This online course is for all of you aspiring marine scientists. Oceanography forms part of the marine sciences and will be a vital aspect for anyone keen to study marine sciences at a tertiary level – even if the aim is to study marine biology.
So, what is oceanography, you ask? There are several different ‘fields’ of oceanography – physical, biological, geological and chemical oceanography.
National Geographic defines oceanography as:
– It applies chemistry, geology, meteorology, biology, and other branches of science to the study of the ocean. It is especially important today as climate change, pollution, and other factors are threatening the ocean and its marine life.
The Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation will be running the Key Principles of Oceanography course from 6 June onwards, for four weeks. The course format is a mix of self-study and interactive online teaching. This course is suitable for children in grades 10 to 12. All of the content will be available for self-study on our new e-learning platform, and each Saturday we will have live lessons with our environmental educators, via Zoom. There will also be weekly assessments, and a certificate will be issued to all participants at the end of the course.
This course is quite academic, and acts as a bridging course between high school and university. Most of the content covered in our course will be covered in 1st year university oceanography modules. If you are serious about studying marine sciences at university, then this course will definitely help you on your journey to becoming a marine scientist. Some of the course content that will be covered:
– The history of our Earth – continental drift, plate tectonics, ocean floor topography, coastal processes
– The water planet – water and its stages, temperature and heat, pH, tides, tsunamis, ocean waves
– The atmosphere – composition of the atmosphere, Coriolis effect, wind patterns, ocean currents and the 5 gyres, upwelling and downwelling, El Niño and La Niña
We recommend that course participants are currently doing physics and chemistry as a school subject. You will only be able to access the online learning platform if payment for the course has been made. All queries should be directed to Katja on education@aquariumfoundation.org.za
