Topic

Date

Reading Assignments

Quizzes and exams

Week 1: Course introduction, teasers, energy, oxygen, and a rotating frame of reference

M-March 31

Patterns in the Ocean, 1-14

W-April 2

Patterns in the Ocean, 15-25

F-April 4

Patterns in the Ocean, 26-37

Reading Quiz #1

Week 2: intermittency and risk; enrichment processes

M-April 7

Patterns in the Ocean, 38-56

W-April 9

F-April 11

Reading Quiz #2

Week 3: concentration processes; transport and retention

M-April 14

Patterns in the Ocean, 57-70

W-April 16

F-April 18

Reading Quiz #3

Week 4: transport and retention

M-April 21

Patterns in the Ocean, 71-83

W-April 23

Patterns in the Ocean, 84-91

F-April 25

Mid-term #1

Week 5: general circulation of the atmosphere, global current patterns; long-distance connections: ENSO, Rossby and Kelvin waves

M-April 28

Atmospheric circulations

W-April 30

Duxbury, Ocean currents

F-May 2

Patterns in the Ocean, 92-110

Zebiak: El Niño and the Science of Climate Prediction

Reading Quiz #4

Week 6: ENSO impacts on tropical ecosystems; teleconnections and El Niño North, and impacts on extratropical marine ecosystems

M-May 5

Barber and Chavez El Niño Impacts

Lehodey et al ENSO and tuna

W-May 7

Patterns in the Ocean, 110-125

F-May 9

Pearcy Oregon Nekton in 97-98

Reading Quiz #5

Week 7: Global-scale synchronies and ecosystem regime shifts; the PDO and North Pacific ecosystems; the NAO and Atlantic ecosystems

M-May 12

Patterns in the Ocean, 178-191;

W-May 14

Chavez et al. Science; Mantua et al. GLOBEC (p 75-79); Patterns in the Ocean 238-243

F-May 16

Mid-term #2

Week 8: Observations of changing oceans; Climate change projections for the 21^st century; sub-arctic seas (Guest lecture by Professor George Hunt)

M-May 19

1. IPCC Working Group 1 report

READ pages 387-388 and SKIM pages 389-402 in Chapter 5: observations of ocean climate change

2. IPCC Working Group 2 report

READ pages 81-82 (Executive Summary) and 94-97 (Marine and Freshwater Biological Systems) in Chapter 1: Observed changes in natural and managed systems

3. IPCC Working Group 2 report

READ pages 213-214 (Executive Summary) and 234-236 (Oceans and Shallow Seas) in Working Group 2 report, Chapter 4: Ecosystems

Additional background reading:

Our Changing Climate, NOAA Office of Global Programs

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Summary for Policy Makers

W-May 21

WG1 report, Chapter 10: Projected changes in climate

READ pages 749-752: Exec Summary

SKIM pages 760-774: projected changes in the climate system

READ p. 779-780: changes in the tropical Pacific and ENSO

F-May 23

Hunt et al. 2002: Climate change and control of the southeastern Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem. Deep-Sea Research II, 49:5821-5853. (listed as Hunt et al. Oscillating Control on E-reserves).

Additional Background Reading

Grebmeier et al., Bering Sea Regime Shift, Science (E-reserves)

Reading Quiz #6

Week 9: Polar Seas (guest lecture by Professor George Hunt); in-class discussion about the California Current System with Professors Hunt and Mantua

M-May 26

Memorial Day Holiday

W-May 28

Croxall, J., P. Trathan, and E. Murphy (2002): Environmental change and Antarctic seabird populations. Science, 30:1510-1514. (E-reserves)

Ainley, D., E. Clarke, K. Arrigo, W. Fraser, K. Barton and P. Wilson (2005): Decadal-scale changes in the climate and biota of the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, 1950s to the 1990s. Antarctic Science, 17(2): 171-182. (E-reserves)

Smetacek, V., and S. Nicol (2005). Polar ocean ecosystems in a changing world. Nature, 437: 362-368. (E-reserves)

F-May 30

Veit, R. P. Pyle, and J. McGowan (1996): Ocean warming and long-term change in pelagic bird abundance within the California current system. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 139: 11-18. (E-reserves)

Roemmich, D. and McGowan, J. (1995): Climatic Warming and the Decline of Zooplankton in the California Current. Science, New Series, Vol. 267, No. 5202, (Mar. 3, 1995), pp. 1324-1326 (E-reserves)

Reading Quiz #7

Week 10: Impacts of Ocean Acidification (Guest lecture by Dr. Dick Feely);declining oxygen and increasing CO₂ in the oceans; course wrap-up

M-June 2

The Next Ocean - Humanity's extra CO2 could brew a new kind of sea (Science News article)

Feely, R. A. et al. (2004). "Impact of Anthropogenic CO2 on the CaCO3 System in the Oceans". Science 305 (5682): 362-366.
(E-reserves)

Feely, R.A., C. L. Sabine, J. M. Hernandez-Ayon, D. Ianson, B. Hales (2008). Evidence for upwelling of corrosive "acidified" water onto the continental shelf. Science Express, published online May 22, 2008. (E-reserves)

W-June 4

IPCC WG1 report, Chapter 5 pages 403-408.

Chan et al (2008): Hypoxia on the Oregon Coast, Science Brevia (E-reserves)

Global Warming could starve oceans of oxygen: study (ENN article)

Stramma, L., G. C. Johnson, J. Sprintall, V. Mohrholz (2008): Expanding Oxygen-Minimum Zones in the Tropical Oceans. Science (2 May 2008): Vol. 320, pp. 655 – 658.

F-June 6

Brander, K. M. (2007): Climate Change and Food Security Special Feature: Global fish production and climate change. PNAS 104, 19709-19714 (E-reserves)

Parrish, R.H.: A Monterey Bay Sardine Story. Pacific Fisheries Environmental Group, NMFS, Pacific Grove, CA. (E-reserves)

Reading Quiz #8

Finals Week

M-June 9

FINAL EXAM! 830-1020, MGH 241

FINAL EXAM