SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor

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1 SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor Voyage: Spring 2015 Discipline: Environmental Science EVSC and 502: Introduction to Oceanography (Sections 1 and 2) Division: Lower Division Faculty Name: Ann Gargett Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38 Pre-requisites: None COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides an introduction to the study of oceans. Topics to be covered include: early ocean exploration and the development of the science of oceanography; tools and technology for ocean exploration; the origin and evolution of the Earth and its oceans; continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics; geomorphology of the seafloor from the continental shelf to the deep sea, including the global distribution and origin of the features such as submarine canyons, ocean ridges and rises, trenches and fracture zones; paleoceanography and the origin, distribution, and historical record of seafloor sediments; climate change and its driving forces; marine mineral and energy resources including the origin and distribution of petroleum and impacts of extraction, transportation, and utilization; salinity and ocean chemistry; the circulation of the oceans; tides and waves; climate change and sea level fluctuations; beaches, shorelines, coastal processes and hazards; pollution and other human impacts on the oceans. COURSE OBJECTIVES To provide an introduction to the importance of oceans in the evolution of Earth and its life, how they affect and what they provide to civilizations today from a global perspective: energy resources, climate and weather, food resources, transportation and defense, water and habitat, and the impacts of humans on the oceans. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: This textbook is not available for purchase through the U.Va. Bookstore. You will need to acquire it independently and bring it with you to the ship. AUTHOR: Trujillo and Thurman TITLE: Essentials of Oceanography PUBLISHER: Pearson ISBN #: 10: DATE/EDITION: Eleventh Edition 2014

2 TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE DATE/TOPIC/READING Depart Ensenada- January 7: A1 - Jan 9 Introduction: Organization and Scope; Expectations, Chap. 1 John Delaney: Wiring an interactive ocean A2 - Jan 11 Plate Tectonics; Chap. 2 A3 - Jan 13 Plate Tectonics; Chap. 2 Evan Grant: Making sound visible through cymatics Jan 14 Hilo, Hawaii A4 - Jan 16 Marine Provinces; Chap. 3 A5 - Jan 18 Marine Provinces; Chap. 3 Charles Moore: Seas of Plastic Dianna Cohen: Tough Truths about Plastic Pollution A6 - Jan 22 Water and Seawater; Chap 5 A7 - Jan 24 Air Sea Interaction; Chap 6 Caitria + Morgan O'Neill: How to step up in the face of disaster Jan 26th Jan 31st Yokohama and Kobe, Japan A8 - Feb 1 Air Sea Interaction; Chap 6 Gavin Pretor-Pinney: Cloudy with a chance of joy Nathalie Miebach: Art made of storms Feb 3rd Feb 8th Shanghai and Hong Kong A9 - Feb 9 Air Sea Interaction; Chap 6

3 Feb 11th 16th Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam A10 - Feb 17 Ocean Circulation; Chap. 7 Feb 19th 20th Singapore A11 - Feb 22 Ocean Circulation; Chap. 7 Feb 24th - Mar 1st Rangoon, Myanmar A12 - Mar 2 Waves and Ocean Dynamics; Chap 8 A13 - Mar 4 Tides; Chap 9 Mar 6th 11th Cochin, India A14 - Mar 12 The Coast - Beaches and beach sand; waves on beaches Chap. 10 Greg Stone: Saving the ocean one island at a time Margaret Wertheim: The beautiful math of coral A15 - Mar 15 Coastal retreat, erosion and responses Chap. 10 A16 - Mar 17 Coastal Ocean; Chap 11 Mar 18th Port Louis, Mauritius A17 - Mar 20 Marine Life; Chap 12 Jeremy Jackson: How we wrecked the ocean Paul Snelgrove: A census of the ocean Simon Berrow: How do you save a shark you know nothing about? A18 - Mar 23 Marine Life; Chap 12 Daniel Pauly: The ocean's shifting baseline Enric Sala: Glimpses of a pristine ocean Mar 25th 30th Cape Town, South Africa A19 - Mar 31 Biological Productivity; Chap 13

4 Apr 2nd 6th Walvis Bay A20 - Apr 7 Animals of the Pelagic; Chap 14 Barbara Block: Tagging tuna in the deep ocean Jackie Savitz: Save the oceans, feed the world! A21 - Apr 9 Animals of the benthic; Chap 15 A22 - Apr 12 Fisheries A23 - Apr 15 Climate change; Global warming, the greenhouse effect Chap. 16 Gavin Schmidt: The emergent patterns of climate change James Balog: Time-lapse proof of extreme ice loss Vicki Arroyo: Let's prepare for our new climate A24 - Apr 17 Climate change; Global warming, the greenhouse effect Chap. 16 Apr 18th 22nd Casablanca, Morocco A25 - Apr 25 Final Exam

5 FIELD LABS (see end of syllabus for detailed descriptions) Port Louis: Field course, Section 501 Trip to Mangroves and coral reefs Cape Town: Field Course, Section 502 Trip to learn of whales, penguins, sharks METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC Student grade will be based on 2 quizzes (20%), a paper based on the field lab (20%)class participation (attendance, engagement in class discussion) (10%), written assignments (20%) and a final exam (30%). RESERVE LIBRARY LIST Seabirds: An Identification Guide By Peter Harrison Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 16, 1991) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Whales, Dolphins, and Other Marine Mammals of the World (Princeton Field Guides) By Hadoram Shirihai and Brett Jarrett (Author) Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 2, 2006) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: How the oceans work. Mark Denny. Princeton University Press AUTHOR: Joshua Slocum HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed].

6 FIELD LAB - EVSC Faculty Name: Ann Gargett Voyage: Spring 2015 Course Title: Introduction to Oceanography Discipline: Oceanography I. Field Lab: lab 8 hours II. In-Country Faculty/Contact III. Academic Objectives: 1. Explore general interactions between ecology and development 2. Learn of the effects of changing ocean acidity on coral reefs. 3. Investigate strategies for mangrove and reef restoration. IV. Field Lab Description: Mangrove forests and coral reefs harbor much of the biodiversity of tropical marine ecosystems. Mangrove trees and coral provide structural complexity to near shore marine habitat, allowing the co-existence of diverse species assemblages. When that structure is damaged or removed, these ecosystems can collapse. Mangrove forests have been cleared throughout much of the tropics for coastal development, while coral reefs are threatened by ocean acidification and other human sources of habitat degradation. In this lab, we will explore both habitat types to learn about their ecology, conservation problems, and restoration efforts. V. Associated Assignments: Written paper describing information acquired about mangrove/coral reef biology, preservation and restoration, with discussion of the potential effects of climate change on both ecosystems.

7 FIELD LAB EVSC Faculty Name: Ann Gargett Voyage: Spring 2015 Course Title: Introduction to Oceanography Discipline: Oceanography I. Field Lab: II. In-Country Faculty/Contact III. Academic Objectives: 1. Experience methods for monitoring and protecting endangered marine species 2. Appreciate the difficulties of supplying sufficient land base for ecological support of marine species that reproduce on land. 3. Understand interactions between marine environment and marine species. IV. Field Lab Description: From the port of Cape Town, we will travel south to Hermanus, a small coastal town that is home to the shark lab of the South African Shark Conservancy, where we will learn from a marine biologist and shark researcher about shark research and conservation efforts in South Africa. In the afternoon, we will visit the Jackass penguin colony at Stony Point during the busy breeding season before returning to Cape Town. V. Associated Assignments: Written paper describing information acquired about shark/penguin biology, preservation and restoration, with discussion of the potential effects of climate change on both species.