1. Introduction to Marine Science/Oceanography Course Structure
Lauren Sahl, Maine Maritime Academy
2. The Traditional Structure 1. History of our growth in
knowledge about the oceans. 2. Build the Earth. 3. Make the oceans
through plate tectonic processes. 4. Modify the sea floor through
sedimentation. 5. Fill the oceans with water. 6. Let the atmosphere
and the ocean water interact and the water circulates. 7. Other
types of circulation- waves and tides. 8. Move closer to shore and
look at beach and estuarine processes. 9. Put organisms in the
ocean. 10. Examine the bottom of the food chain and work your way
up. 11. Move off shore and look at deep ocean habitats. 12. Human
interaction with the ocean- resources, pollution, the role of the
ocean in climate change. 3. A Different Approach Discovering the
Oil/Plastics Cycle Active learning starts on day one. Students
discover their stake in the course. Student created course
structure anchors the course. Mind map product sets the stage for
geoethics discussions throughout the course. 4. Stomach contents
video Discovering the Oil/Plastics Cycle First class meeting 5. The
Homework Assignment Plastic in the Ocean Homework As a class we
watched a video showing the gut contents of a dead baby albatross
on Midway Island. If you want to watch it again it is at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DA4vb9bbQQ Plastic it not a
naturally occurring substance, nor is it naturally found in bird
guts or the ocean. Below, write down as many steps as you can that
led to a baby albatross ingesting plastic. Think deeply, beyond
plastic getting washed into the sea and then fed to the chick.
There are many types of plastics, but for our purposes we will
examine them as a group. Bring your chain of events to our next
class meeting. 6. Props- giant post-its, colorful markers. Small
group work/all class work/small group work/all class work.
Discovering the Oil/Plastics Cycle Second class meeting 7.
Albatross and plastic Marine plankton, plankton ecology and primary
production Water and marine chemistry, layering in the ocean,
upwelling Marine sediments Plate tectonics and the interior of the
Earth Sea floor morphology Circulation of the ocean and the
atmosphere Life in the ocean Food webs and trophic pyramid Organic
rich sediments lead to oil Folding of sedimentary rocks leads to
oil pools Circulation aggregates plastic Bioaccumulation of
plastic? Effects of plastics on other organisms? Upwelling leads to
high primary productivity and organic rich sediments Effect of
microplastics on plankton 8. Have students identify how they fit
into the cycle. Add as different colored post-its. Discovering the
Oil/Plastics Cycle Second class meeting 9. Discovering the
Oil/Plastics Cycle Third class meeting Hand out mind map developed
in previous class, and a syllabus with topics in same order as mind
map. 10. Develop exercises related to the mind map that Improve
scientific thinking and computation skills Probe the geoethics of
the use and abuse of the ocean Discovering the Oil/Plastics Cycle
During the semester 11. 1. How long does it take to make oil? How
long does it take to use it up? 2. Still in development.. Possible
Geoethics Exercises
