GEOS 210
Oceanographic Processes Spring 2024 (also offered Fall 2023)
Division III
Cross-listed MAST 211
This is not the current course catalog

Part of the Williams-Mystic Coastal and Ocean Studies Program, this course provides an introduction to physical, geological, chemical, and biological oceanography. Using local field sites as well as places visited on field seminars, we will investigate why the Earth has oceans, why they are salty, how they move and flow, reasons for sea level change on both long and short timescales, and how our oceans interact with the atmosphere to control global climate. We will emphasise societal interactions with the ocean, and will consider coastal processes including land loss. We will apply an environmental justice and anti-racist lens to our discussions. Field work will take place on shores in southern New England, as well as during field seminars on the Atlantic ocean, the West Coast and the Mississippi River Delta. This course is in the Oceans and Climate group for the Geosciences major.