Announcements - Spring, 2007
(most recent posted first)

Two warmups are due at noon on Friday, April 20. The first is an essay and one multiple choice question, dealing with beach dynamics and classification of shorelines respectively. The second has four questions that deal with classification of shorelines and the Chesapeake Bay estuary. Some students have already submitted the first warmup. The second warmup will be ready on wednesday afternoon, the 18th.

LAB STUDENTS - for the lab during the week of April 16:

Before lab, you must go to elearning.winona.edu/apps/meyersSPSS/ and install the SPSS package. Here you will also find some detailed instructions on how to complete the lab. Be sure to look these things over before coming to our session.

I've made some important changes to the course assignment-schedule page for the weeks of April 9, April 16, and April 23.

Lab students. Bring your laptops to lab the next two weeks (the week of April 2, and the week of April 9.

A warmup on Tides is due on Friday, March 30, at noon

I've made a few changes to the assignment page on Tuesday, March 27

A warmup on waves is due on Friday, March 23, at noon.

Grades for the second exam will be posted on D2L by Thursday noon, March 22.

If you need help with chemistry of sea water lab, click here

I've posted two video clips dealing with the Coriolis force. You can access them here. Clip one shows straight line motion on a non-rotating Earth. Clip two shows curved line motion on a rotating surface, similar to the northern hemisphere of Earth. Here are some web pages that provide additional information on the Coriolis force.

A very basic treatment of the Coriolis Force - note that the rotation of the merry go round is opposite that for the northern hemisphere, hence the left deflection

Here's a very nice explanation of the Coriolis Force, and the urban legend that flushing your commode is an illustration of the phenomenon

Two more useful animations, one for the northern hemisphere, one for the southern

An animation based on winds in the northern hemisphere

Many helpful animations from Department of Physics at Oregon State University

A warmup on surface ocean currents is due at 2:00 on Friday afternoon, March 16.

A warmup on Physical Properties of Sea water, the structure of the ocean, and vertical circulation is due on Monday, March 12, at noon. It is available now. If you have any difficulty with the process of accessing or submitting a warmup, please email jdeleon@winona.edu at once. It's important that he is notified while the problem exists, not after the fact. Do not email me, as I can't help with the problem.

A warmup on sea water chemistry is due at noon on Monday, February 26. It is available now.

Don't forget our exam on Monday, February 19. Bring a NARROW Scantron and a couple of sharpened pencils with GOOD erasers. And arrange yourselves in alternate seats. The exam papers will be passed out promptly at 2:00 and you may work until 2:55. Remember that your grades won't be posted until the following week, as I will be in the hospital and won't be able to grade them right away. Grades will be posted outside the south door of SL 178, according to the last four digits of your Warrior ID.

A powerpoint on marine sediment is available on our web site. Access it through the section "powerpoint presentations" on the index page.

A tutor for oceanography is available through student support services. Her name is Nicole Schoolmeesters (naschool2068@winona.edu). Her drop in hours are M 7-8 pm in Lucas B11, and W 7-9 in SLC 178. You may also schedule other times with Nichole. Simply contact her via email.

A second warmup on plate tectonics is due on Friday, February 9 at noon. It emphasizes the paleomagnetic evidence for sea floor spreading and plate movements.

VERY IMPORTANT LABORATORY ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRE-LAB ASSIGNMENT

Before next lab meeting, you must do the following pre-lab work.

Use the sea floor map that shows topography in relief (the Physiographic Chart of the Sea Floor is at the rear of your lab packet) for the following plots (numbers 1 and 2 of the first Plate Tectonics Laboratory Exercise).

1. Use the recent Earthquake data from the following url to plot the locations of recent earthquake epicenters. Plot the epicenters with small circles (·) using the following key: plot shallow-focus earthquakes (depths < 75 km) in blue and plot deep-focus earthquakes (depths > 75 km) in green. Go down the list from most recent to least recent, and stop when you have plotted at least 10 deep focus quakes (and, of course, all the shallow-focus 'quakes along the way).

