121-256 Maritime and Seabed Resources

Note

All BSc students, except those enrolled in the BA/BSc combined course and the BASc course, can only receive 12.5 points science credit at the 200-level for this subject.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Completion of at least 50 points of 100-level subjects from approved subjects in your home faculty.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject identifies the biotic and mineral resources of the world's oceans and seabeds, discusses the extent of their use and outlines their principal distributions. Explanations for these distributions are related to past and present hydrological, geological, tectonic and geomorphological processes. The most valuable maritime and seabed resources lie within 200 km of land in a zone that can be claimed by coastal states in accordance with international law. The political and economic problems associated with the development of the resources in a manner that does not inflict lasting damage on the environment are considered and theoretical and practical solutions are explored. Throughout the course there is reference to particular cases and examples.

Assessment

A 90-minute end-of-semester examination (50%); a 2000 word essay (30%); practical exercises to be completed in class (20%). Practical exercises must be completed before final marks are released.