Postgraduate Course: Polar Oceans: Science and Policy (PGGE11260)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the polar oceans, their role in global climate change and their sensitivity to direct and indirect human impacts. We investigate the key processes and interactions in the Arctic and Antarctic polar systems, and their larger-scale importance for regional ecosystems, global carbon and nutrient cycling, and Earth's climate in the past, present and future. Increasing human pressure on the polar oceans requires a detailed understanding of these issues and how to manage them, in order to protect these fragile and important marine systems into the future. Such an understanding will be developed throughout this course. |
| Course description |
The course will begin with an overview of the fundamental science of the Arctic and Antarctic polar marine systems, from physical oceanography and ocean-climate interactions to marine biogeochemistry and ecosystem dynamics. We will then progress to the ways in which the polar oceans are changing and how these changes influence and are influenced by human activities. The course then evolves to discuss the relevant policy and governance structures in the Arctic and Antarctic, and how polar marine resources and systems must be managed to ensure their long-term sustainability.
Lectures - Arctic ecosystems and oceanography; Southern Ocean ecosystems and oceanography; Antarctica and the Arctic in the global context; Fjords and coastal systems under threat; Human interactions with the environment in a changing Arctic; Pan-Arctic pressures and policy; Southern Ocean stressors and strategies; Future priorities and opportunities in the polar regions. Workshop (assessed) - Methods in polar ocean observing. Class-based exercise (assessed) - Marine protected area consultation. This broad-ranging and dynamic learning experience will equip students with a sound knowledge of polar ocean processes and their global importance, and the practical skills and understanding required to work in the governance and protection of these systems.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework (100%): practical assessment (40%) comprising one workshop report (20%) and one class-based assessment (20%); written coursework (60%) following the class-based exercise.
Assessment deadlines:
workshop report due week 6
class-based assessment due week 10
written coursework due week 12
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5 are assessed in the class-based assessment and written coursework. Learning outcome 4 as well as 1, 2, 3 are assessed in the assessed workshop. |
| Feedback |
Students will be given feedback after each assessment |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand key physical, chemical and biological processes at work in the polar oceans and their importance at regional and global scales
- describe the changes occurring in the Arctic and Antarctic polar marine systems, and their interaction with direct and indirect human impacts
- elucidate the complexity in the governance of these systems, considering multiple stressors and a large and diverse set of stakeholders
- design the field campaigns and observing systems, and understand the techniques, required to quantify polar ecosystem and biogeochemical change
- plan and implement a management system to facilitate blue growth whilst protecting ecosystem services in the polar oceans
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Reading List
Kaiser et al. 2011. Marine ecology: processes, systems and impacts. Oxford University Press. Wassmann, P. and M. Reigstad 2011. Future Arctic Ocean seasonal ice zones and implications for pelagic-benthic coupling. Oceanography 24(3):220-231, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2011.74. Bluhm, B.A. et al. 2011. Arctic marine biodiversity: An update of species richness and examples of biodiversity change. Oceanography 24(3):232,248, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2011.75. Constable, A.J. et al. 2014. Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota. Global Change Biology, 20, 3004-3025. Ducklow, H.W. et al. 2013. West Antarctic Peninsula: An ice-dependent coastal marine ecosystem in transition. Oceanography 26(3):190,203, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.62. Henley S. F. et al. 2019. Variability and change in the west Antarctic Peninsula marine system: research priorities and opportunities. Progress in Oceanography, 173, 208-237, doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2019.03.003, 2019.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will develop critical thinking skills relevant to marine systems and governance, specific knowledge of the most prescient issues in polar marine systems, and practical skills in the design and implementation of ocean governance structures and observing systems. Different components of the course will enhance students¿ skills in independent learning and research, leadership of teams and initiatives, and collaborative working. These skills and attributes are well-aligned with those developed throughout the Marine Systems and Policies MSc programme, as well as other Masters programmes from which students may choose this course |
| Keywords | Arctic Ocean,Southern Ocean,Climate Change,human impact,ecosystems,oceanography,MarineProtectedArea |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sian Henley
Tel: (0131 6)50 7288
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Louisa King
Tel: (0131 6)50 2543
Email: |
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