Marine Science 205
1000 Pope Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-7633
Fax: (808) 956-9225
Email: ocean@soest.hawaii.edu
Web: /oceanography

Faculty

*Graduate Faculty

*E. F. DeLong, PhD (Chair)—application of contemporary genomic technologies to understand the ecology, evolution and biochemistry of complete microbial assemblages
*C. E. Nelson, PhD (Graduate Chair)—structure and function of natural bacterial communities in aquatic habitats such as coral reefs lakes, streams, and open ocean
*M. Guidry, PhD (Global Environmental Sciences Chair)— biogeochemical modeling, mineral precipitation/dissolution kinetics, K-12/university curriculum development, undergraduate research, and academic program management
*R. Alegado, PhD—marine microbial ecology, influence of bacteria on animal evolution, Hawaiian fishponds
*H. Annamali, PhD—diagnostic and modeling aspects of the Asian Summer Monsoon system, prediction and predictability of the Asian Summer Monsoon system, dynamical and physical link between Monsoon-ENSO
*S. Bushinsky, PhD—biogeochemical cycles, air-sea gas exchange, Southern Ocean processing controlling air-sea oxygen and carbon fluxes and nutrient export
*G. S. Carter, PhD—physical oceanography, ocean mixing, tides, internal waves
*J. Drazen, PhD—physiological ecology of marine fishes, energetics and tropodynamics, deep-sea biology, adaptions of fishes to the deep-sea
*K. F. Edwards, PhD—ecology of phytoplankton and other marine organisms; population and community ecology; theoretical ecology
*S. Ferrón Smith, PhD—marine carbon cycle, oceanic primary production and respiration, biogeochemical cycling and air-water gas exchange of greenhouse trace gases (CO2, CH4, N20) in
aquatic systems, transport and air-water gas exchange processes using deliverate tracers
*P. J. Flament, PhD—dynamics of the surface layer, mesoscale structures, remote sensing
*F. Girard, PhD—benthic ecology, deep-sea coral ecosystems, marine biodiversity, conservation biology, ecological monitoring
*B. T. Glazer, PhD—biogeochemical processes in marine environments; use of molecular methods to characterize and understand synergy of geomicrobiology
*E. Goetze, PhD—marine zooplankton ecology; dispersal and gene flow in marine plankton populations; evolution, behavioral ecology and systematics of marine calanoid copepods
*N. Hawco, PhD—impacts of micronutrient scarcity on phytoplankton growth and carbon cycle; sources, sinks, and transformations of iron, cobalt, and other metals in the ocean; elemental and isotopic tracers of environmental change
*D. T. Ho, PhD—air-water gas exchange, tracer oceanography, carbon cycle, and environmental geochemistry
*S. Howell, PhD— environmental aerosol research, aerosol chemistry
*D. M. Karl, PhD—microbiological oceanography, oceanic productivity, biogeochemical fluxes
A. Kealoha, PhD—ocean acidification, carbonate chemistry and biogeochemical processes, particularly in coral reef ecosystems
*D. S. Luther, PhD—tides, internal waves, abyssal mixing, energy flow, wave interaction at the coast, interactive ocean observation
*M. McManus, PhD—descriptive physical oceanography, coupled physical-biological numerical models; development of ocean observing systems
*B. S. Powell, PhD—numerical modeling, variational data assimilation, ocean predictability, ocean dynamical modes, and ocean ecosystem dynamics
*B. Qiu, PhD—large-scale ocean circulation, ocean atmosphere internation, satellite observations, and numerical modeling of ocean circulation
*K. Richards, PhD—observations and modeling of ocean processes, ocean dynamics, ocean atmosphere interaction, ecosystem dynamics
*K. Ruttenberg, PhD—biogeochemistry of phosphorus and associated bioactive elements in freshwater and marine aqueous and sedimentary systems, sediment diagenesis, organic matter reactivity and mineral authigenesis, effect of redox chemistry on element cycling, global biogeochemical cycles
*C. L. Sabine, PhD—global carbon cycle, ocean inorganic carbon, ocean acidification, carbonate biogeochemistry, air-sea gas exchange, multitracer relationships, sensor and ocean platform development
*N. Schneider, PhD—decadal climate variability, tropical air-sea interaction, coupled modeling
*K. Selph, PhD—biological oceanography, microbial ecology, protistan grazer feeding dynamics, phytoplankton distributions, use of flow cytometry in ecological research
*H. Seo, PhD—air-sea-wave interactions, processes controlling airsea fluxes of momentum, heat, and moisture, regional coupled modeling, climate variability and change
*N. Silbiger, PhD—marine ecology, applied biogeochemistry, ocean acidification, coastal processes, and submarine groundwater discharge
*G. F. Steward, PhD—aquatic microbial ecology, molecular ecology and diversity of viruses and bacteria
*M. Stuecker, PhD—climate variability/change in past, present, future; El Nino; air-sea interaction; decadal variability; climate connections between tropics and poles and between different ocean basins
*P. Thompson, PhD—physical oceanography, decadal climate variability, sea level rise and variability
*A. Timmermann, PhD—ENSO dynamics, abrupt climate change, dynamics of thermohaline circulation, decadal climate predictability, dynamical systems’ theory, glacial dynamic, reconstructing climate change in Hawai‘i
* A. E. White, PhD—phytoplankton ecology and physiology, remote sensing, bio-optics, particle cycling, pelagic production and elemental cycling
*R. E. Zeebe, PhD—global biogeochemical cycles, carbon dioxide system in seawater and interrelations with marine plankton, paleoceanography, stable isotope geochemistry

