| Page 2 - Coastal Oceanography |
| The focus of this class is the physical, chemical, geological, and a bit of the biological oceanography of the Southern California Bight (see below). This unique oceanographic region borders Orange County to the west and has some of the most fascinating ocean features of any area of equal size anywhere on Earth in the oceans. One of the requirements for this class is that students read specific sections of the Public Ocean Literacy - What Residents of Southern California Should Know. ? Click here to download that document to your computer. |
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| The illustration above depicts the SCB (the Southern California Bight). Stretching along the Califonria Coast from Point Conception to the Mexican Border and from the coastline out to sea nearly 200 miles this oceanic area is truely unique! For instance, there are eight channel islands in the SCB - each of them unique biologically in their own way. Also, the SCB has a variety of large ocean currents that push and mix the waters of this unique oceanographic region (see illustration below) and help to create the remarkable array of plants and animals that inhabit the ocean of southern California. From giant blue whales to tiny colorful nudibranchs (tiny marine snails) and from giant kelp that grows along this coast and offshore to very small seaweeds that inhabit the tidepools of the rocky shores here, no other ocean area exhibits such high species diversity and such a large standing stock of species. The Coastal Oceanography lecture and lab classes offered at Orange Coast College are dedicated to helping advanced oceanography students (students who have completed Marine Science 100 lecture and lab) understand and appreciate the unique physical, chemical, geological, and biological oceanographic conditions that make this one of the best places on Earth to study oceanography. |
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| Surface Current Patterns in the SCB |
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