionsof recent chemical oceanographic research within and outside of the department.May be repeated for a maximum of ten (10) semester hours.

OCE 5908r
Directed Individual Study(1-12). (S/U grade only)

OCE 5910r
Supervised Research(1-5). (S/U grade only.) A maximum of three (3) hours may apply to themaster's degree, five (5) to the Ph.D.

OCE 5940r
Supervised Teaching (1-5).(S/U grade only.) A maximum of three (3) hours may apply to the master'sdegree, five (5) to the Ph.D.

OCP 5930r
Special Topics in PhysicalOceanography (1-3). May be repeated to a maximum of thirty (30) semesterhours.

OCP 5939r
Physical OceanographySeminar (1). (S/U grade only.) Meets weekly for reports and discussions of recent physical oceanographic research within and outside of the department.May be repeated for a maximum of ten (10) semester hours.

GENERAL

OCE 5009
Advanced General Oceanography(3). An overview of geological, physical, chemical and biological oceanography. The major hypothesis in each subdiscipline will be described. Cross-linkages between subdisciplines will be used to show the interdisciplinary natureof modern oceanography.

OCE 5018r
Current Issues in Environmental Science(3) Taught at an introductory level, this class includes discussions of current ground-breaking research, environmental problems, and approaches to solving them. This course consists of presentations by experts on their current research topics or on environmental issues. May be repeated to a maximum of six (6) semester hours.

OCE 5971r
Thesis (1-6). (S/Ugrade only.) A minimum of six (6) semester hours is required.

OCE 6980r
Dissertation (1-12). (S/Ugrade only.) A minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours is required.

OCE 8964r
Preliminary Doctoral Examination (0). (S/U grade only.)

OCE 8976r
Master's Thesis Defense (0). (S/U grade only.)

OCE 8985r
Dissertation Defense (0). (S/U grade only.)