Geology 105 - Oceanography

Spring
2016
01
4.00
David Jones
MWF 09:00AM-09:50AM
Amherst College
GEOL-105-01-1516S
BEBU 107
djones@amherst.edu

The global ocean is one of the defining features of our planet’s surface.  It regulates weather patterns, sculpts the coasts of the continents, and contains records of the past 200 million years of earth's climate in sediment on the seafloor.  In this course we will develop an understanding of the global marine system through study of its interconnected geological, chemical, physical, and biological processes.  These fundamental principles include seafloor spreading, the transport of heat from the equator to the poles, and cycling of nutrients and organic matter by plankton.  We will address how the ocean has evolved over the planet’s history, from changes in its circulation brought on by shifting continental configurations and climate fluctuations to its chemical responses to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  The course will conclude with scientifically informed considerations of some of the challenges humanity faces in deciding how to use the ocean and its resources. Three class hours per week.


Not open to students who have taken GEOL 121. Limited to 60 students. Spring semester.  Professor Jones.


 

Permission is required for interchange registration during all registration periods.