Department of OCEANOGRAPHY

College of Arts and Sciences

Chair: David Thistle; Professors: Burnett, Chanton, Clarke, Dewar, Hsueh, Iverson, Krishnamurti, Landing, Marcus, Nof, O'Brien, Stern, Thistle, Weatherly, Winchester; Associate Professor: Speer; Assistant Professors: Kostka, St. Laurent; Director, Edward Ball Marine Laboratory: Iverson; Director, Women in Math Science, and Engineering Program: Marcus; Professor Emeritus: Sturges

The Department of Oceanography offers no undergraduate major; however, undergraduate programs in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Physics provide interdisciplinary options in oceanography. Undergraduates interested in pursuing a graduate degree in oceanography at The Florida State University may use the information below for proper preparation in each of the four areas of specialization in oceanography.

General Undergraduate Preparation. Students should complete one year of college physics (preferably with calculus), one year of college chemistry, and one year of calculus.

Specialty Undergraduate Preparation. Biological: one year of organic chemistry, bachelor of science (BS) or bachelor of arts (BA) in biology. Chemical: BS or BA in chemistry, differential equations. Geological: BS or BA in geology. Physical: BS or BA in physics, chemistry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or mathematics, or a BS in engineering; intermediate or advanced mechanics; differential equations; advanced calculus, including vector calculus; partial differential equations.

Definition of Prefixes

ISC - Interdisciplinary Natural Science
MAP - Mathematics: Applied
OCB - Oceanography: Biological
OCC - Oceanography: Chemical
OCE - Oceanography
OCG - Oceanography: Geological
OCP - Oceanography: Physical
PEN - Physical Education Activities (General): Water, Snow, Ice
PSC - Physical Science

Undergraduate Courses

Elementary

ISC 2003. Global Change, Its Scientific and Human Dimensions (3). Prerequisites: Two years high school science, two years high school math. Global environmental change, scientific and human dimensions, and international public policy implications.

OCE 1001. Elementary Oceanography (3). Prerequisite: MGF 1106 or 1107. Structure and motion of the ocean and its environs, properties, populations, and energy budget. Not intended for upper-division science or mathematics majors. Upper-division science or mathematics majors are encouraged instead to take OCE 4011.

PSC 2800C. Earth Science for EC/EE Teachers (4). For a complete description, see interdisciplinary science courses listed in the "College of Arts and Sciences" section of this General Bulletin.

Science Preparatory

ISC 4931r. Special Topics in Environmental Science (1–3). Analyzes new scientific developments in the Earth's changing environment system and its links to human activities and policies. An emphasis on ocean, atmosphere, and terrestrial environments, and the human dimensions of their change will strengthen students' interdisciplinary understanding of environmental science. Specific topics will vary from year to year. May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours.

OCE 4011. Principles of Oceanography (3). Prerequisite: A science major or minor. Dynamic motions and life processes in the marine environment. Long-term geologic history of the oceans and recent changes caused by man.

Advanced

OCB 4637. Marine Benthic Ecology (3). Prerequisite: ZOO 4203C or as a corequisite with permission of instructor. The physical setting and ecological organization of the communities found in the rocky intertidal, in the fouling habitat, on sandy beaches, in subtidal soft bottoms, and in the deep sea are presented through lectures, substantial reading, and class discussions.

OCC 4002. Basic Chemical Oceanography (3). Prerequisites: CHM 1046. Chemical composition of seawater, carbon dioxide system, nutrients, trace elements, andbiogeochemistry.

OCE 4017r. Current Issues in Environmental Science (3). Taught at an introductory level, this class includes discussions of current ground-breaking research, environmental problems and approaches to solving them. This course consists of presentations by experts on their current research topics or environmental issues. May be repeated to a maximum of six (6) semester hours.

OCG 4050. Geological Oceanography (3). Structural and oceanographic setting of continents and ocean basins, plate techtonics, ocean margins, marine sediments, and ocean history.

