Courses
Regular offerings
SMS-487: Semester-by-the-Sea: Marine Environmental Change
Offered yearly during spring term Semester-by-the-Sea program at Darling Marine Center (4 credits)
Description: Examination of natural and human-accelerated change in the ocean environment through field measurements with standard oceanographic techniques and laboratory experiments. Topics include influences of weather, tides, and seasonal cycles; and the observed and predicted effects of warming, oxygen loss, sea level rise, acidification, and human interventions in ocean systems for climate change mitigation.
SMS-520: Chemical Oceanography
Offered yearly during fall term in a multi-site, synchronous format to accommodate participants across multiple campuses. (3 credits)
Description: Distribution and cycling of elements in the marine system with emphasis on geochemical and biochemical interactions. This is a graduate level survey of the field of chemical oceanography. 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.
Special topics courses
SMS-598: Calibration and Validation for Ocean Color Remote Sensing
Typically offered during summer term in odd years.
An intensive four-week, cross-disciplinary, graduate-level workshop in optical oceanography. The major theme of the workshop is calibration and validation of ocean color remote sensing. Sponsored by NASA, the workshop provides participants with a fundamental knowledge of ocean optics and optical sensor technology that will enable them to make quality measurements, assess the uncertainties associated with the measurements, and compare the data with remotely sensed ocean color measurements and derived products. Participants may elect to earn graduate course credit.
SMS-598: Special Topics in Marine Science
Graduate-level seminars on topics of broad interest across the marine sciences. Typically offered in a hybrid format, spring term, every other year. Past offerings are below.
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Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (last offered in spring 2024). A discussion of recent research publications and white papers on proposed “marine carbon dioxide removal” techniques, the challenges to their implementation, and their projected impacts.
Ocean Biological Carbon Cycle (last offered in Spring 2022). A discussion of classic and recent papers about the ocean’s biological carbon cycle.