Prospective Students
We tackle a wide range of interdisciplinary ocean & environmental science questions (download pdf current_projects_doney_2020_08 and see Research Webpage). In many cases, we primarily use computational methods; students often do a fair amount of data analysis, remote sensing, and numerical modeling work. There are also possibilities of participating in field work in conjunction with a computational research project. A good place to start in developing some computational skills and background is a book that we developed for a hands-on graduate course in the MIT/WHOI Oceanography Joint Program (taught in Matlab):
Glover, D.M., W.J. Jenkins, and S.C. Doney, 2011: Modeling Methods for Marine Science, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 592 pp., www.cambridge.org/glover ISBN-13: 9780521867832
Classes
EVSC 2559 Polar Environments
Spring 2020, 2019 co-taught with Prof. Lauren Simkins
scheduled for Spring 2021 as EVSC 2850
The cold, ice-dominated polar environments of the Arctic and Antarctic are central to understanding: past, present, and future climate variations; the cryosphere (glaciers, ice-sheets, sea-ice, snow, permafrost, and hydrates); global sea-level rise; biodiversity and marine resources; and a host of polar-related cultural, economic, and national security issues. This course explores the unique aspects of polar systems and lessons for the larger globe by integrating relevant aspects of climate science, geology, glaciology, oceanography, ecology, and human-dimensions.
EVSC 4066/7066 Changing Global Carbon Cycle
Fall 2019, Spring 2018 (as EVSC 4559/7559)
scheduled for Fall 2021
The global carbon cycle is changing dramatically due to human and natural processes. This course will consider major factors including fossil fuel use, agriculture and land-use change, atmospheric build-up, and land biosphere and ocean uptake. Emphasis is on both observational constraints and models, looking over the past several centuries and the near-term future under a changing climate and environment.
EVSC 4559/7559 Climate Resilience
Fall 2019 co-taught with Prof. Karen McGlathery
Climate change poses growing challenges to urban and rural communities, infrastructure, and managed and natural ecosystems. This course emphasizes conceptual understanding of vulnerabilities, resilience, and solutions for coastal systems and taps into UVA’s expertise through the pan-university Environmental Resilience Institute https://eri.virginia.edu/
EVSC 5060 Coastal Oceanography
Spring 2019 co-taught with Prof. Matt Reidenbach
scheduled for Spring 2021
An interdisciplinary course covering physical, ecological and biogeochemical processes occurring along coastlines and within coastal ecosystems.
EVSC 4559/7559 Marine Biogeochemistry
Fall 2018
Marine biogeochemistry reflects a complex interplay of seawater and marine life, especially microbes and plankton. Course topics include physical oceanography, seawater composition and chemistry, stable and radioactive isotopes, box and advection-diffusion models, marine biological pump, air-sea gas exchange, particle fluxes and sediments, and ocean history and climate. Emphasis is on conceptual and quantitative understanding of the factors influencing marine biogeochemistry. Each week covers a different topic with a lectures, discussions, and in-class exercises.
EVSC 4559/7559 Coastal Resilience
Fall 2018 co-taught with Prof. Karen McGlathery
Healthy and productive coastal ecosystems and human communities are vital to society but are increasingly threatened by a wide range of environmental issues such as over-development and wetland loss, pollution, storm surge and sea-level rise, climate change, and ocean acidification. This course emphasizes conceptual understanding of vulnerabilities, resilience, and solutions for coastal systems and taps into UVA’s expertise through the pan-university Environmental Resilience Institute https://eri.virginia.edu/