OA419

Introduction to the course An interdisciplinary approach to coastal seas and

shelves

The class will be divided into 6 teams of 8-9 (boats, oral presentations, and posters)

Use of a model to learn the advantages and limitations of this approach (individual)

Presentation of a group talk on a coastal theme (teams)

Presentation of a poster (teams)

•Boats work and associated practical sessions (teams)

•A course essay (individual)

Seminars and lectures

Key points:

Course objectives:

Appreciate the need to take an inter-disciplinary view of coastal seas in order to have an operational understanding of these systems. Take an overview of the coastal seas as a system potentially threatened by human activity and climate change.

Appreciate construction of numerical models and their benefits and limitations.

Assessment:

Essay on an inter-disciplinary topic (25%)

Oral Presentation (15%)

Poster Presentation (20%)

Modelling report (15%)

Reports on boat and laboratory practicals (25%)

It is important to be at Lectures!!If not present at a minimum of 90% of the lectures and seminars without a very good documented reason will receive a 5% deduction

Timetable distributed each week (modelling and boat pracs and lab sessions in same place) Substantial amount of time for students to carry out assessments

Choice of Essay today

Overview of coastal and shelf systems

What are coastal and shelf sea systems?

• Many variations on definition!• In this course we will consider zone from mouths of estuaries and high tide line to shelf break We will include e.g deltas fjords, coral reefs etc.

Coastal and shelf seas of critical importance to humans.

•Coastal domain 18% of global surface area, yet contains ~60% of world’s population.

•80-90% of global fish catch in coastal seas Dynamic and high energy zone

•Energy inputs from wind/wave or tide source

Temporally very variable

Interface between land and ocean (LOICZ)

•Zone of great importance from geological, chemical, biological and physical perspectives.

•Highly productive as often well lit and close to sources of nutrients

•Climatically highly variable: equatorial – temperate - polar

Chla in summer; red are high values, blue low.

Note some cloud cover evidentImage c/o NERC

Human population and the coastal ocean

•Varying estimates from 50% of world population within 1 km of sea to > 50 % of world population within 200km of coast

•Why?? Historically access to sea for resources and easy transport

•Increasing pressure from mankind, pollution, increasing exploitation (fisheries, aggregates etc)

Human pressure on natural resources:

Failing cod fisheries in North Atlantic Ocean

•Climate change is coming!!- sea level rise, increasing storminess

•Coastal zone of paramount importance to humankind

•This zone is in the front line of climate change and anthropogenic impact

•How it will this zone react to these impacts?We have only limited understanding of this zone

Very involved subject with a huge literature, thus we must take selective view

Lectures will be complemented by student orientated tasks, and boat and lab work.

This course will .provide basic introduction to some key concepts.then focus on selected topics in an interdisciplinary way.Introduce modelling as a means to describe and help understand this system