| CODE | GSC5510 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Applications and Services in Operational Oceanography | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Geosciences | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit is structured into two main components. During the first phase students will be presented with the theory of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) process, with applications to local case studies, dealing with the merging of scientific, environmental, legal and socio-economic aspects, and focusing on the use and integration of multiple data sets to achieve the best assessments. This theoretical part will include a description of applications of citizen science protocols within oceanography as well as oil spill modeling. During the second part of the unit, a number of visits will be organised to demonstrate applications of oceanography in the real environment. These will include visits to the HF radar sites and meteo stations that are operated and maintained by the Oceanography Malta Group, the search and rescue control room of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM), fish farms, the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) of Transport Malta, and the MET office. Study-Unit Aims: The overarching aim of this applicative study-unit is to empower students to: - Understand and participate in marine-related downstream services production; - Use and adapt existing marine information services in specific applications, assessments, studies, decision making, and problem solving activities; - Focus on data assimilation, the generation of model analysis data fields, ensemble modeling, and interpretation of results; - Provide students with the mathematical baselines of models, on their design and performance, targeting to interpret and use in the best manner their output fields; - Highlight applications in environmental monitoring, risk assessment, and ecosystem-based management; - Provide an overview of the field techniques adopted to meet marine quality monitoring obligations. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Value European excellence in operational oceanography, serving as an experience to generate innovative support activities through integrated marine information services; - Interpret concepts of advanced computer-based modeling and techniques in operational oceanography, the underlying principles for setup and functioning, different kind of models, and their use in providing user friendly information services for the needs of key users; - Interpret how ocean models provide additional support to understand the processes in the marine environment; - Distinguish between the main types of models used in oceanography and determine their applicability to selected cases; - Explain how specialized technologies in operational oceanography, are contributing to enhance applications in a wide range of marine activities through specific European experiences and examples; - Identify benefits and limitations on the use of numerical models including diagnostics to assess their performance; - Explain the scope of Environmental Impact Assessments, and the process of formulating and submitting such assessments on the basis of informed and multi-disciplinary inputs. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Assess the potential as well as the limitations of ocean models to support marine services; - Evaluate how advanced ocean models function, which are the available outputs and how they can be accessed and used; - Perform advanced post-processing on model outputs and use them to help answer research questions; - Formulate individual inputs that fit a team effort, through participate in group work for a common endeavour; - Plan and apply data to prepare assessments based on multiple inputs and relating to a mix of scientific, legal, socio-economic and environmental aspects; - Investigate further the experiences obtained in the course to innovative applications and production of new downstream services. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Numerical Models of Oceans and Oceanic Processes, (2000) by Lakshmi H. Kantha and Carol Anne Clayson, Volume 66 (International Geophysics), Academic Press, 750pp. - Introduction to Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (1994) by Benoit Cushman-Roisin. Prentice-Hall. - Mathematical Methods for Oceanographers: An Introduction (1st edition) (1997) by Edward A. Laws. Wiley. Supplementary Readings: - Ocean Weather Forecasting: An Integrated View of Oceanography, (2006) by Eric P. Chassignet & Jacques Verron, Springer, 577pp. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork and Independent Study | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Alan Deidun Adam Gauci |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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