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

Y. Claborn (Rii), PhD—ecology of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes, watershed research
S. Coats, PhD—climate modeling, Paleoclimate
M. Cooney, PhD—high rate anaerobic digestion, bio-oil extraction from biomass, and the analytical characterization of chemical microenvironments surrounding immobilized enzymes
K. Frank—identifying environmental drivers of microbial dynamics and to characterize the impact of the microorganisms on biogeochemical cycling in mineral-hosted ecosystems from mountain ridge to mid-ocean ridges
E. Gaidos, PhD—molecular evolution; microbiology of extreme environments; biosphere-climate feedbacks; critical intervals in Earth history; exobiology; biological networks
A. Jani, PhD—ecology of microbial symbioses of marine and freshwater animals; assembly and regulation of microbial communities; ecology of infectious diseases
P. H. Lenz, PhD—sensory capabilities underlie the behavior of any organism
M. McFall-Ngai, PhD—animal-bacterial symbioses, molecular design of tissues that interact with light
B. Popp, PhD—stable isotope biogeochemistry, marine organic geochemistry, isotopic biogeochemistry of individual biomarkers and gases
J. Potemra, PhD—general ocean circulation and its relationship to climate; processes in the western equatorial Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean and their connection
M. Rappe, PhD—ecology of marine microorganisms; genomics; coralassociated microorganisms; ecology of microorganisms in the deep subsurface
R. Toonen, PhD—dispersal and recruitment of invertebrate larvae, population genetics, evolution and ecology of marine invertebrates
T. Weigner, PhD—aquatic biogeochemistry, impact of human activities on freshwater and coastal water quality, eutrophication, sewage pollution

