Course Overview

Before we get started on Monday, the course team thought you might appreciate a very brief overview of what to expect from the MOOC, and the topic outlines for each week:

Week 1: A hidden landscape (starts 03 February)

Getting started in the course
The history of ocean exploration
Modern mapping of the oceans

Week 2: Mobilis in mobili (starts 10 February)

How much water is there?
Tides
Our spinning planet

Week 3: A living soup (starts 17 February)

What’s out there?
Finding connections
Life in the depths

Week 4: Why is the sea salty? (starts 24 February)

The composition of the ocean
The importance of trace elements in the ocean

Week 5: How do we explore the oceans? (starts 03 March)

The technology involved in ocean exploration
The teams involved in ocean exploration

Week 6: The future of the oceans (starts 10 March)

The human impact
Ownership and responsibility
Just the beginning

What are you looking forward to learning about the most? Let us know on Twitter #UoSFLOceans!

32 Responses to "Course Overview"

Siddhi Joshi says:

February 3, 2014 at 5:04 pm

Wonderful to see such a positive initiative from the Oceanography Centre! Go Callista!!

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Sabrina says:

February 3, 2014 at 12:04 pm

I am a scuba diver but know very little about the environment that I dive in and so I am keen to learn more so I can appreciate the envionment more.

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Sarah Siteman says:

February 2, 2014 at 9:57 pm

As I write this, I can go to my window and look out on the Annapolis Basin which is on the Bay of Fundy which is between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada. It takes a bit of travel to get to the actual Atlantic Ocean but when I lived on the eastern coast of N.S. I could go to a beach where the next landfall would be somewhere in Europe. Living here, the ocean is so familiar, yet so unknown in its vastness. I’m sure that this course will reveal some of the mysteries as well as address the challenges to ocean habitat sustainability.

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1. Tom Curry says:
  
  February 3, 2014 at 11:32 am
  
  Do you have a view of the famous tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy?
  
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  1. Sarah Siteman says:
    
    February 4, 2014 at 12:56 am
    
    I knew someone would ask about that! I’ve never really seen a tidal bore. You can get an idea of the four types of Bay of Fundy tides at http://bayoffundytourism.com/tides/ . The type nearest to me is vertical tidal effects in Digby. There’s a webcam that looks out over the harbour http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/bay-of-fundy/digby-harbour.html If you click on 24-hour history and maybe choose 30 minutes, you can see the effect of the rise and fall of the water. Another good place is Halls Harbour http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/bay-of-fundy/halls-harbour-1.html The effects are quite striking, but like the tides website says, the change takes place over 6 hours.
    
    The tides in the Basin near my house are quite ordinary, sad to say.
    
    Reply
    1. Tom Curry says:
      
      February 6, 2014 at 5:04 pm
      
      Very interesting sites Sarah.
      
      Thanks for the links.
      
      Reply
Sonia says:

February 2, 2014 at 6:16 pm

I’m so looking forward to this course and it’s great reading through all the different comments. I’m an avid surfer and tech diver and used to work in the diving industry so I’m looking forward to learning lots more as it’s such a huge part of my life. Especially looking forward to sections 3 and 5.

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1. Josh says:
  
  February 2, 2014 at 11:15 pm
  
  Hi Sonia,
  
  Glad to hear that you’re enthusiastic about it. We facilitators are excited to get started and to hear everyone’s thoughts and views on the course material. I look forward to seeing you in the discussions.
  
  Reply
Tom Curry says:

February 1, 2014 at 7:32 pm

As I live near the Irish Sea coast and have spent a number of years in the RN (and a good number of them at sea) I have always been fascinated by the sea, its power and changeability. I’m hoping that this MOOC will give me a more technical(?) insight to the oceans.

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1. Millie says:
  
  February 1, 2014 at 7:39 pm
  
  Hi Tom, thank you for the comment, you will certainly get a good overview of the currents, and what drives ocean circulation in Week 2, and how the salinity and temperature of the oceans interacts with the Coriolis effect to produce the modern day circulation pattern. You might also be interested in the details in week 5 relating to ocean exploration and the technology we use to understand its hidden depths. In the meantime, you might like this animation of global ocean currents and wind patterns! http://earth.nullschool.net/#2013/12/26/0000Z/ocean/surface/currents/orthographic=45.63,-327.33,531
  
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  1. Tom Curry says:
    
    February 2, 2014 at 3:52 pm
    
    Hi Millie,
    
    Very interesting animation, In my time in the Navy I came across the effects of salinity and temperature at different depths in the sea. They affected sonar sometimes for the better and sometimes not!
    
    Reply
Honor Maughan says:

January 31, 2014 at 11:58 am

All my Summer holidays when a kid were spent with grandparents on the Isle of Wight – swimming, sailing and hunting rock and tidal pools for whatever we could find,and my son has done the same, adding diving to the list, so I reckon it is about time I really knew more about our oceans and their problems and this links with the MOOC Climate Change course from Exeter University that, like John Mills, I am also in the middle of! I just hope me aging and out of practice brain can cope!!

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1. Millie says:
  
  January 31, 2014 at 12:05 pm
  
  Hi Honor,
  
  we will be covering human impacts and a taster of some of the issues the ocean faces in week 6. I am also taking the Climate Change MOOC from Exeter, I would hope that between the two MOOCs you will have a really clear overview of the challenges facing our oceans over the future decades. Hope you enjoy the course!
  
  Millie
  
  Reply
  1. Honor Maughan says:
    
    January 31, 2014 at 12:45 pm
    
    Thanks Millie! I also did the OU’s Ecosystem course on MOOC and I think that the three of them may have quite a few very pertinent links for the future of the earth’s Oceans, Climate and Biosphere.
    
    Honor.
    
