BMSC Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

Instructor: TBD

Overview: 

This course will serve as an introduction to oceanography, with an emphasis on how physical and chemical processes drive primary production and the rest of the marine food web. Ocean structure, waves/tides, circulation, ocean chemistry, land/ocean interactions, primary producers, marine animals, marine ecosystems, and focused topics will be introduced. In collaborative groups, students will analyze open-source ocean data, collect samples from nearby coastal waters with traditional (e.g., bottles, nets) and modern methods (e.g., acoustic zooplankton fish profilers, profiling instruments, ocean autonomous systems), and process and analyze samples in the lab.

Research Skills: Students will gain skills in the collection of marine life from research vessels; use of oceanographic instruments to monitor and record oceanographic parameters (e.g., temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll, zooplankton); laboratory methods for measuring nutrients, oxygen, chlorophyll; identification of microscopic planktonic organisms; conducting a collaborative research project.

Practical Skills: Sampling, organizing and collecting data; data and statistical analysis; working in small collaborative groups on a mini research project; effective scientific presentations.

Boat Use: You will be given the opportunity to drive boats if you choose to do so. Boat driving is recommended for Biological Oceanography. Students who wish to drive boats at BMSC must hold a PCOC and valid first aid certificate and will participate in an introductory boat check-out on the first day of orientation.

Enrichment activities: Time permitting, we will discuss various topics e.g., applying to graduate school, effective scientific presentations, and topics of interest to students.

Prerequisites: Officially, this course requires introductory biology and ecology. However, the instructor will grant consent for students with courses in introductory chemistry or earth science (e.g. physical geography, geology, hydrology).

Physical requirements: Field and lab work may include some or all of the following activities: walking and climbing on rocky shorelines to collect specimens, working in small and medium sized boats in coastal waters, ability to observe small organisms using microscopes.

Required Text: Your choice of introductory oceanography textbooks. Recommended: any recent edition of Oceanography: An Invitation to Marine Science (Garrison, T. & Ellis, R.), Cengage Learning.