Affiliate Graduate Faculty

A. Andrews, PhD—fishes from all marine environments, geochemical techniques to validate age growth
J. Busecke, PhD—physical oceanography; ocean physicalbiogeochemical interaction; ocean mixing; mesoscale eddies; oxygen minimum zones; open science/open source software development
M. J. Church, PhD—microbial oceanography, biogeochemistry, plankton biomass and production, ocean ecosystem dynamics
R. Furue, PhD—vertical mixing in the ocean interior, dynamics of thermohaline circulation, dynamics and modeling of quatorial subsurface currents
M. Hatta, PhD—dynamics of bioactive trace metals, tracers, and nutrients and their role in moderating marine biogeochemical processes
S. Kahng, PhD—coral reef ecology, benthic ecology, oceanography of Hawai‘i
M. A. Merrifield, PhD—physical oceanography, coastal circulation, sea level variability, current flows and mixing in the vicinity of coral reefs, island and seamounts
B. Mueller, PhD—energy & nutrient cycling in benthic habitats
T. Oliver, PhD—coral reef evolutionary ecologist; uses spatial and genomic tools to document ecological responses to environmental change, especially warming and acidification
V. Roeber, PhD—wave modeling, coastal engineering, morphodynamics, disaster assessment
R. Rykaczewski, PhD—impacts of climate processes on ocean biogeochemistry and pelagic communities
J. Uchikawa, PhD—trace element uptake and isotope fractionations in carbonate minerals, biomineralization, Paleoclimate proxies

Emeriti Graduate Faculty

A. Clarke, PhD—physical and chemical properties of aerosol in remote troposphere, aircraft studies of aerosol in free troposphere
E. Firing, PhD—ocean circulation and currents on all scales, with emphasis on observations and dynamics
B. J. Huebert, PhD—air pollution, climate change, atmospheric aerosols, global elemental cycles, air-sea gas exchange
E. Laws, PhD—phytoplankton ecology, aquatic pollution, aquaculture
Y. H. Li, PhD—geochemical cycles from solar nebula to human brain
R. Lukas, PhD—physical oceanography, interannual and decadal climate variability
F. T. Mackenzie—geochemistry, biogeochemical cycling, global environmental change
A. Malahoff, PhD, DSc—geological and geophysical oceanography, submarine/hydrothermal system, mineral formation processes, underwater volcanism
*J. P. McCreary, Jr., PhD—equatorial ocean dynamics, coupled oceanatmospheric modeling, general ocean circulation, coastal ocean dynamics, ecosystem modeling
C. Measures, PhD—trace element geochemistry, shipboard analytical methods, atmospheric deposition to the oceans, elemental mass balances
M. Mottl, PhD—geochemical cycles, geochemical implications of plate tectonics, interaction of seawater with the ocean crust, fluids in subduction zones
P. Muller, PhD—ocean circulation, waves and turbulence
F. Sansone, PhD—biogeochemistry and physical dynamics of permeable sediments in tropical environments
*J. E. Schoonmaker, PhD—sedimentary geochemistry and diagenesis, interpretation of paleoenvironment and paleoclimate sedimentary records
C. R. Smith, PhD—benthic ecology, deep-sea biology, sediment biogeochemistry, climate-change effects on Antarctic ecosystems, marine conservation
S. Smith, PhD—C-N-P mass balance in marine systems, CO2 biogeochemistry, coastal ecology
R. Young, PhD—ecology and systematics of cephalopod mollusks

Degrees Offered: MS in oceanography, PhD in oceanography

The Academic Program

Oceanography (OCN) is the study of the physics, chemistry, and geology of the ocean and the ecology of organisms that live within the sea. Physical oceanography is concerned with ocean circulation, waves, tides, upwelling, air-sea interactions, and the effect of the oceans on climate. Chemical oceanographers study the distribution of dissolved and suspended substances in the ocean and the mechanisms, both natural and anthropogenic, that control their form and abundance. Geological oceanography includes the study of seafloor spreading, submarine volcanism, beach formation, deep-seabed mineral resources, sediments, and paleoceanography. Biological oceanographers study the interactions of marine organisms with one another and the environment; topics include coral reef ecology, marine fisheries, hydrothermal-vent communities, plankton ecology, and near-shore and deep-sea benthic communities.