    Reply
Gary Beecheno says:

January 31, 2014 at 2:14 am

Looking forwards to starting this course and participating over the coming weeks.
Just recently completed my nurse training as a mature student and want to continue learning. The oceans fits perfectly with my other passion – scuba diving.

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Christy says:

January 30, 2014 at 11:54 pm

I am currently involved in deep sea mineral activities in Vanuatu, and with other Pacific Island countries. Deep Sea Mining has become such a sensitive issue in the Pacific, with a number of companies seeking to carry out prospecting in our waters. I am therefore very interested in learning more about our ocean’s resources, hearing other people’s views and building capacity to make more informed decisions in and for our developing island nations. Looking forward to the course and learning more from you all! 🙂

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1. Sue wells says:
  
  January 31, 2014 at 9:01 am
  
  Sounds an interesting job….but I guess it has quite an impact on the seabed…topography and biology?
  
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  1. Tamsyn Smith says:
    
    January 31, 2014 at 8:02 pm
    
    Hello Christy and Sue! You’ve raised some pertinent issues that we will be investigating in more detail in week six. A great benefit of an online course such as this is that we can learn from people from a range of backgrounds, which makes it a valuable experience for all involved. I look forward to your contributions in the discussions.
    
    Reply
    1. Christy says:
      
      February 5, 2014 at 5:56 am
      
      Hi Tamsyn,
      
      Looking forward to it! thanks.
      
      Reply
  2. Christy says:
    
    February 5, 2014 at 5:55 am
    
    Hi Sue,
    It is an interesting area, but also challenging for me. There has not been any sea bed mining yet. But yes, there are potential environmental impacts. There’s not much/ enough known yet, to be able to make an informed decision as to whether it should be allowed. That is why, I registered for this course. To know more about our deep oceans :). Have a good day!
    
    Reply
Sallyann says:

January 30, 2014 at 9:04 pm

Well I will hopefully be completing this course with my two young home schoolers looking over my shoulder. I don’t know whos more excited to start me or them! I am sure by the end they will remember more than me. Oh to be young again!! Really looking forward to mapping and discussion on the oceans future.

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1. Tamsyn Smith says:
  
  January 31, 2014 at 7:59 pm
  
  Hello Sallyanne. It sounds great that you are getting the whole family involved – many of the videos and activities in the course are suitable for young learners, whilst other steps are marked as [Advanced] and are suitable for people with a little more background knowldge. There are some really fun experiments in week two that you’ll want to watch out for and hopefully can try at home 🙂
  
  Reply
Janet Bird says:

January 30, 2014 at 8:21 pm

Have scant knowledge of the oceans and as there is far more sea than land in our world I would like to know more.

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1. Tamsyn Smith says:
  
  January 31, 2014 at 7:56 pm
  
  Welcome, Janet! That sounds like a great lead in to week two where we will be discussing exactly how much of our planet is covered in water. I hope you enjoy the course.
  
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Doreen Smith says:

January 30, 2014 at 8:16 pm

I’m interested in the interaction between rivers and seas. Watching events like the Severn bore for instance or how the flooding here on the River Frome in Dorset changes with the tide. I’m also interested in the human effort to control those interactions as per the Thames Barrier or the Chesil Bank Flood prevention scheme. My brothers were merchant navy, my husband’s family were RN/RM and I’ve always lived close to shorelines or on rivers. My youngest brother lives on the east coast of New South Wales and walks the beaches and whale watches. Another lives in Inverness overlooking the estuary and dolphin watches. The third lives close to the Bristol Channel and ship watches :>). They can all tell tales re the oceans.

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1. Tamsyn Smith says:
  
  January 31, 2014 at 7:55 pm
  
  Hi Doreen – welcome to the course! It sounds like week six will be particular interest to you where we look at the human impact on the oceans, as well as where we discuss harnessing tidal power in week two. One of the great things about taking part in a massive online open course is the wide variety of experiences that people bring with them to the course!
  
  Reply
Rob Agg says:

January 30, 2014 at 4:58 pm

I know very little about the oceans, but eager to find out as much as I can. I am curious to know what lies beneath them, how important it is for us to look after the oceans, and what the actual landscape (not sure if that is the correct word to describe them) is like.

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1. Josh says:
  
  January 30, 2014 at 5:24 pm
  
  Hi there Rob,
  
  Glad to have you on the course. Don’t worry if you don’t already know much about the oceans, the course is designed so that anyone can join in, regardless of their background. The ‘landscape’ of the ocean floor is what we would describe as the seafloor topography, or bathymetry. We will covering the importance of the oceans in the course, so I won’t ruin any of the surprises.
  
  Hope you enjoy the course, and remember that we facilitators are here to help if you have any problems or questions.
  
  Josh
  
  Reply
Christopher says:

January 30, 2014 at 4:56 pm

I am a high school teacher of aquatic science and I am looking forward to enhancing my knowledge of the ocean in order to further educate my students.

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1. Millie says:
  
  January 30, 2014 at 5:16 pm
  
  Hi Christopher, thats great to hear, lots of the material in here would be fantastic in the classroom (I used to be a teacher!), we have a few great links to some animations and further reading, I hope you and your students enjoy the course content!
  
  Reply
Millie says:

January 30, 2014 at 11:38 am

Hi John, welcome to the course! We have some great materials coming up, and plenty of links to further reading and additional online resources to cover a wide range of topics related to the oceans.

Look forward to seeing you on the forums next week!

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John Mills says:

January 30, 2014 at 11:09 am

I just watched the Guardian video where J Copley descended to the hydrothermal vents. Really amazing and i am looking forward to learning anything about the oceans. The deepest I have been is 180′ and that was scary and a long time ago!

The course outline is what I expected and I am sure it will lead me to further learning. I am also in the middle of the Climate Change MOOC and am enjoying that.

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