Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

The aim of the module is to develop an understanding of:
1. The functioning of marine ecosystems and the physical, chemical, and biological factors that underpin key
ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycling in the ocean environment.
2. The importance of carbon capture and export, and placing the oceans in context of other marine, freshwater,
and terrestrial habitats.
3. The biomass of the ocean, how it is partitioned into macro- and microorganisms, and the role of the microbial
food web
4. The relevance of environmental stressors such as ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and extreme weather
events to the ocean environment.
5. The collection of oceanographic data ranging from oceanographic research expeditions to unmanned vehicles
6. The socio-economic and scientific context for potential future geoengineering for carbon sequestration

Outline Of Syllabus

Research topics are introduced in lectures and explored in greater depth in data-workshops where students use real oceanographic data to analyse and visualize the taught concepts. A field class will facilitate the students to design their own sampling strategy, collect samples and work with the data. Key research topics include:
1. Physical structure of the water column with relation to macroscale (e.g. ocean basin circulation), mesoscale
(e.g. eddy biogeochemistry) and microscale (e.g. stratification)
2. Structure of ocean basins and the water column to focus on natural gradients in nutrient status (eutrophic to
oligotrophic), biomass, light, atmospheric deposition
3. Ocean biogeochemical cycling with emphasis on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
4. Carbon capture (photosynthesis): Controlling factors; methods for measurement; photosynthetic biomass.
5. Carbon sequestration: The biological vs chemical pump; controlling factors; potential for enhancement
6. The microbial foodweb: how microbes catalyse biogeochemical cycles
7. Key environmental stressors (such as ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and extreme weather events) and the
timescales over which they impact the ocean environment
8. Unresolved questions and the scientific objectives of ongoing international oceanographic research programs.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

After successful completion of the module a student will understand:
1. The functioning of ocean ecosystems and marine biogeochemical cycles
2. Drivers and bottlenecks of carbon capture and carbon sequestration
3. Current state of knowledge for primary production and how it is shaped by sampling techniques and limitations
4. Spatial and temporal gradients in abiotic and biotic variables across ocean basins and from the sea surface
to the seafloor
5. How external forcings (e.g. ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and extreme weather events) alter ecosystem
processes and biogeochemical cycling
6. The limitations of current research and major knowledge gaps in the scientific literature

Intended Skill Outcomes

After successful completion of the module a student will be able to:
1. Analyse the function of marine ecosystems, describing spatial and temporal gradients and the underlying
controlling mechanisms
2. Evaluate and predict how external forcings can alter ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycling under
future environmental change scenarios
3. Synthesise knowledge and information on ecosystem structure and function from diverse literature sources
4. Critically analyse the literature, identifying key strengths, weakness and knowledge gaps

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Primary lectures introduce key concepts described in the Syllabus Outline. The lectures are followed on by data-driven workshops which provide the students with scientific datasets relating to the syllabus topics. Each workshop will start with an introductory lecture about how the data was collected and the aims of the research programme that the data originate from. Students will work in small groups to analyse, visualize, and describe the data patterns. Working as a small group will enhance their communication and team skills. Each data workshops will finish with formative peer-review assessment. Using the skills developed in the data workshops, the students will work in small groups to design their own sampling strategy to investigate upper water-column biogeochemical cycling.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The written assessments will assess both the theoretical knowledge and understanding, as well as data handling skills (visualisation and interpretation). The scheduled data workshops will have an integrated formative assessment using peer-review that will help students develop constructive review skills and improve their own work. There will be two summative assessments that require the students to apply the skills that they have learned in the data workshops. The first summative assessment is a field report with brief introduction, methods, results and discussion based on the fieldwork that the students will have designed and executed. The second summative assessment will provide the students with preexisting oceanographic datasets and ask them to plot and interpret the values. The datasets will be drawn from the main topics of the module, including physical oceanography, primary production and environmental gradients, and changes to ocean ecosystems. Overall, the assessments are designed to develop the writing skills, data analysis and interpretation of the students.

General Notes

N/A