Because Hawai‘i is located near the middle of the largest ocean on Earth, oceanography has a special significance for the state and UH Mānoa. The oceanography facilities at UH Mānoa are among the best in the U.S. and include three oceangoing research vessels and two research submarines. Biological studies are facilitated by the presence of the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology on Coconut Island in Kāne‘ohe Bay. Computing facilities are based on a growing network of several hundred computers and servers. Precision instruments include mass spectrometers, gas and liquid chromatographs, a CHN analyzer, a flow cytometer, carbon analyzers, nutrient analyzers, and a series of atomic spectroscopy-based instruments. The world-class faculty is actively involved in both teaching and research. UH Mānoa ranks fifth among universities in the nation in terms of National Science Foundation research funding for oceanographic research. The location, the facilities, and the faculty all make UH Mānoa an ideal place to study oceanography.

About 40 percent of marine scientists are employed by the U.S. government, especially by the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and Interior. Another 40 percent teach and do research at academic institutions. About 20 percent are employed by industry.

The MS and PhD in oceanography are recognized WICHE regional graduate programs. Residents of several U.S. states and the Northern Mariana Islands are eligible, upon admission, to enroll at a reduced tuition of 150 percent of the institution’s regular tuition rate.

Advising

Each student admitted to the oceanography department is assigned an advisory committee by the department chair. The committee initially consists of three graduate faculty members from at least two of the subdisciplines of oceanography. When formed, the student’s MS or PhD committee becomes the student’s advisory committee. A student must meet with his or her advisory committee at least twice per year. A written report summarizing each meeting must be signed by the student and his or her committee and a copy is placed in the student’s file.

Graduate Study

The department offers master’s and doctoral programs with areas of specializations in biological and physical oceanography, and marine geology and geochemistry.

Oceanography courses listed in this Catalog may be taken for credit in the degree program. Additional courses may be selected from such fields as atmospheric science, botany, chemistry, earth sciences, engineering, mathematics, physics, and zoology

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a rigorous training in one of the basic sciences or engineering. Regardless of major, an applicant must have completed mathematical training, including calculus through first-order ordinary differential equations (equivalent to Calculus IV at UH Mānoa). An applicant must also have a year each of physics and chemistry. The well-prepared student will also have covered classical thermodynamics and applied differential equations and will have had a semester each of biology and geology. Interested students should contact the department chair for further information. For U.S. applicants, the deadline for application for admission is December 15 for the fall semester and September 1 for the spring semester. For foreign applicants, the corresponding deadlines are December 15 and August 1.

Major Requirements

All students pursuing a degree program must take OCN 620, 622, and 623. For non-biological students, the sequence is completed by taking OCN 621. Biological students complete the sequence by taking OCN 626, 627, and 628. Marine geology and geochemistry students must take CHEM 351 (if they have not already successfully completed a college-level course in physical chemistry). Students may be admitted to the MS program upon successful completion of the appropriate sequence. To be admitted to the PhD program, a student must receive a positive recommendation from a PhD-qualifying committee.

Degree Requirements

Both the MS and PhD programs require a minimum of 36 credit hours, including 24 credit hours of course work. The 24 semester hours of course work must be in courses numbered 600 or above (excluding OCN 699, 700, 800, and seminar courses). At least 12 of those semester hours must consist of courses taken from three of the following groups: biological oceanography, geological oceanography, chemical oceanography, physical oceanography, mathematical methods and statistics, and atmospheric sciences. MS (PhD) students are required to write a thesis (dissertation) based on original research. For MS students, to ensure a minimum effort spent learning the proper conduct of research, a requirement of six credits of both OCN 699 and OCN 700 has been established, but usually more credits will be required to complete the thesis (about 12 more credits of OCN 699). No minimum requirement for OCN 699 or OCN 800 is set for PhD students due to the much larger effort that is always required to produce a PhD dissertation. 

Prior to completion of their graduate degree, biological oceanography students must have satisfactorily completed either an undergraduate or graduate course in statistics. Students specializing in marine geology and geochemistry must take at least one, advanced geochemistry course. All students must complete a seminar requirement, demonstrate computer competency, and accumulate at least 30 days of field experience. PhD candidates must also pass a comprehensive examination. All students must pass a final oral examination in defense of their thesis/dissertation.