AOS105/EEB139:
Introduction to Chemical Oceanography

Dr. Holger Brix (hbrix@igpp.ucla.edu)

Syllabus

(fall quarter '06)
Lecture three hours. Discussion one hour. Requisite none.

Introductory course for physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering majors interested in the oceanic environment.

The chemical composition of the oceans and the nature of the physical, chemical, and biological processes governing this composition in the past and present. The cycles of major and minor oceanic constituents, with focus on those that are most important for life, i.e. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and oxygen. Processes investigated are primary production, export production, remineralization, diagenesis, air-sea gas exchange. Role of ocean biogeochemical cycles for climate. Letter grading

Dates MWF, 11-11:50AM, MS7124

Discussion: M, 4PM-4:50PM; MS7101

Office hours: T, 1:30PM-2:30PM; 5853 Slichter Hall (directions)

TA: Clare Wong (clare@atmos.ucla.edu); MS7221

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For access to the textbook, please click here:


Schedule Fall Quarter '06 (approximate)

Get Schedule as pdf file:
Week Date Topic Reading

1

 Sep 29

Overview of course

2

 Oct 2

Introduction: What controls the mean concentration of chemicals in the ocean

SG Chapter 1
  Oct 4

Introduction: What controls the spatial distribution of the chemicals in the ocean

SG Chapter 1
  Oct 6

Review of Ocean Circulation I: Wind-driven circulation, Ekman Spiral, Coastal and equatorial upwelling, subtropical and subpolar gyres, Gulf Stream

 SG Chapter 2

3

 Oct 9

Review of Ocean Circulation II: Wind-driven circulation, cont.

SG Chapter 2
  Oct 11

Review of Ocean Circulation III: Temperature, Salinity and density, Stratification

SG Chapter 2
  Oct 13

No class

  

4

 Oct 16

Review of Ocean Circulation IV: Intermediate and deep water formation and circulation, global conveyor belt

SG Chapter 2
  Oct 18

Review of Ocean Circulation V: The role of tracers in large-scale ocean circulation

SG Chapter 2
  Oct 20

Gas Exchange I: Solubility of gases, Henry’s law

 SG Chapter 3

5

 Oct 23

Gas Exchange II: Gas transfer across air-sea interface

SG Chapter 3
  Oct 25

Gas Exchange III: estimating productivity from air-sea exchange of oxygen

SG Chapter 3
  Oct 27

Production I: Overview and organisms, Influence of nutrients, nitrate vs phosphate

 SG Chapter 4

6

 Oct 30

Production II: the special role of nitrogen: new versus regenerated production

SG Chapter 4
  Nov 1

Production III: Influence of light, temperature and grazing

SG Chapter 4
  Nov 3

Review

  

7

 Nov 6

Midterm

 
  Nov 8

Production IV: Applications: Why is the seasonal cycle of production so different between the Atlantic and Pacific?

SG Chapter 4
  Nov 10

no class, administrative holiday

  

8

 Nov 13

Production V: Production and export

SG Chapter 5
  Nov 15

Remineralization I: aerobic remineralization and denitrification, apparent oxygen utilization

SG Chapter 5
  Nov 17

Remineralization II: oxygen utilization rates, deep remineralization

 SG Chapter 5

9

 Nov 20

Remineralization III: shallow remineralization, connection to particle fluxes

SG Chapter 5
  Nov 22

Remineralization IV: denitrification and N2-fixation

SG Chapter 5
  Nov 24

no class, Thanksgiving

  

10

 Nov 27

Carbon cycling I: CO2 chemistry basics

SG Chapter 8
  Nov 29

Carbon cycling II: processes controlling pCO2 and the exchange of CO2 between ocean and atmosphere

SG Chapter 8
  Dec 1

Carbon cycling III: processes controlling the distribution of DIC

 SG Chapter 8

11

 Dec 4

Carbon cycling IV: anthropogenic CO2

SG Chapter 8
  Dec 6

Carbon & Climate: anthropogenic perturbation of climate, feedbacks

SG Chapter 10
  Dec 8

Review

  

12

 Dec 13

3:00:-6:00 PM

Final Examination (cumulative)

 
last modification:20SEP06 (bx)