Abstract
I would say that overall my semester in this class has been very successful for me in multiple different avenues. I am confident in saying that I have/will meet all of the goals that I have set for myself in the previous reflections. As for the in person classes, I would say that a high majority of them were insightful, helped me learn and retain information long-term, and made me want to come to class twice a week. The only times I was really "bored" were the SLO feedback days because every time I was the only person who had the project completed on time, meaning I just wrote down "nothing there" and did nothing for the rest of class. I feel confident that I've earned a high grade in this class from my understanding of the information and my presence in the classroom.
Introduction/Background (Unchanged)
I would say that my current knowledge of the ocean mostly stems from an environmental viewpoint, as I have had an interest in environmental sciences for a long time. I now know that the ocean is very resistant to change due to its size, but any change that does happen has drastic effects on the ocean and its life. Harmful human activities have the most noticeable negative effects on the ocean, some of the most prominent being ocean acidification, pollution, draining of resources, and global warming. All of these cause heavy damage to the ocean environment as well as cause living on our planet to be much harder for everything including humans. This class has helped me understand more of the ocean's processes such as stratification, water mixing, and the formation of structures both in and out of water. The tectonic plates have a large effect on our oceans in multiple ways, such as forming huge underwater structures. Convergent plates can create underwater mountains, trenches, volcanoes, and islands, while divergent plates cause rifting, ridges, and new plate growth at the bottom of the sea. The release of built-up pressure between these plates can cause earthquakes, which in turn can create huge waves called tsunamis. The circulation patterns of the ocean play a huge part in how water moves around the ocean and the world. The North Atlantic Current is part of this pattern, and its motion helps keep the North Atlantic region of the world warm. Different temperatures of water move at different depths, with cold staying low and warm water floating to the surface due to its higher temperature. In addition to being affected by global wind currents, these differing currents are also possible due to the tilt of the earth creating the seasons which lead to different water temperatures. The earth's tides are influenced by the moon's gravity and position relative to the earth. The sides of the earth parallel to the moon are the most affected, causing high tide, while the sides perpendicular to the moon are the least affected, causing a low tide. Tidal waves on the other hand are almost completely influenced by the wind, both in the open ocean and near the beach, with the exception of the aforementioned tsunami. As the for physical properties of the ocean, there are just so many to choose from that I can't fit them in a single reflection. The different ocean depths have completely different environments and affect factors such as water stratification and oceanic plate thickness. The chemistry of dissolution allows nitrates and oxygen to enter the water and support life. Estuaries in different areas with different levels of mixture between salt water and fresh water can create entire new biomes, lots of stuff. We're still only halfway through the unit with two SLOs to go, but I'm fairly confident in how I'm learning and understanding these subjects, plus I'm finding them legitimately interesting.