Geology 105: Oceanography

Fall 1997

Mike Valentine

OFFICE: Thompson 148, PHONE: 756-3129
Office Hours: Tues 12-1, Wed 10-11, Fri 1-2, and by appointment

REQUIRED TEXTS:
Oceanography 7th ed. M.G. Gross
Laboratory Exercises in Oceanography Thurman & Savin

NOTE CAREFULLY: You must complete assigned readings PRIOR TO CLASS as scheduled. I WILL NOT rephrase the text contents, but I do expect you to have read and understood assigned readings. Difficult portions of the text WILL be covered in lectures, and you should ask about material which isn't clear to you. Each exam will include materials NOT covered specifically in lectures, but found in the reading. There will be ample opportunity in class to discuss questions about the readings (see below).

EXAMS (50% of course grade): There will be three exams covering lectures, reading assignments, labs, and movies. Your two highest exam grades account for 20% each, and your lowest exam grade accounts for 10% of your course grade. The third exam will include questions drawn from in-class student presentations. Exams are NOT CUMULATIVE.

PAPERS/CLASS PRESENTATIONS (15 % of course grade): You will research a topic of your own choosing, write a short paper, and present your findings in class. The main purpose of this research is to allow more in-depth study of an aspect of oceanography which interests you. Choose your subject accordingly. See attached sheet for further instructions.

LABS (30% of course grade): See lab schedule.

EXCUSES: I will be very strict concerning times/dates of exams and turning in of labs and papers. However, if you have a problem with these deadlines, come and see me BEFOREHAND; I am not unreasonable.

FIELD TRIP (5% of course grade): There will be a REQUIRED one-day field trip on a Saturday or Sunday. You may write a paper on Puget Sound if you can't make the trip. See attached sheet for details.

PLEASE NOTE: A) Participation in lab and completion of ALL assignments (even if late) are required for a passing grade. B) As marine biology is superbly covered by courses offered by the BIOLOGY Dept., marine life will not receive extensive coverage here. C) Parts of numerous class sessions will be devoted to discussion of topics covered in the text and lectures If you feel lost or are having problems following the lecture or lab material, PLEASE see me. I am more than happy to help.

FINALLY: ASK QUESTIONS!!!! Please ask questions in class as it often helps not only you, but the rest of the class, clarify things. It also lets ME know where I'm not being clear.


Geology 105 Class Schedule--Fall, 1997

When? Topic Reading (Gross)
9/3 Introduction & History of Oceanography
9/5 Introduction [M- The Blue Planet] Ch. 1
9/8 Earth's Origin and Structure
9/10 Ocean Basins/Marine Provinces Ch. 2
9/12 Discussion
9/15 Plate Tectonics Ch. 3
9/17 Plate Tectonics (cont.)
9/19 Discussion [M- Plate Tectonics]
9/22 Sea Water Ch. 4
9/24 Sediments Ch. 5
9/26 Discussion
9/29 Atmosphere Ch. 6
10/1 Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction & Discussion
10/3 Climate
10/6 EXAM #1 Ch. 7
10/8 Currents Ch. 8
10/10 Discussion [M- Gulf Stream]
10/13 Waves [M- Waves on Water] Ch. 9
10/15 Student Presentations 1
10/17 Tides Ch. 10
10/20 FALL BREAK- NO CLASS
10/22 Student Presentations 2
10/24 [M- El Nino video] [M- Beach, a River of Sand]
10/27 Student Presentations 3
10/29 Coastlines Ch. 14
10/31 Coastlines (cont.) [M- Portrait of a Coast]
11/3 Marine Life Ch. 11-13
11/5 EXAM #2
11/7 Marine Life (cont.) [M- Where the Bay Becomes the Sea]
11/10 Student Presentations 4
11/12 Pollution Ch. 15 & "Boxes" on pp. 101, 390, 411, 422, & 424
11/14 Student Presentations 5
11/17 Ocean Technology & Discussion Handout
11/19 Student Presentations 6
11/21 Student Presentations 7
11/24 Economic Resources Handout & "Boxes" on pp. 234, 262
11/26 Student Presentations 8
11/28 THANKSGIVING- NO CLASS
12/1 Discussion [M- Riches From the Sea]
12/3 Student Presentations 9 [PAPERS DUE]
12/5 Student Presentations 10
12/8 Puget Sound Area & Discussion Handout
12/10 EXAM #3
NOTE: [M] indicates a film/video will be shown in class that day.


