Duxbury/Introduction to the World's Oceans, 6/e

Note to Instructors

The text and the web site for An Introduction to the World's Oceans, 6e by Duxbury, Duxbury and Sverdrup provides a series of ancillaries and services as additional tools for instructors.

Answers to questions and problems that appear at the end of each chapter are supplied. If you choose to use these questions as class assignments, we suggest that when the questions extend material from the text to new situations, or when the questions require hypothetical answers, student answers be interpreted broadly using the printed answers only as guidelines. If the questions are used as optional study questions, we suggest making the answers available to students.

Classroom testing software, consisting of multiple choice and true/false test questions (50 per chapter), is available in both Macintosh and Windows format.

A large number of general Internet references are listed on page xiv; specific subject references are at the end of each chapter and also with some figure legends. All of these web sites lead to oceanographic information and images in many forms. For convenience, a hot link list is provided on the web site for each chapter. We encourage students and instructors to explore the wealth of oceanographic information and data now available through the Internet. Keep in mind that URLs are not permanent and some searching by title or subject may be necessary. Exercises that encourage students to interact with specific web sites are also provided.

The Suggested Readings at the end of each chapter provide additional resource material. Articles on oceanography regularly appear in newspapers and magazines as well as scientific journals. We urge both instructors and students to look for such information and to share it with each other as these topics are encountered in class. Bulletin boards, short in-class reports, and written summaries can all be used to expand text topics beyond the classroom.

One hundred ninety figures from the text are available as transparencies. Other audiovisual materials enhance the presentation of many of the text topics. Films, videos and filmstrips are available under the general topics of earth science, oceanography, geology, marine biology, marine ecology, environmental science, and meteorology. Check for available materials at campus services, libraries (public and educational), and in catalogs. New videos become available continually (NOVA and National Geographic Specials are excellent examples). If you contemplate using such aids, it is wise to preview them for content and applicability.

Additional tools for instructors are found in the Glossary and the Appendices, including explanations of scientific notation and SI units. For instructors desiring a more quantitative approach, Appendix C provides information on equations and sample problems arranged by topic.

When possible, field trips to shore areas, marine geological formations, marine institutions, oceanographic ships and laboratories, and industries and service facilities that are water dependent can enhance the students understanding of text topics.

This text is written for use at the undergraduate college and junior college level. It is designed for non-science majors needing a science requirement or elective and as a general introduction to the study of oceanography for science majors. The book is designed to be used in a one-quarter or one-semester course, and we have endeavored to make each chapter as self sufficient and independent as possible so that the order of study may be varied. Each chapter includes material of an applied and practical nature that can be expanded as student interests and current events dictate.

The task of teaching an introductory course in oceanography is challenging and satisfying. We have found that by emphasizing basic scientific principles we teach our students about the complex continuous interacting processes that govern the oceans. As students understand these processes, they gain an insight into the impact of human actions on the ocean environment that stimulates and reinforces their interest. From their study of oceanography, students take a new perspective on both their water and land environments.

Alyn C. Duxbury
Alison B. Duxbury
Keith A. Sverdrup

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