Los Angeles Valley College Library: OER: Open Educational Resources: Oceanography

Textbooks

Introduction to Physical Oceanography by Robert H. Stewart (2008): Texas A&M University

This textbook covers physical-oceanographic processes, theories, data, and measurements, targeted at upper-division undergraduates and graduate students in oceanography, meteorology, and ocean engineering. In addition to the classical topics, the author includes discussions of heat fluxes, the role of the ocean in climate, the deep circulation, equatorial processes including El Nino, data bases used by oceanographers, the role of satellites and data from space, ship-based measurements, and the importance of vorticity in understanding oceanic flows. Students should have studied differential equations and introductory college physics, although math is de-emphasized.

Introduction to Ocean Science 4th ed by Douglas Segar (2020): Segar

In this text, we will explore the fundamental physical, chemical, geological, and biological features and processess of the oceans and review how humans have studied the oceans. We will discuss the range of resources that the oceans provide for us, and the pollution and their impacts that result from humans on the oceans and exploitation of their resources. We will also examine oceans and exploitation of their resources. We will also examine the direct and indirect effects of climate change, not just on human civilization and natural ecosystems but also on the fundamental chemistry of the global ocean that pose a long-term threat of the extinction of many ocean species. After reading this text, you will have a new appreciation of the intimate and intricate linkages between our lives and the oceans. More importantly, you will be equipped to more fully analyze, understand, and evaluate the ever increasing stream of scientific and popular reports of findings or theories concerning the oceans and the implications of human activities on the oceans.

Introduction to Oceanography by Paul Webb (2020): Reebus Community

This book was originally written for my Principles of Oceanography course at Roger Williams University, a lower-level introductory course required for marine biology and environmental science majors. By design, this course does not go into great detail about marine biological topics, as our students will cover those topics in their other courses. For that reason, this book does not currently include sections on marine ecology, marine communities, or the diversity of marine life that are often found in other introductory texts. However, this book remains a work in progress, and it is hoped that over time, those sections may be added. I invite instructors who utilize this text to send suggestions, edits, updates, or sections you would like to see added to pwebb@rwu.edu. I especially encourage instructors who are willing to author additional sections in their areas of expertise to submit them for inclusion in future updates to this text.

Oceanography by Hill et al (2020): LibreTexts.

Oceanography is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean and covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries.

LibreTexts

Courses

Acoustical Oceanography (MIT OpenCourseWare)
This course will begin with brief overview of what important current research topics are in oceanography (physical, geological, and biological) and how acoustics can be used as a tool to address them. Three typical examples are climate, bottom geology, and marine mammal behavior. Will then address the acoustic inverse problem, reviewing inverse methods (linear and nonlinear) and the combination of acoustical methods with other measurements as an integrated system. Last part of course will concentrate on specific case studies, taken from current research journals. This course is taught on campus at MIT and with simultaneous video at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The Atmosphere, The Ocean, and Environmental Change (Open Yale)
This course explores the physical processes that control Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and climate. Quantitative methods for constructing mass and energy budgets. Topics include clouds, rain, severe storms, regional climate, the ozone layer, air pollution, ocean currents and productivity, the seasons, El Niño, the history of Earth’s climate, global warming, energy, and water resources.
Beneath the Blue: The Importance of Marine Sediments (Future Learn)
Exactly what lies beneath our oceans? Why is the sea floor, and its marine sediments, so important? And how are humans affecting them? On this course you’ll answer these questions and more.

You will consider the importance of the seafloor and learn about its part in global ecological, chemical and physical processes. You will learn about the vital role that the seafloor plays in providing ecosystem services to society, the current rate at which humans are exploiting seafloor habitats and the need to conserve these systems.
Exploring Our Ocean (Future Learn)
What lies in the half of our world covered by water more than two miles deep? How are our everyday lives connected to the ocean depths, and what challenges and opportunities does this previously hidden realm hold for our future?

Meet scientists exploring the ocean from the deepest undersea vents to the chilly waters of the Poles and find how what we now know about the ocean depths is as amazing as the unknown that remains. By taking this course, you will see how the deep ocean is no longer out of reach, and join a global debate about the future of our “blue planet”.
Introduction to Ocean Science and Engineering (MIT OpenCourseWare)
This course is an introduction to the fundamental aspects of science and engineering necessary for exploring, observing, and utilizing the oceans. Hands-on projects focus on instrumentation in the marine environment and the design of ocean observatories for ocean monitoring and exploration. Topics include acoustics, sound speed and refraction, sounds generated by ships and marine animals, sonar systems and their principles of operation, hydrostatic behavior of floating and submerged bodies geared towards ocean vehicle design, stability of ocean vessels, and the application of instrumentation and electronics in the marine environment. Students work with sensor systems and deploy them in the field to gather and analyze real world data.
Evolution of Physical Oceanography (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Evolution of Physical Oceanography was created to mark the career of Henry M. Stommel, the leading physical oceanographer of the 20th Century and a longtime MIT faculty member. The authors of the different chapters were asked to describe the evolution of their subject over the history of physical oceanography, and to provide a survey of the state-of-the-art of their subject as of 1980. Many of the chapters in this textbook are still up-to-date descriptions of active scientific fields, and all of them are important historical records. This textbook is made available courtesy of The MIT Press.