Geology 105 Lab Schedule for Fall 1997

Week When Topic Lab Manual Reading
1 9/3 & 5 Introduction & Basic Concepts Ex. 1 (p. 1 - 5)
2 9/10 &12 Maps & Charts Ex. 2 (p. 7 - 15)
Rock Material Density Handout
3 9/17 & 19 Bathymetry & Navigation Ex. 3 (p. 17 - 27)
4 9/24 & 26 Plate Tectonics Ocean-floor Topography Ex. 4 (p. 29 - 36)
Ex. 5 (p. 37 - 47)
5 10/1 & 3 Ocean Sediments Ex. 6 (p. 49 - 58)
6 10/8 & 10 Coriolis Effect Ex. 9 (p. 75 - 80)
7 10/15 & 17 Winds & Surface Currents Ex. 10 (p. 81 - 88)
8 10/22 & 24 NO LAB: Make-up for week-end trip
9 10/29 & 31 Tides Handout
Sea Water Analysis- PART I: Sample Collection Ex. 7 & 8 (p. 59 - 74)
10 11/5 & 7 Sea Water Analysis- PART II: Analysis of Commencement Bay Water
11 11/12 & 14 Waves [M- Dive to the Edge of Creation] Ex. 11 & 12 (p. 89-102)
12 11/19 & 21 Coasts & Shorelines Ex. 13 (p. 103 - 109)
Handout
13 11/26 & 28 NO LABS- THANKSGIVING
14 12/3 & 5 LAB EXAM
15 12/10 NO LAB: Final 1/2 week of classes

Grading: Lab will account for 30% of your course grade. Labs account for 20%, lab exam for 10%. Each lab report will be equally weighted for grading purposes. Attendance: You must come to all labs. If for some GOOD reason you miss a lab, you must make it up. Most labs can be completed (or nearly so) during the lab period. All labs will be due IN LAB the following week. Any labs turned in after that will be penalized. You will be expected to stay in lab the entire 2 hours OR finish that week's lab & hand it in before you leave lab.


Geology 105 Instructions for Short Paper/Oral Report

A short paper and oral report are required. The paper will be on a topic of your choosing. Each paper should be at least 5 double-spaced, TYPEWRITTEN pages (exclusive of figures, references, etc.). NO handwritten papers. Papers are due 12/3 (the Wednesday after Thanksgiving) IN CLASS. You have plenty of advance notice, so there is NO EXCUSE for late papers. There are also due dates for a list of references and an outline (see below). Deadlines are FIRM! 10% will be deducted for every day your paper is late. Even if your paper is late enough to be worth 0%, you must turn it in in order to pass the course! CAREFULLY follow these guidelines:

1) Select a topic related to any aspect of oceanography. Check the topic with me. You MUST confirm your topic with me by Friday, Sept. 26th, in class. Failure to do so will result in a 10% deduction in your grade for the paper/report!

2) Locate AT LEAST 3 PRINT references on your topic from which you will prepare your report. Newspaper and magazine articles must be from 1993 to the present. Scientific journal papers may be from 1990 to present. You may use web pages as sources, but at least three of your sources MUST be printed material. Check your choice of articles with me BEFORE you start writing.

3) Give me a typed list of your sources by one week BEFORE your oral report is to be given. Failure to do so will result in a penalty of 10% of the paper's value! Your citation should include all information necessary for me to easily locate the article and will be part of the paper grade. You MUST use the following format:
-Author, Title, Publication Name, volume number, date of publication, pages

EXAMPLE:
-Valentine, M.J., Oysters I've known, Gourmet Magazine, v. 13, June, 1992, pp 1-13.

NOTE: For newspaper articles include section, page, & column. Organizations CAN be authors. For web pages, try to fit the citation to the required format as best you can. Example:
-Geist, D., 1996, Some documentation and thoughts on Volcan Alcedo, on Web site of Dennis Geist, University of Idaho, 23 October 1996, URL: http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgeist/galapagos/alcedo.html.
Be sure any web citations include the URL.

4) Prepare a 10-minute oral presentation on your topic. Dates for oral presentations will be randomly assigned by the second week of classes.

5) Prepare a TYPEWRITTEN, double-spaced, 5 + page discussion of the chosen topic. EXCLUSIVE OF FIGURES, TABLES, ETC.

6) Suggested sources for articles include, but are NOT restricted to, Scientific American, National Geographic, Oceanus, Sea Frontiers, Nature, Science, Natural History, Discover, Time, Newsweek, Science News, and the Science Section of the New York Times (Tuesday, I believe) or any other newspaper.

7) LAST SUGGESTION: Skim your sources prior to turning your reference list in to me. Don't choose articles/papers of little interest to you or those that are too technical for you. You should be able to decide on these factors before writing your paper. I don't want that an article or paper was "beyond my level of understanding". Recognize this problem BEFORE writing your paper, and choose another article. The topic should be something YOU are particularly interested in!!!

8) Your report grade will be based on a combination of your oral report and written paper. 5% for the oral portion and 10% for the written paper, for a total of 15% of your course grade.

IN SUMMARY: Choose a topic, find at least three references on your topic, prepare a 10-minute oral report and write a 5-page paper.
If you have questions about any of this, please see me.

FIELD TRIP INFORMATION:

There will be a REQUIRED day-long field trip on a Saturday or Sunday. I am trying to schedule a day cruise on the Sound aboard a marine research vessel. If I can arrange this, the cost will be an additional $26.00 per person for the trip. The school MAY subsidize part of this cost, but it will likely cost at least $20.00 per person. I will let you know as soon as possible about the trip and the date. I am aiming for a week-end in October. If the trip falls through, we will take a one-day trip to the coast to look at coastal features. I'll keep you posted.
If you simply can not make the field trip for some reason, see me with your excuse as early as possible. I will arrange for you to make it up by writing an additional 8-10 page paper on a topic I will assign.



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Mike Valentine
Contact: mvalentine@ups.edu