Offered By	ANU Joint Colleges of Science
Academic Contact	Dr Michael Ellwood and Dr Christopher Fulton
Areas of Interest	Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Marine Sciences, and Physics

Marine ecosystems play a central role in the health and function of our planet. Given the increasing exploitation and modification by humankind, there is an urgent need for us to study and understand marine systems if management strategies are to succeed.

The Marine Science major is a multidisciplinary science program at the ANU that encompasses many fields, in particular, biology, chemistry, geology and physics, with an emphasis on understanding the coastal and open ocean environment through field, laboratory and modelling approaches.

This program aims at equipping students with the tools to understand and monitor coastal and oceanic processes and interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere under an ever changing climate that may affect marine resources. A major in Marine Sciences opens up possibilities for work in government agencies and science education. It serves as a pathway to higher degree research at Australian or overseas universities.

Learning Goals:

On completing the major in Marine Science students will be able to:

1. Overview the advancement of the discipline and how that has influenced modern Marine Science.
2. Have an understanding of the evolution of the oceans, and the organisms contained within, from a molecular to the global scale.
3. Quantitatively analyse marine environments using a variety of observations and techniques.
4. Draw on diverse learning environments including field, laboratory and classroom settings encompassing individual and group learning.
5. Perform process-oriented, multidisciplinary studies to critically evaluate hypotheses and models on how our oceans and the life within operate.
6. Write scientific reports and communicate efficiently with university staff, peer students and the wider community on Marine Science topics.
7. Conduct themselves in a way that reflects professional expectations within the discipline.

Requirements

This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:

A total of 6 units from the following compulsory course:

EMSC1006  The Blue Planet: An Introduction to Earth System Science

A total of 42 units to be chosen from the following courses including:

• 6 units chosen from the following 1000 level courses:

CHEM1101  Chemistry 1

CHEM1201  Chemistry 2

BIOL1009  Diversity of Life

• 12 to 18 units chosen from the following 2000 level courses:

EMSC2014  Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

EMSC2019  Geobiology and Evolution of Life on Earth

EMSC2021  Fundamentals of Climate System Science

BIOL2112  Marine Biology

ENVS2004  Weather, Climate and Fire

PHYS2016  Electromagnetism

MATH2305  Differential Equations and Applications

• A minimum of 18 units chosen from the following 3000 level courses:

EMSC3019  Coral Reef Field Studies

EMSC3023  Marine Biogeochemistry

EMSC3025  Groundwater

EMSC3027  Palaeoclimatology and Climate Change

EMSC3028  Coastal Environmental Earth Science

BIOL3116  Marine Ecology

ENVS3013  Climatology

ENVS3029  Palaeo-Environmental Reconstruction

PHYS3034  Physics of Fluid Flows

• A maximum of 6 units of courses chosen from:

BIOL3208  Biology Research Project

EMSC3050  Special Topics in Earth Sciences

ENVS3010  Independent Research Project

PHYS3042  Research Topics Physics

Advice to Students:

What 1st year courses should you enrol in?  EMSC1006

Students are encouraged in first year to take appropriate foundation courses in earth science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and /or environmental science Because of the interdisciplinary nature of Marine Sciences.  Some of the first year courses in these disciplines are required as a basis for higher-level Marine Science courses.

Students should seek further course advice from the academic convener of this Marine Sciences major.

The information published on the Study at ANU 2012 website applies to the 2012 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2011 website.