Specialized Instruction

OCE 4905r. Directed Individual Study (1–3). (S/U grade only.) May be repeated to a maximum of ten (10) semester hours.

OCE 4906r. Directed Individual Study (1–4). Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. May be repeated, subject to limitations that may apply from the individual student's major departments, to a maximum of eighteen (18) semester hours.

OCE 4930r. Studies in Oceanography (1–4). Prerequisite: See instructor. Topics vary. May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) semester hours when content changes.

PEN 1136. Theory and Practice of Compressed-Gas Diving (3). An introduction to the field of compressed-gas diving that exposes the students to the use of underwater technology and techniques in support of science.

Graduate Courses

Note: some graduate courses the department offers are open to advanced undergraduates with consent of the instructor. For more information, refer to the "Department of Oceanography" entry in the Graduate Bulletin.

Core Curriculum

• OCB 5050. Basic Biological Oceanography (3).
• OCC 5050. Basic Chemical Oceanography (3).
• OCG 5051. Basic Geological Oceanography (3).
• OCP 5050. Basic Physical Oceanography (3).

Biological Oceanography

• OCB 5515. Marine Microbiology (3).
• OCB 5565. Marine Primary Production (3).
• OCB 5566. Zooplankton Ecology (3).
• OCB 5600. Biological Fluid Dynamics (3). (S/U grade only.)
• OCB 5636. Marine Microbial Ecology (3).
• OCB 5639. Marine Benthic Ecology (3).

Chemical and Geological Oceanography

• OCC 5052. Aquatic Chemistry (3).
• OCC 5062. Marine Isotopic Chemistry (3).
• OCC 5065. Environmental Chemistry (3).
• OCC 5415. Marine Geochemistry (3).
• OCC 5416. Organic Geochemistry (3).
• OCC 5417. Geochemical Ocean Tracers (3).
• OCC 5554. Atmospheric Chemistry (3).
• OCG 5457. Stable Isotopes as Tracers in Aquatic Ecosystems (3).

Physical Oceanography

• MAP 5431. Introduction to Fluid Dynamics (3).
• MAP 6434r. Advanced Topics in Hydrodynamics (2).
• OCP 5056. Introduction to Physical Oceanography (3).
• OCP 5160. Ocean Waves (3).
• OCP 5253. Fluid Dynamics: Geophysical Applications (3).
• OCP 5255. Stability of Geophysical Fluid Flows (3).
• OCP 5259. Eddies and Rings as Heat-Exchange Mechanisms (3).
• OCP 5262. Coastal Ocean Dynamics (3).
• OCP 5263. Equatorial Dynamics (3).
• OCP 5265. Main Ocean Thermocline (3).
• OCP 5271. Turbulence (3).
• OCP 5285. Dynamic Oceanography (3).
• OCP 5551. Physics of the Air-Sea Boundary Layer (2).

Specialized Instruction and Seminar

• OCB 5930r. Special Topics in Biological Oceanography (1–3).
• OCC 5930r. Special Topics in Chemical Oceanography (1–3).
• OCP 5930r. Special Topics in Physical Oceanography (1–3).
• OCE 5009. Advanced General Oceanography (3).
• OCE 5419C. Advanced Biogeochemistry: Field Methods and Concepts (3).
• OCE 5908r. Directed Individual Study (1–12). (S/U grade only.)
• OCE 5910r. Supervised Research (1–5). (S/U grade only.)
• OCE 5940r. Supervised Teaching (1–5). (S/U grade only.)
• OCB 5939r. Biological Oceanography Seminar (1). (S/U grade only.)
• OCC 5939r. Chemical Oceanography Seminar (1). (S/U grade only.)
• OCP 5939r. Physical Oceanography Seminar (1). (S/U grade only.)

For listings relating to graduate course work for thesis, dissertation, and master's and doctoral examinations and defense, consult the Graduate Bulletin.