OCEANOGRAPHY

GEOL 1550

Fall 2004

Monday, Wednesday 301 Graham Bldg

12:00 – 2:00 PM

Office Hours:

Wed. 9:00-11:00 or by appt.

Instructor: Dr. Reide Corbett; corbettd@mail.ecu.edu

201c Graham Bldg; 328-1367

Textbook: An Introduction to the World's Oceans 7th Ed. 2003; Sverdrup, Sverdrup, and Duxbury

Course Web Site: http://www.blackboard.ecu.edu

Course Description:

The course introduces students to all of the basic principles of the marine sciences (i.e., the geology, physics, chemistry, and biology of global-scale ocean systems). Emphasis will be placed on the interplay that exists between the vast array of marine processes and products. The course also covers some of the practical issues that human society must face, such as use of ocean resources (food, energy, minerals), ocean pollution, preservation versus development of coastal environments, and marine law. Elementary mathematics will be incorporated into many lectures and all homework assignments. Simple computations and construction of quantitative graphs may be required on examinations.

Course Requirements:

The course format will consist of two lectures each week. Topics have been divided into five parts. Quizzes will be given approximately every week (I will notify you the class before a quiz). We will have approximately 10 quizzes throughout the semester (10 points each), I will drop the 2 lowest scores. Exams (50 points each) will be administered following each of the first three sections of lecture material. The final examination will cover the entire course, but will stress lecture Parts IV and V (100 points). The format on all exams will be a combination of multiple-choice, short-answer, simple math computations, and interpretation/construction of data sets on graphs. Students must complete 5 homework exercises (20 points each). Each exercise will involve mathematical treatment of concepts that are also covered in lecture. Students may drop their lowest homework score.

Finally, one creative project/media watch submission is required. This is very flexible and may include items such as: written summaries (1-2 pages) of visual and print media (newspaper, magazine, etc.) that actively utilize the sea/coasts/maritime issues as the natural setting for the main storyline (material must be referenced), include a brief paragraph stating your own opinions/responses to the topic; development of a personal web site; short, concise, original creative works (poem, short story, photo essay, art work, etc.). If you aren’t sure if your idea fits…just ask! Due 12/1!

Total Points for Course:

Quizes = 80 points

Term Examinations = 150 points

Final Examination = 100 points

Homework = 80 points (best 4 out of 5)

Project = 40

TOTAL = 450 points

Make-Up Policy:

If a student must miss a quiz, exam, or homework deadline because of illness or family crisis, she/he must inform the Professor by phone or E-mail as soon as possible and provide written documentation. In lieu of a make-up exam, the average score of all other mid-term exams will be used. If the absence remains unexcused, then a grade of zero will be assigned. No make-up will be given for the final exam.

Extra Credit:

Relevant News Articles

Each student has the opportunity to add an additional 20 points to their final total by simply finding a relevant newspaper article and presenting the story to the class (each presentation is worth 5 points). Presentation should be short (5 min. max), providing the facts of the article and relevance to oceanography.