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	300 Steele Building CB# 3504 UNC-Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3504 email: fys@unc.edu phone: (919)843-7773

Marine Science

MASC 051 [006D]: Global Warming: Serious Threat or Hot Air
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab, physical]
Mark Alperin
This course is designed to empower students to discover the "truths" underlying the ongoing, heated debate over global climate change. Students will be introduced to the complex interactions between the sun, atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere that ultimately control Earth's climate. After covering natural processes that influence climate, the seminar will focus on the impact of fossil fuel combustion on the chemical composition of
the atmosphere and the Earth's energy budget. We will examine evidence that human activities have already caused global warming and investigate scientists' ability to predict future climate. Finally, we will discuss the political and social dimensions of global-scale climate change as well as strategies for mitigating negative impacts. A major goal of the seminar is to provide students with a knowledge base what will enable them to critically evaluate media reports that often distort and polarize the scientific issues.

MASC 052 [006D]: Living with Our Oceans and Atmosphere
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab, physical]
John M. Bane
This course will introduce the student to the nature of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere, with emphasis on developing an understanding of the processes that lead to our weather patterns and global climate. Modern theories of changing weather, severe weather events, oceanic hazards, interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere, and oceanic and atmospheric changes that are linked to increasing human activity will be studied. Examples to presently active research being conducted at UNC and other institutions will be used to highlight how the above topics are investigated scientifically. Readings will be taken from: introductory meteorology and oceanography textbooks; modern articles in periodicals such as Scientific American, Nature, American Scientist, and Weatherwise; numerous websites, including those within the UNC Department of Marine Sciences; and video presentations. Classroom presentations in seminar format and group participation discussions and debates will be utilized. There may be a short field trip or two. Visits to active research laboratories involved in marine and atmospheric projects will be made as possible. Grading will be based principally on homework assignments plus two exams.

MASC 053 [006D]: The Ends of the Earth: Polar Exploration and Oceanography
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab, physical]
Carol Arnosti
What explains the 'pull of the Poles'? What motivated early explorers to undergo great hardships to investigate the Arctic and Antarctic, and what did they discover about these regions? What have we discovered in the intervening decades, and what do we still not understand about polar regions? Why do the Arctic and Antarctic play such a critical role in global climate? This seminar will combine scientific and historical perspectives to investigate the 'ends of the earth', the Arctic and Antarctica. We will begin by surveying the geography and oceanography of these regions, and then step back into the past and follow in the footsteps of some of the early polar explorers by reading their own accounts of their explorations. Modern accounts will help us compare and contrast these early explorations. The seminar will also include readings and discussions about current questions and problems of the polar regions, in particular human impacts and potential effects of global warming. Class discussions, short writing assignments, a term paper, and group presentations will be used to hone critical thinking and communication skills, and to help develop both scientific and historical understanding of these unique regions of the earth.

MASC 054 [006D]: Where Did All the Fish Go?: A History of Fluctuations in Marine Fisheries and Current Scientific Approaches Used in Managing This Resource
Global Issues (GL); Physical and Life Sciences (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab]
Francisco Werner
This course explores the interconnections between oceans, humans, and fish. How does the ocean work? How have humans influenced oceans? What can fish tell us about the health of oceans? Should our dependence on fish influence government policy about oceans? Can policy-makers keep human and natural needs in balance? Readings will be taken from introductory fisheries and oceanographic textbooks; articles from Scientific American, Nature, and Science; and we will examine data available from government agency and university research laboratories. Students will organize into a few small teams and choose among case-studies that will allow them to consider the effect of certain environmental changes as well as fisheries management strategies on historically important fish stocks. Using idealized computer models, students will explore and discuss what may have happened under different scenarios including the health of the fishery, and its economic and societal implications. Grading will be based on homework assignments, two exams, in-class discussion, and participation in the research project.

