Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change
(1) General
| School: | Of the Environment | ||
| Academic Unit: | Department of Marine Sciences | ||
| Level of studies: | Postgraduate | ||
| Course Code: | Semester: | Β | |
| Course Title: | Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change | ||
| Independent Teaching Activities | Weekly Teaching Hours | Credits | |
| 3 | |||
| Total credits | 6 | ||
| Course Type: | Specialized General Knowledge | ||
| Prerequisite Courses: | Officially, there are not prerequisite courses. However, the student needs to have essential knowledge of Physics (Classical Mechanics, Waves, Radiation), Calculus and Chemistry | ||
| Language of Instruction and Examinations: | Greek | ||
| Is the course offered to Erasmus students: | Yes. In their case the language of instruction and examination is English, and the course is adapted depending on each student.
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| Course Website (Url): | https://www.mar.aegean.gr/index.php?lang=en&pg=3.2.1&lesson=6 | ||
(2) Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
This course aims to introduce the graduate students to the physical processes which act on the coastal zone and form the environment in which the ecosystem process and human activities take place. In order to achieve the target, the students are introduced to basic principles of open sea Oceanography, as well as Climate processes and air-sea interactions, so that in the second part of the course, they we will able to understand the processes taking place in the coastal ecosystem and their expected variability in a changing climate.
The student, after the successful completion of the course, is expected to be able to recognize the physical interpretation and mathematical description of the various principles of geophysical fluid dynamics, identify the different terms of the dynamical equations and the processes they represent, and determine which processes are dominant depending on the spatiotemporal scales of the various phenomena. Concurrently, the student gains skills of sampling physical oceanographic parameters in the marine environment, and analysis and presentation of the results. Thus, the successful student is expected to have the ability to combine the obtained knowledge towards solving environmental problems of the coastal zone, develop and/or select and propose solutions and present the results of his/her analysis. Finally, we believe that the wide-angle approach of the subject enables the student with the capacity to continue his/her studies at a higher level, providing the necessary coverage of a wide spectrum of coastal phenomena before proceeding to more focused studies.
General Competences
- Search for, analysis and synthesis of data and information, with the use of the necessary technology
- Decision-making
- Working independently
- Team work
- Working in an international environment
- Working in an interdisciplinary environment
- Production of new research ideas
- Respect for the natural environment
- Criticism and self-criticism
- Production of free, creative and inductive thinking
(3) Syllabus
- Elements of Descriptive Oceanography
Bipolar nature of the water molecule, water as an electrolyte, Marcet’s principle, Salinity and its measurement, temperature and salinity distribution in the Global Ocean, T/S diagrams, compressibility effects, potential temperature and density. - Elements of Dynamical Oceanography
Hydrostatic, conservation principles in Fluid Mechanics, effects of rotation of the observer – Coriolis force, scale separation method, basic oceanic flows (inertial oscillations, Ekman currents, geostrophic currents, baroclinicity and barotropicity), air-sea interactions. - Ocean, Climate and Climate Change
Description of mechanisms responsible for the Planet’s Climate. The role of the ocean, exchanges of heat and mass between air and sea. Natural and anthropogenic variability. Effects on the sea-level. - Elements of Coastal Hydrodynamics
Rossby Radius and determination of the coastal environment, impact of Earth’s rotation on large basins, Kelvin waves, tides, small and large basin response to wind forcing, coastal upwelling, semi-enclosed basins, shallow-water equations, seiches and storm surges.
(4) Teaching and Learning Methods - Evaluation
| Delivery: |
The first part of the course, including a general introduction to Descriptive Physical Oceanography as well as the laboratory part of training on data analysis and mapping tools, takes place on a face-to-face basis in the hospices of the University of the Aegean in Mytilene. The rest of the lectures are given via distance learning, however using real-time interaction between the lecturer and the students, via the e-learning/teleconference platform eclass/BigBlueButton. All the necessary material, as well as the written communication and exchanges between the students and the teacher take place via the e-class platform. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Use of Information and Communication Technology: | The e-class platform is used extensively, both for delivery of the material to the students, as well as for examining their progress and grading their performance.
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| Teaching Methods: |
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| Student Performance Evaluation: | The Language of evaluation for Greek Students is Greek, for foreign student is English. The method of evaluation used to be a conclusive final written examination. However, starting in 2015-2016 the student performance evaluation is the following: The Internet Platform eclass is used extensively to evaluate the students’ performance. In order to maintain the students’ interest throughout the semester, three tests are given via the eclass platform, accounting to a total of 60% of the grade. The rest 40% of a student’s grade is provided by the final written exam. In order to eliminate cheating, and obtain a better assessment of the student’s understanding of the material, we use the approach of multiple choice questionaires, combined with random selection of a large number of questions is. The evaluation criteria are described in the text preceding each test, as well as in the first lecture in class (and the corresponding notes). |
(5) Attached Bibliography
- Suggested bibliography:
- Zervakis, V., 2017. Notes on “Hydrodynamics of the Coastal Environment”, parts A and B, University of the Aegean (in Greek).
- Krestenitis, Y., Kombiadou, C., Makris, C., Androulidakis, I., Karambas, T., 2016. Coastal Mechanics – Marine Environmental Hydraulics. Hellenic Academic Electronic Textbooks and Teaching Aids, www.kallipos.gr, ISBN: 978-960-603-253-0 (in Greek).
- Stewart, R. H., 2007. Introduction to Physical Oceanography. Texas A & M University, book freely available at: http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_textbook/PDF_files/book.pdf
- Open University, 2000. Waves, Tides and Shallow Water Processes. Butterworth-Heinemann; 1st edition.
- Open University, 1999. Ocean Circulation. Butterworth-Heinemann; 1st edition.
Pugh D.T. 1987. Tides, Surges, and Mean Sea-Level. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
- Related academic journals:
- Continental Shelf Research
- Coastal, Estuarine and Shelf Science
- Journal of Geophysical Research
- Journal of Marine Systems