MSCI 626 - Global Ocean Change Biology

Fall, even years (2) Rivest

This course will provide (1) a scientific foundation of physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic aerosols) and (2) a scientific foundation of biological consequences of global environmental change. Evidence for past and present global environmental change will be discussed, including sea level change, variation in freshwater inputs, and shifts in temperature and acidity. Biological and ecological processes that result from changing ocean conditions will include range shifts, phenological shifts, acclimatization, and local adaptation.