I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Oceanography Lab

2. Course Prefix & Number:
ESCI 1452

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 1

Lecture Hours: 0

Lab Hours: 2

4. Course Description:

This optional laboratory course is an introduction to the science of oceanography through hands-on experiences in the interdisciplinary areas of biological, chemical, geological, and physical oceanography. This course includes a variety of activities supporting the topics discussed in Oceanography lecture. These topics may include the ocean floor, plate tectonics, sea water chemistry, currents, waves, tides, coastal processes, and ocean life. Laboratory exercises will also focus on environmental topics which may include pollution, over-fishing and food supply, alternative energy, global warming, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation, tsunamis and storms, coastal problems, marine resources, etc. May include field trips. Two laboratory hours weekly. Prerequisite: ESCI 1451 or concurrent enrollment.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Name of Institution	Course Number and Title	Credits
North Hennepin Community College	GEOL 1851 Oceanography Lab	1
University of Minnesota	GEO 1106 Oceanography Lab	1

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 3 – Natural Sciences
• Goal 10 – People and the Environment

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Utilize appropriate technology	Incorporate analytical instruments for data collection in ocean science.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments from an oceanographic context.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

Expected Outcome	MnTC Goal Area
Evaluate issues that arise from the interaction between humans and the ocean realm, discuss in detail such issues, and propose informed ideas pertaining to the resolution of such issues.	10
Explain the basic structures and functions of the variety of marine ecosystems, and the interactions of humans with those systems.	10
Recognize and critically evaluate the deep and historical relationship of humans with the marine environment, the social structure that depends on marine resources, the impact on societies when marine resources decline, and when natural disasters strike.	10
Propose informed plans for sustainable marine resource management, and natural disaster preparation and response.	10
Demonstrate understanding of scientific theories pertaining to oceanography including, but not limited to, plate tectonics, sedimentation processes, the principle of fossil succession, evolution and adaptation, air-sea interactions, and many others.	3
Perform laboratory and field experiments using oceanographic field and data collection techniques that test components of contemporary oceanographic theories.	3
Write summaries of laboratory findings using scientific oceanographic language.	3

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions

1.  Scientific Methods:  Introduction to the Scientific Method and the tools and techniques of oceanography.

2.  Geography and the World’s Oceans:  Mapping the world’s oceans, geographic coordinates, topography and bathymetry.

3.  The Principles of Ocean Navigation:  Tools and techniques.

4.  Ocean Navigation Part 2: Finding one’s way across the world’s oceans using the tools and techniques of ocean navigators.

5.  Tsunami Tracking:  Using tsunami data to create tsunami travel time maps for the purpose of comparing tsunami events.

6.  The Microbiology of Hydrothermal Vents: Primary productivity by chemosynthetic microhabitat communities.

7.  The Formation of Hydrothermal Vents:  The relationship between solubility of minerals and temperature, and the chemical interactions of soluble salts to form insoluble precipitates at hydrothermal vents.

8.  Hurricane Tracking:  Using data from historical hurricane events for making hurricane tracking maps as an introduction to these disastrous events.

9.  Ocean Water Masses and TS Diagrams:  Using temperature and salinity to graphically track the movements of ocean water masses, thermohaline circulation, and the evidence for change in thermohaline circulation as a precursor to climate change events.

10.  Earth-Sun Relationships:  Changes in the relationship between Earth and Sun as a driver of seasonal changes in ocean temperature and circulation.

11.  Plankton – A Race to the Bottom:  A directed introduction to plankton their remarkable adaptations to a challenging environment.

12.  Coral Reefs and Coral Reef Mortality:  An introduction to the diversity of life at coral reefs and the issue of coral death worldwide.

13.  Fishing Down the Marine Food Web:  Investigating how overfishing can threaten coral reefs and what can be done about it.

14.  Ocean Gyres and the Pacific Garbage Patch:  Investigating how the Pacific Garbage Patch forms, and what are its affects on marine life.

15.  Mercury Bioaccumulation in Seafood:  Where mercury comes from and how it accumulates to dangerous levels.

16.  Ocean Anoxic Zones:  Investigating the Mississippi Delta anoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.