MASC 055 [006D]: Change in the Undersea World
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab]
Christopher Martens
This course provides students with an opportunity to explore changes in marine and linked terrestrial environments caused by the interactions of fascinating oceanographic processes. Introductory presentations and discussions focus on the approaches of active marine scientists who combine their disciplinary training with knowledge from other fields in order to attack research questions that could not be otherwise addressed. We will examine and discuss a series of modern oceanographic research investigations that demonstrate how specific biological, chemical, geological, physical, and processes interact to influence coastal, open-ocean and tropical environments. During these discussions, students will be exposed to field sites and modern oceanographic laboratory research methods through "photo-trips", demonstrations using state-of-the-art instrumentation in my laboratory and "hands-on" mini-experiments designed to emphasize the importance of the question rather than the technology involved. In preparation for discussions, demonstrations and experiments, students will read recently published non-technical research papers that focus on specific questions and environments of current interest including nutrient enrichment of coastal waters; exchange of greenhouse gases between oceans, rain forests and atmosphere; contamination of coastal aquifers, fishkills and anoxia in the Neuse; geomagnetic controls on turtle migration; and the accumulation of toxic substances in coastal sediments.

MASC/MATH 057 [006D]: From the Sound of Music to the Perfect Storm
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab]
Roberto Camassa and Alberto Scotti
We are constantly surrounded by phenomena that are wave-like in nature. We communicate over short distances with sound waves, while we use electromagnetic waves over long distances. We see waves when we stand at beach, and the weather we experience is controlled very often by wave-like features of the jet stream. In this seminar, we will develop the conceptual framework necessary to understand waves, starting from laboratory observations. The main goal is to expose the common traits of waves, and how they can be used to enhance our understanding and predict the outcome of a broad range of important physical phenomena.

MASC 058 [006D]: Connections to the Sea: The Challenges Faced by Using and Living Near Coastal Inlets
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab, physical]
Harvey Seim
This seminar will explore the natural history of several inlets, how human intervention has altered their development, and the political challenges that have resulted. We will focus on inlets in the southeast where natural variability is a hallmark of these dynamic coastline features. Students will first document known historical changes of selected inlets and we will discuss the processes that drive natural variability. We will then examine the ways in which inlets have been stabilized and discuss the pros and cons of the mechanisms that have been used. Last will be an examination of policy decisions related to inlet maintenance and the controversies surrounding them. Group projects and presentations will constitute the bulk of the work for the class, and a field trip to the coast and a coastal inlet will be included.

MASC 059 [006D]: Extreme Microorganisms: Pushing the Limits of Life on Earth and Beyond
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab, life]
Andreas Teske
We will expand our horizons in biology by learning about some of the most extreme microorganisms on the planet - microorganisms that thrive without oxygen, under high temperatures (for example, in pressurized water above the boiling point), and under chemical stress factors (high sulfide and heavy metal concentrations) that were once thought to be incompatible with life. Numerous representatives of these microorganisms can be cultured in the laboratory; others have been observed in Nature but have so far resisted being tamed. We will look into the unusual habitats where these organisms are found, for example hot springs and volcanic areas on land (Yellowstone) and in the ocean (hydrothermal vents; see below). We will also study their evolution during Earths early history, and learn about the potential of extreme microorganisms as model cases and analogs for life elsewhere in the universe.

MASC 060 [006D]: Natural History of the White Oak River Estuary
Physical and Life Science (PL) [GC Natural Science - no lab, life]
Daniel Albert
In this class we will take a broad view of what is within the purview of a naturalist wanting to understand her/his environment be it for purposes of scientific study, regulation, cosmic contemplation or pure enjoyment. We will focus on the White Oak Estuary. It is a nearby and relatively pristine example of a southeastern coastal plain estuary that traverses a variety of natural communities between its freshwater swamp-forest origin and Bogue Inlet, where its waters join the sea. We will discuss topics ranging from the geologic origin of the watershed, to soils, vegetation, adaptations of wetland plants and animals, water and sediment biogeochemistry, land use and human impacts. The class will meet twice each week for a combination of lecture and discussions of reading materials. Late in the semester we will have a weekend-long field trip to the White Oak, which we will experience up-close and personal by paddling down it by kayak or canoe from Maysville to Swansboro.! This will not be physically demanding and no experience is necessary. It is the best way to observe this beautiful river with time to observe, wonder and talk about it. Grading will be based on mid-term and final exams, a paper and (heavily) on class participation.