Courses
This module provides essential key skills training to MSc Global Marine Resource Management students within Ocean and Earth Science.
Upon successful completion of this module, students should be able to
LO1. Critically research, evaluate and synthesise the findings of peer-reviewed publications
LO2. Structure an academic literature review
LO3. Write a well-structured scientific report
LO4. Understand the scientific method, formulate research questions, hypotheses, aims and objectives
LO5. Understand the basis for planning research field or laboratory work to meet research objectives
LO6. Use data processing software to analyse datasets
LO7. Write articles that communicate research effectively to non-specialist audiences
LO8. Work as a Team
Introduction to general aspects of biological oceanography from phytoplankton to fish. The module is designed for students with no previous experience of studying biological systems. The module follows the flow of energy from light, via primary producers and then through the food chain in a number of typical oceanic systems - from coastal to open-ocean. Students will learn the importance of microbial processes and their role in the cycling of carbon, energy and thus in the regulation on global climate. Students will also be introduced to the range of methods used to measure and interrogate the biological components of ocean systems. Students will learn via a series of lectures and guided background reading. Students will gain practical experience through the sampling and data analysis of an estuarine marine systems; this data will be used as the basis of a short report describing the biological components of this system.
An introductory module for MSc/MRes students. Topics covered will include: the physical properties of sea water, the dynamics of wind-driven ocean circulation, description of the thermohaline circulation and the role of the ocean in climate variability.
The module is designed for graduates in any science discipline embarking on postgraduate studies in Ocean and Earth Science. Chemical oceanography covers many facets of marine environmental science and a multitude of different spatial and temporal scales. Topics covered in this module span from evolution of the ocean to controls on chemical speciation in sea water and molecular diffusion processes. Chemical processes are essential in biological systems, they control the geology of the planet and they are key tracers utilised in understanding the physics of the ocean.
This course will cover the formation of ocean basins; the role of mid-ocean ridges in basin scale processes; structure and geological processes at continental margins; sedimentary processes within and on the boundaries of ocean basins; and the past history and impact of sea level change. In addition, methodologies will be covered including the principles and survey design considerations behind bathymetric, echo-sounder, side-scan sonar and seismic methods. Emphasis will be placed on the use of these techniques in both research-led and commercially-led environments. Experience collecting data at sea and practical analysis of example datasets will be included.
The module covers, at advanced level, three topics that are central to applied geophysics in the marine environment. The first is reflection seismology; the second is potential field methods; and the third is marine electromagnetic surveying. The study of reflection seismology accounts for just less than half of the course. Basic seismic processing operations are introduced, including correlation, convolution, deconvolution, frequency filtering and migration. Strong emphasis is placed on the applications of spectral analysis using Fourier based methods. The module uses examples from hydrocarbon exploration and continental margin studies, including seismic stratigraphy, methods of reservoir identification and 3D surveying. Practical exercises include both seismic processing and interpretation.
In the second part of the module the application of potential field theory to geophysical exploration is discussed, with a particular emphasis on gravity and magnetic surveying. Advanced methods for anomaly separation and filtering, based on spectral analysis and spatial derivatives, are introduced. Different approaches are reviewed and practical experience is gained through computer modelling and analysis exercises. The particular problems of marine and airborne surveying and data processing are addressed.
The third component provides an overview of controlled source electromagnetic methods, as applied in marine survey operations. Both the underlying theory and the fundamentals of data acquisition and processing are addressed. Computer-based practical exercises provide experience in modelling marine controlled source electromagnetic datasets, and examining the sensitivity of this type of data to resistivity anomalies in the sub-surface.
This module examines in greater depth the sources, sinks and cycles of chemical constituents in the Earth System, particularly the Ocean, with particular reference to processes at the ocean boundaries, the role of particle fluxes and scavenging in removing and redistributing material, and the interactions of biological, geological, chemical and physical oceanographic phenomena. It covers in detail aspects of the geochemical cycles of some trace elements and major biogeochemical elements that exemplify the range of geochemical processes in marine environments. It examines major nutrient cycles as a whole, and their homeostatic regulation. There is a particular focus on the ocean carbon cycle and ocean acidification. Consideration of processes at the ocean boundaries focuses mainly on the coupling of the ocean and atmosphere as geochemical systems, and the fluxes of aerosols and gases, and on the chemistry of hydrothermal systems.
This module examines the patterns of life in deep-sea environments & the processes that govern those patterns. The module begins by introducing the technology and analytical tools used to perceive ecological patterns in deep-sea environments, then considers large-scale and small-scale spatial and temporal variation in the ecology of deep-sea environments, and finally examines the processes and interactions that generate those patterns. Students gain experience of analysing real data from ecological surveys of deep-sea environments, including large-scale patterns in diversity and small-scale variation in faunal distribution revealed by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dive transect.
This module will present a variety of different types of geophysical, oceanographic and remote sensing data and will explore methods for processing, analysing and modelling using MATLAB. The module will introduce statistical analysis, curve fitting and the interpolation of data. The analysis of data in the frequency domain using the Fourier Transform will be covered with applications to filtering in 1-D and 2-D. The fundamentals of computer programming will be taught in practical sessions using MATLAB and will involve implementing the techniques covered in the lectures. The course will include optimal methods for the display of data.
The shelf seas and shelf edge are dynamically very different from the open ocean in terms of typical levels of turbulence and of the control exerted by coastan and seabed boundaries. This module provides you with core knowledge of the processes that govern the relatively shallow shelf seas, from coastal waters to the shelf break. By the end of the course, you will understand a range of physical and biological processes that explain observed structures, distributions and phenomena, both physical and biological, on time scales ranging from seconds to years.
*Course offering of elective courses may vary each year.
**Elective courses at the University of Southampton shall become Core courses once selected and may not be passed by compensation.
***Students who select SOES6008 Deep Sea Ecology in Fall Semester at the University of Southampton will not be allowed to select OCES5403 Deep Sea Resources in Spring Semester at HKUST.