Oceans and Climate

1 Course Unit

The oceans cover over 2/3 of the Earth's surface, but what do we know about them and how do they impact our climate and everyday life? We will examine climate change’s impacts on the oceans and how this in turn affects our daily lives from eating seafood to our weather patterns, to movement of goods across vast distances. Through frequent individual assignments using real-time data, readings, video lectures, and asynchronous discussions, students are exposed to the major areas of oceanography including plate tectonics, marine sediments, physical and chemical properties of seawater, ocean circulation, air-sea interactions, waves, tides, nutrient cycles in the ocean, and biology of the oceans through the lens of climate change and the consequent impacts on your daily life. The required text for this course is Essentials of Oceanography, 13th edition, by Alan P. Trujillo and Harold B. Thurman, which is available from a variety of online book retailers. For students pursuing the Certificate in Climate Change, you must complete CLCH 1600: Oceans and Climate plus any three additional climate change courses. Although it is recommended that students take CLCH 1600: Oceanography first, you can start with any course and take them in any order. 1 Course Unit