Physical-Biological Oceanography (MARS3012)
Information valid for Semester 1, 2025
Course level
Undergraduate
Faculty
School
School of the Environment
Units
2
Duration
One Semester
Attendance mode
In Person
Class hours
Practical 2 Hours/ Week
Fieldwork 24 Hours/ One Off
2L2P + 3-day field trip
Prerequisite
GEOS2100 or MARS2014 or equivalent; STAT1201 or equivalent
Assessment methods
Quizzes, Lab and Field/Research Report
Course enquiries
Associate Professor Helen Bostock Lyman (Semester 1, Regular, St Lucia, In person)
A/Prof Helen Bostock Lyman (h.bostock@uq.edu.au)
Study Abroad
This course is pre-approved for Study Abroad and Exchange students.
Current course offerings
| Course offerings | Location | Mode | Course Profile |
| Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025) | St Lucia | In Person | Profile unavailable |
Please Note: Course profiles marked as not available may still be in development.
Course description
This course will provide students with a clear understanding of the physical and biological processes in the ocean, and the influence of physical dynamics on biology - from open ocean to coral reefs, from phytoplankton to fisheries. Our changing climate is affecting the circulation and properties of our oceans, and the biology is responding. In order to understand the effects of climate change, we first need to understand how the ocean works. This course will challenge students with understanding the functioning of our oceans, and how the patterns and distribution of life in the ocean are controlled by the physical oceanography. The course consists of integrated lectures on physical-biological oceanography and climate change effects to provide the interdisciplinary foundation increasingly required in the contemporary environmental sciences. It covers the influence of the oceans on human activities and the influence of human activities on the characteristics of the oceans. Practicals will focus on learning to acquire and work with oceanography data platforms.
