Unravel the mysteries of the world’s oceans through Oceanography
Global warming, climate change, hurricanes and cyclones, floods, tsunamis: we hear about them almost every day. As a maritime nation with 5.8 million kilometers of sea area, Indonesia needs dedicated oceanographers to care for our country’s ocean systems.
Oceanography, also known as oceanology or marine science, is a branch of earth science that studies
the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organism and ecosystems, ocean circulation and waves, plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor, and the chemical and physical properties of the ocean.
What are the disciplines within Oceanography?
You can be a biological, chemical, geological or physical oceanographer. Biological oceanographers study plants and animals in the marine environments, and chemical oceanographers focus on the composition of seawater, its process and cycles, and the chemical interaction of seawater with the atmosphere and the sea floor.
The exploration on the ocean floor and the processes that form mountain, canyons, and valleys are the main interests of geological oceanographers. Physical oceanographers study the physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean including waves, currents and tides; the transport of sand on and off beaches; coastal erosion; and the relationship between the ocean and the atmosphere, which influences weather and climate.
What assumed knowledge do you need to become an Oceanographer?
If you are keen to be a scientist and unravel the mysteries of the world’s oceans, you have to very strong in science subjects including biology, chemistry and physics. You also need to like conducting field observations and experiments and working in a laboratory environment.
What are the career outcomes of Oceanographers?
As a scientist who studies the sea, an oceanographer may not work only on ship or in land’s laboratory for the research institutes or government agencies, but also hold teaching and research jobs in universities.
Since oceanographers study many aspects of the sea, their valuable information is used by government
and industries including the fishing industries to gain more knowledge about the life cycles and food chainof marine life; the shipbuilding industries to find out information about the sea to design new ships; oil andmining companies to search new sources of fuel and minerals in the sea; food and pharmacy industries to explore animals and plants in the sea as their new sources of food and medicine.
Where can I undertake Oceanography and what are the entry requirements?
University of Southampton in the United Kingdom with its National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) is one of the most reputable universities in world that offers oceanography degree. To gain a place on the Bachelor of Science in Oceanography, you need to achieve Bs at A-level, including two science subjects (biology, chemistry, physics or mathematics); IB students need to gain 30 points, 16 at higher levels, including science subjects.
Indonesian SMU 3 students need to undertake a foundation year prior to beginning their degree course.
Written by Efendi Tanudjaja – SUN Education Group.
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