EESC2206 · Earth and Environmental Sciences

Environmental Systems: Oceans

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

The oceans cover 70% of the earth's surface and are home to much of its life. The oceans are critical to the earth's biogeochemical cycling of energy and mass. Ocean currents play a key role in climate through redistribution and exchange of heat with the atmosphere and storage of CO2. Coastal areas, the narrow interface between land and ocean, represent some of the most productive, populated, and vulnerable regions on earth. The course provides an introduction to the ocean's role in earth processes and explores topics and challenges facing a changing planet through case studies and critical and analytical thinking.