EAS 4300: Introduction to Oceanography, FALL 2009
INSTRUCTORS:
Emanuele Di Lorenzo
phone 404-894-3994
office ES&T 3244
email edl@eas.gatech.edu
Kim Cobb
phone 404-894-1992
office ES&T 2234
email kcobb@eas.gatech.edu
TA:
Andrew Davis
Email andrew.davis@eas.gatech.edu
Course Website http://ocean3d.org/eas-4300
Questions for you
Why do we care about Oceanography?
How is oceanography important in
understanding future climate?
What aspects of ocean sciences are
relevant to the economy?
How can humans impact the ocean
and climate?
Oceanography and Climate
How is oceanography important in
understanding future climate?
Regional  Basin Wide  Global
SPACE
Climate changes occur on different
space and time scales.
Seasonal  Interannual  Decadal  Millennial
TIME
Oceanography and Climate - seasonal timescales
Thermoregulating effects (e.g. moist air of the Gulf Stream
and Kuroshio Extensions)
Oceanography and Climate - seasonal timescales
Sea surface temperature in the
tropical oceans fuel hurricanes
Hurricanes becoming more
intense as ocean warms?
Oceanography and Climate - interannual timescales
El Niño is the strongest signal of climate variability on
interannual timescales. It is a coupled mechanism between
the tropical ocean and atmosphere.
Oceanography and Climate - interannual timescales
Ocean Vortices are one of the strongest mixing agent in
the ocean, they are important for ocean circulation and
biology. Their role in climate is still unknown!
NORTH
AMERICA
Gulf of Alaska
Thomson, R. E., and J. F. R. Gower, 1998: A basin-scale oceanic instability event in the Gulf
of Alaska. J Geophys Res-Oceans, 103, 3033-3040.
Oceanography and Climate - decadal timescales
Changes of ocean circulation affects fish distributions and
abundance.
Sardines/Anchovies
synchronized alternations between
sardines/anchovies over the entire
Pacific Ocean?
Oceanography and Climate - longer timescales
Changes in the ocean/atmosphere affect the ice caps, and
therefore Sea Level.
Sea level will rise
7 to 22” in the next
century, if melting
does not accelerate
--IPCC AR4, 2007
Oceanography and Climate - longer timescales
Marine Ecosystem regulate the cycling of chemical species
relevant to climate (e.g. Carbon, DMS)
Chlorophyll Spring 2005 (MODIS Satellite)
Oceanography and Climate - millenial timescales
Vertical circulation of the ocean
MOVIE:
The Day After Tomorrow
Oceanography and Climate
Climate changes occur on different
space and time scales.
What makes it interesting is that
processes happening on different
temporal and spatial scales are not
separable and interact with each other 
A NONLINEAR SYSTEM  COMPLEXITY
WHY?
e.g. The ocean has a very long memory.
We will learn about this, and about the mechanisms of
interaction between ocean-atmosphere-landecosystems.
Resources in the Ocean and Economy
What aspects of ocean sciences are
relevant to the economy?
Geological Resources extraction of petroleum, gas, metals, carbon
sequestration?, etc.
Ecological Resources mainly food from fisheries and maricultures
Energy Resources extraction of power from waves, tides,
currents and heat content
Chemical Resources e.g. development of new drugs, salts, etc.
Recreational Resources of coastal areas, e.g. beaches and more
Oceanographic studies helped discover these resources and help to
manage them (e.g. coastal processes and beaches, and many more…)
Ocean Resources, Economy and Oceanography
An example: The City of Venice, ITALY
1. Dump: rain and tides
distribute it in the lagoon)
2. Factory: factories drained
their liquid waste partly into the
lagoon and partly into dumps.
Currents and erosion continue
to disperse pollutants.
3. Sea: Meteorological
conditions can accentuate high
tides. Bora, a cold northerly in
the Adriatic Sea, and Sirocco, a
hot, dust-laden wind from the
Libyan desert, can trigger
dangerously high tides.
4. River: the Republic of Venice
diverted four rivers that
originally flowed into the lagoon.
The loss of the silt and sediment
is transforming the delta
environment into a marine one.
5. Farm: 53 percent of the
phosphates and other pollutants
that enter the lagoon come from
these sources.
6. Town: About 1,400,000
people live in the basin, but
when one considers the quantity
of nutrients and organic matter
generated, environmentalists
say, it is as if 4,000,000 people
lived there.
Offshore GAS
extraction
platforms
opening to
sea
Adriatic Sea
Ocean Resources, Economy and Oceanography
An example: The City of Venice, ITALY
using oceanography and ocean engeneering
Install Gates to
control the tide
opening to
sea
Adriatic Sea
More at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venice/
Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate
How can humans impact the ocean
and climate?
Alterations: chemical (e.g. mercury, aerosols, green house gases, oil)
dying corals, poison fish, global warming
biological (e.g. introducing new faunas, phosphate from
changes in land use, overfishing …)
cholera in India, changes in Mediterranean species
physical/geological (e.g. shoreline interventions …)
city of venice was an example
Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate
CNN: Asian Brown
Cloud' poses global
threat
August 12, 2002 Posted: 10:43 PM
EDT (0243 GMT)
Satellite view
Aerosols change:
radiation budget
clouds concentration
amount of rain in clouds
Humans impacts on the Ocean and Climate
CNN: Asian Brown
Cloud' poses global
threat
August 12, 2002 Posted: 10:43 PM
EDT (0243 GMT)
Where does it come from?
The sources are changing fast
Humans impacts
on the Ocean and
Climate
Oceanography in the
Indian Ocean plays a
crucial role in
isolating and
understanding the
impacts of Asian
aerosols.
… aerosol pollution is only one piece of a more complex puzzle
The Global Warming Issue
from thermometers
from paleo records
What will happen
in the (near)
future?
An important question
discussed by scientists
(IPCC)
0.8 C
How do we define the science of Oceanography?
My personal interest
We studied oceanography in San Diego at the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Manu
Ocean and climate dynamics
Physical-biological interactions in the ocean
Ocean Forecasting
Kim
Paleoclimate and Climate Change
Isotope Geochemistry
Energy & the Environment
The Scientific Method