Courses
SMS-598: Special Topics: Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal.
Spring 2024 special offering (2 credits).
While humanity continues to work towards reducing our present and future rates of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, it is increasingly certain that, to avoid the worst impacts of anthropogenic climate change, we must also remove accumulated CO2 from the atmosphere. The oceans cover approximately 70% of Earth’s surface and have been proposed as a possible reservoir for CO2 storage. As a result, scientific, industrial, regulatory, and investor interests in so-called “marine carbon dioxide removal” (mCDR) have escalated in the last 1-2 years. In this seminar course, we will read and discuss recent research publications and white papers on proposed mCDR techniques, the challenges to their implementation, and their projected impacts. Discussions will be supplemented as necessary with brief lectures covering background concepts in oceanography so that all students develop a sound understanding of the scientific basis for each mCDR technique. Class meetings will be held in person at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, ME, with hybrid participation from Orono and other locations as necessary.
SMS-491: SBS: Marine Environmental Change.
Special topic offered during Fall 2023 Semester-by-the-Sea program at Darling Marine Center (4 credits)
We are entering an era of accelerated, physical and chemical change in the ocean environment. In this course at the Darling Marine Center, students will examine and understand the evidence for these shifts, learn standard observational methods used to document change in the marine environment, and explore the predicted consequences for marine systems. Topics will include increasing temperatures; the spread of low-oxygen conditions; sea level rise and coastline change; ocean acidification; and proposed methods to induce oceanic uptake of legacy CO2 emissions. Lectures and small-group discussions will center around readings taken from the primary literature, while field trips and laboratory work will introduce students to key observational techniques that are used to document physical and chemical change in the marine environment.
SMS-491: SBS: Oceanographic Field Methods.
Special topic offered during Fall 2022 Semester-by-the-Sea program at Darling Marine Center (4 credits)
Located at the Darling Marine Center, this four-credit course offers hands-on instruction in instruments and methods for measuring biological, chemical and physical variables associated with marine ecosystems and water quality. Students will receive intensive training in the collection of water and plankton samples at sea, operation of the University’s CTD-Rosette system, sondes and hand-held sensors, and processing of samples for plankton, chlorophyll a, and chemical and optical properties. The course includes participation in research cruises on the R/V Ira C to stations located in the Damariscotta Estuary and off the Maine coast, some of which will contribute to time-series observing for the Gulf of Maine Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). Training includes an introduction to identification of living marine phytoplankton and zooplankton. Lectures will introduce students to local oceanographic systems as well as concepts underlying the methods learned in the field and laboratory sessions. The course will be taught by SMS faculty and technical research staff.
SMS-491: SBS: Sea Change: Anthropogenic Shifts in Ocean Systems.
Special topic offered during Fall 2021 Semester-by-the-Sea program at Darling Marine Center (3 credits)
We are entering an era of accelerated, anthropogenic change in Earth’s systems, and many effects are occurring or are predicted to occur in the oceans. In this writing- and discussion-centered course, students will examine and understand the evidence for these shifts, and explore the observed and predicted consequences for marine systems. Possible topics will include melting ice and increasing temperatures; the spread of low-oxygen conditions and ocean acidification; and the accumulation and cycling of pollutants. Small-group discussions will center around readings taken from the primary literature, while writing assignments will focus on communication of scientific concepts to a range of technical and non-technical audiences, and will provide opportunities for students to practice editing and revising their work. Throughout, we will emphasize the process by which scientific observations are evaluated and disseminated as general knowledge.
SMS-520: Chemical Oceanography.
Distribution and cycling of elements in the marine system with emphasis on geochemical and biochemical interactions. (3 credits)
This is a graduate level survey of the field of chemical oceanography offered every fall semester. It is part of the core curriculum for the SMS graduate programs in oceanography, and also provides a foundation in marine chemistry concepts for students in other marine, earth, and climate science programs. Core topics include the application of thermodynamic equilibrium concepts to the marine environment; cycling of major, bioactive, gases and trace elements in the ocean; and a general introduction to tracers and modeling techniques. Quantitative problem solving and synthesis of the primary literature are also emphasized.