USGS National Earthquake Information Center

2. Use the recent volcanic activity data from the following url to plot the locations of world volcanoes. Plot the locations of volcanoes on your base map with red triangles (s). Go down the list from most recent to least recent, and stop when you have plotted 50 eruptions.

Volcano World

The plotting is done by latititude and longitude. If you don't understand how to plot in this coordinate system, please find out ASAP. By the way, if latitude is given in + and - instead of north and south, note that + is north and - is south. Latitude is plotted from the equator, which is zero, toward the poles, which are 90. If longitude is given in + and - instead of east and west, note that + is east and - is west. Longitude is plotted from the Prime Meridian (it goes through Greenwich, England), which is zero, east to 180 or west to 180 (180 is approximately the international date line).

Be certain to bring this map with the data plotted to your next lab session. We will check everyone's work - if you have not completed the assignment, you will be marked accordingly.

A warmup on plate tectonics is due at noon on Monday, February 5.

A warmup isostasy is due at noon on Wednesday, January 31.

Here is a suggested solution to the activity that you turned in on Wednesday. Your papers will be handed back on Monday the 29th. They will be given one of three marks. A plus indicates excellent work. A check indicates satisfactory work. A minus indicates unsatisfactory work.

The warmup on sea floor topography II is now available on your warmup application (Tuesday, 10 am) and should be completed and submitted by noon, Friday, January 26.

Work on drawing cross sections of the Pacfic and Atlantic Oceans. Hand in paper copy of your work at 2:00 Wednesday, January 24, in SL 120 in order to receive credit. You should staple multiple sheets together, and make certain your name is on all of your work. Remember to follow the policy on academic honesty and itegrity in our syllabus. There is no lecture following the handin.

Lab WILL meet on Wednesday as scheduled.

Just a reminder about the email I sent to you on Friday evening. The warmup on the topography of the sea floor is due at noon on Monday, January 22.

Just a heads up to help avoid confusion. There is always a lag time between your submission of a warmup and the time when I can post whether or not credit is given. The default is credit, provided all questions are answered, but once I have the opportunity to review your work in detail, that credit may change. I have not had the opportunity to review credit for the history warmup or the topography I warmup. But the syllabus quiz has been reviewed and credit adjusted accordingly. The question that most students missed was whether a student has recourse to appeal when a charge of cheating has been levied. Students *do* have the right of appeal, and you should check the link in your syllabus that explains the process.

Here is a link to a nice summary of the Challenger Expedition, and also on Alexander Agassiz. I suggest you have a look at both of them, as part of our assignments on the history of oceanography.

Challenger Expedition

Alexander Agassiz

A warmup on history of oceanography is due by noon, Friday, January 19. You can access the warmup application from the course index page link titled "warmups - complete and submit." The warmup will not be available until Wednesday afternoon, January 17.

If you have difficulties with the warmup application that we use for this course, please do NOT contact me. Instead, email elearning@winona.edu, or see either Jose De Leon, John Stafford, or Ken Gretz in elearning (second floor of library room 220).

A quiz on the syllabus is due by noon, Friday, January 19. You must answer all questions correctly in order to receive credit. The quiz will count as one of our warmups. You can access the warmup application from the course index page link titled "warmups - complete and submit." The warmup will not be available until Wednesday afternoon, January 17.

It is your responsibility to read the syllabus thoroughly. There are a number of policies to which you must adhere in order to pass the course. And there are also many suggestions for achieving success in the course.

Laboratory will begin on Monday, January 22. If you are signed up for the laboratory version of the course (GEOS 110), be in SL 137 on Monday, January 22 at 3 PM or Wednesday at 3 PM, depending on your lab section. Be certain to purchase the lab manual at the bookstore. And bring your text to lab.

E-mail addresses - I will communicate with you frequently using your WSU webmail address. Read your mail daily for important course announcements.

Make use of the opportunity to consult with me early in the course, especially if you are having difficulties. Only if you come in to see me can I provide assistance.