Image

 ![Coastal research landscape used as the Northmoor University hero image.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/camilo-botia-k4vFDPJoDZk-unsplash.1600x1200.jpg.avif?itok=ujHvC8nC)

 

 



Course code

OCEA 340

 

Course credit

1.00

 

Examines the ocean as a component of the climate system. Covers ocean heat and carbon uptake, meridional overturning, modes of variability, and the coupling between ocean and atmosphere on seasonal to centennial timescales.

The final section addresses projection. Global mean quantities are comparatively well constrained and of limited use locally, while the regional quantities a decision-maker actually needs carry uncertainty that frequently exceeds the projected mean. The course covers how regional projections are constructed, what dominates their uncertainty, and the distinction between uncertainty that further research will reduce and uncertainty that it will not.

Assessment includes a project producing a regional projection with a defensible uncertainty statement.



Instructors

[Dr. Elena Reyes](/person/dr-elena-reyes)

[Dr. Farida Haddad](/person/dr-farida-haddad)

 

 

Prerequisite

OCEA 220.



 

Terms offered

spring

 

 

Offering frequency

annually