SEA Semester: Oceans & Climate
Renowned Visiting Prof. Named to Spring Oceans and Climate.
What is it?
An oceanography semester, informed by perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, and policy, that focuses on the pressing issue of global climate change.
When is it?
October 15, 2008 – January 3, 2009
Who should apply?
Experienced science students. Applicants need to have taken a minimum of three lab science courses, including one at the 300-level or higher, or obtain the consent of the SEA instructor.
Program Description
As a sink and a buffer for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and as a major mechanism of heat transport between the equator and high latitudes, the oceans play an indisputable role in setting the Earth’s climate. SEA Semester: Oceans and Climate provides an unequaled opportunity for undergraduate science students to study the place of the oceans in one of the pivotal scientific questions of our time – global climate change. This program invites students to ask questions, and to find answers, onboard our sailing oceanographic research vessels.
- Oceans and Climate SEA Semester planned cruise tracks for fall (Puerto Vallarta to Tahiti), and spring (Hawaii to Tahiti), overlaid on surface chlorophyll-a concentration. Image courtesy of NASA SeaWiFS.
The fall 2007 and spring 2008 sessions focus on the importance of the equatorial Pacific to the global carbon cycle. Six weeks of intensive study at our campus in Woods Hole prepares students for a six-week research cruise from either Mexico to Tahiti (fall), or Hawaii to Tahiti (spring). Onshore, guided by SEA faculty and visiting researchers from across the country, students will study topics in oceanography and ocean policy and learn skills necessary to operate a sailing research vessel. In addition, they will design an independent research project to be carried out during the 4,200-mile research cruise. During this voyage, students will carry out all functions of the sailing research vessel and gain practical experience in offshore oceanographic research. The prerequisite for SEA Semester: Oceans and Climate is a minimum of three laboratory science courses, including one at the 300-level or higher, or consent of the SEA instructor.
Courses
Oceans and Climate: Oceans in the Global Carbon Cycle (4 credits)
This shore component course is focused on the role of the oceans, and the eastern tropical Pacific in particular, in the global carbon budget. The course covers global carbon budgets, as well as physical and biological mechanisms of carbon transport and sequestration in the ocean and deep sea sediments. In a major component of the course, students develop a research project that they will carry out at sea. In addition to SEA's experienced faculty, prominent guest lecturers will share their research and work directly with students throughout the course.
Ocean Science and Public Policy (3 credits)
Oceans and climate have emerged in the last decade as a battlefield for the role of science in government policy. This course will examine the development of science within a policy context, and how current policy disputes emerging from climate issues shape and are shaped by scientific, political, and social values.
Nautical Science: Seamanship for Oceanographers (3 credits)
Lectures, labs, and group activities on shore in Woods Hole introduce students to the principles and practice of celestial navigation and coastal piloting, meteorology, seamanship, and the basic tenets that govern the operation of large sailing vessels. During the sea component, students apply these concepts while acting as active and increasingly responsible members of the ship's crew, working toward the ultimate role of Junior Watch Officer. In this role, students are charged with overseeing safe navigation of the vessel, deployment of research equipment, sail handling, and other responsibilities of ship operations.
Oceanographic Research Techniques (3 credits)
The modern laboratories on board our vessels have broad capabilities, ranging from acoustic measurements of water flow to epifluorescence microscopy for the study of nanoplankton particles. This course introduces students to the sensor technology behind the instruments, helps them develop practical skills in instrument deployments and analytical techniques, and teaches them how to use software tools to manage and visualize large, complex data sets.
Oceanography Research in Oceans and Climate (4 credits)
Students carry out novel oceanographic research under close faculty guidance. The final research paper will be comparable in scope to an undergraduate senior research thesis.
Special program features
The fall 2007 cruise track runs from Mexico to Tahiti, while the spring 2008 cruise sails from Tahiti to Honolulu, both of which include an equatorial crossing.
