Welcome to the web site for Oceanography 443, the three-credit course in which students design their own research projects to be carried out as part of the spring quarter class, Oceanography 444. This quarter will be spent critically examining relevant literature, selecting research problems, formulating hypotheses and identifying approaches to test these hypotheses. The class culminates in a written proposal justifying the research and specifying the requisite logistical steps to its successful completion. The projects are limited in scope by availability of shipboard and shore-based equipment and facilities, the class budget, and most importantly the limited amount of time available.

This year's research will be carried out on myltiple platforms and in different parts of the ocean including the waters around Hawaii and near Japan. Research cruises are scheduled for late December 2012-January 2013 and late February 2013 aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Following the cruises, in Spring quarter, there will be approximately two and a half months to complete analyses, write a paper in the format of the journal Limnology and Oceanography, and present results at a public research symposium.