EOSC 211 - Earth and Ocean Sciences, Department of

EOSC 211-2012 Syllabus SYLL-1 

EOSC 211 - Computer Methods in Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences 

Mathematical computer-based problem solving in the physical, chemical, 

and biological sciences. Problems drawn from studies of the earth, the 

oceans and the atmosphere. 

Schedule 

Lectures: Earth Sciences Building room 2012, Tuesday/Thursday, 11:00-12:30, 

Labs: EOS-Main Room 203 and 210. Either Tuesday 14:00-16:00, OR Wednesday 12:00-14:00. 

Instructors 

Lead instructor, administration: Prof. Rich Pawlowicz (office:Copp 3207, tel: 822-1356, email: 

rich@eos.ubc.ca) 

Co-instructor: James Ferguson (office: EOS-South 354, email: jferguso@eos.ubc.ca) 

TA: Camilo Rada ( email: camilo@rada.cl) 

TA: Andrew Snauffer ( email: asnauffer@eos.ubc.ca) 

TA: Aaron Jordan ( email: Jordan Aaron49@hotmail.com ) 

Web Page 

http://www.eos.ubc.ca/courses/eosc211/eosc211.htm 

To access syllabus, labs, and solutions: Username “eosc211”, password “12”. Note that material 

is continually added through the term, so get used to going here a lot. 

Note - Connect is used for handing in stuff, but not for giving out stuff! 

Purpose 

Modern earth sciences increasingly rely on computers. They are used to automate the gathering 

of data, and can handle much of the drudgery involved in its processing. In addition, they can 

be used to easily and quickly create sophisticated visual presentations (graphs and figures) that 

can be used to explore and display relationships. However, as with all tools, getting best results 

requires an understanding of the tool’s strengths and limitations, and the techniques for using it. 

Practise (lots of it) also helps! The course-level learning goals are: 

1. Students will write computer programs to model and analyze data in the solid earth, atmospheric, 

and oceanographic sciences. Examples include: 

subsampling global gridded datasets


This requires: 

calculating mathematical functions like the atmospheric equation of state 

parameter estimation using visual curve fits 

creating running window operations for time series 

automatically creating statistical summary reports for datasets 

performing numerical integrations in one dimension 

2. Breaking problems into logical steps using flowcharts and pseudocode to specify algorithms. 

Concepts include: 

Operation, repetition, decision and input/output steps 

Basic elements of computer mathematics 

3. Writing and debugging MATLAB computer programs to correctly implement algorithms. 

Basic MATLAB syntax and data structures. 

Debugging strategies 

4. Modifying existing MATLAB computer programs, using the elements of good programming 

style, to make it more efficient, readable, and documented for future reuse. Concepts: 

naming conventions 

appropriate forms of syntax for different kinds of loops and decision 

structures 

modularization using functions 

use of built-in functions 

code reuse 

commenting and standard documentation practices 

vectorization of loop operations 

5. creating scientifically informative and visually appealing plots (scatterplots, time series, 

contours, multiple subplots, legends). Applications: 

data exploration during analysis 

student presentations and assignments in upper-level EOSC courses. 

Pre-requisites 

Basically, a computer is a tool for for performing mathematical operations. This course will 

require a knowledge of math at the level of integral and/or differential calculus. Linear algebra 

would be helpful. 

Costs 

This course will require access to MATLAB, which can be purchased from the UBC bookstore 

(or online from www.mathworks.com) by students for their personal laptops, or is available 

in the EOSC computer lab on payment of the annual lab account fee ($25).


To get an account: go to Carol Leven (Earth and Ocean Sciences/Oceanography Office, Room 

2604 on the main floor of the COPP building, 2146 Health Sciences Mall). Pay her $25 (exact 

cash only) and she will give you an account. You must do this Monday or Tuesday BEFORE the 

first lab. Come between the hours of 10-11:45am, or 2-3:30pm. 

Textbooks 

Required reading: “Problem Solving Using MATLAB - EOSC211” (Custom text, ISBN 

9780558883409, available UBC bookstore). We shall be following this text fairly closely. Note 

that this text has been used in previous years, BUT for unfortunate reasons the PAGE NUMBERS 

of the current version are different than those printed under a previous ISBN. 

Additional material: The most useful additional sources of material are the MATLAB help 

pages and you should become familiar with these. 

Suggested reading: ”Mastering MATLAB” by Duane C. Hanselman and Bruce L. Littlefield 

Prentice Hall, (2012 or earlier editions). This text is a very good reference for MATLAB (with 

far more detail and a wider range than the required text), but it assumes some existing knowledge 

of computer programming and linear algebra. 

Logistics and Evaluation 

The Tuesday lecture will be used to introduce concepts relevant to the lab. The Thursday lecture 

will be used partly as a “lab wrap-up”, and partly to introduce new material (varies from week to 

week). 

The course is roughly divided into two parts. The first 8 full weeks are mostly based around labs. 

However, at the end of the course you will be given larger, more complex “assignments”. In 

the middle part of the term there are a few weeks that have both labs and assignments (THESE 

OVERLAP WEEKS HAVE HIGHER WORKLOAD). 

There are 8 labs (none in week 1). Generally the result of the labs will be a piece of code which 

will be submitted electronically and “run” by the instructor. Marking for labs will be on the basis 

of 

“Satisfactory” (100%) 

“Some problems” (80%) 

“Major problems” (50%) - non-running code is in this category 

“Not submitted” (0%) - not seriously submitted also in this category. 

Labs are due (electronically) at 12:00 (noon) on Friday. You should anticipate spending more 

than the scheduled 2 hours to complete them, but during the two hour lab time slots both a TA and 

a professor will be there to provide advice and assistance. Labs build on each other so DON’T 

SKIP THEM. 

WARNING: the period for electronic submission ends EXACTLY at noon!!


In addition to labs, there are also 3 two-week assignments. Assignments are due 16:00 on 

Wednesday afternoons and will be submitted to the instructors mailbox (in the EOSC-Main 

office) in HARD COPY. Emailed documents will not be acceptable. Assignments will be assigned 

a letter grade on the UBC scale: 

A+ : all done correctly, no errors, nice pictures. 

A : one small error, pictures OK. 

B : One large or several small errors, sometimes with + or - added to give an idea of 

severity of errors, figures reasonable but probably not as nice as they could be. 

C : Several large errors, parts of assignment not done, figures misleading or incorrect. 

D : Many errors, parts of assignment not done 

F : Not handed in, not seriously attempted, other failings. 

Finally, there is a midterm (1.5 hour) and a final exam (3 hours). Both are OPEN BOOK, but NO 

ELECTRONIC AIDS are allowed. The best way to study for these is to do the worksheets, labs 

and the assignments. 

Both mid-terms and final exam are run in a TWO-PART format. 

PART 1 : Written as an individual, and handed in 

PART 2 : Mostly the same questions, but now worked on in a GROUP and handed in 

as a GROUP exam. 

If you pass the individual part (Part 1), then the final mark for the mid-term or the final exam is 

the sum of 80% Part 1 and 20% Part 2. If you fail the individual part, then your final mark is 

your Part 1 mark. 

Total marks for the course are divided as follows: 

Labs - 7 (2.86% each) - 20% 

Assignments - 3 (13% each) - 39% 

Midterm (Thursday week 7 - Oct 20, 2011)- 15% 

Final - 25% 

Pre/Post test - 1% 

However, this breakdown applies ONLY if you pass the final exam. 

If you fail the final exam, then the final exam mark is your final mark (that is, you will fail the 

course). This is to ensure that individuals are assigned a fair mark based on their learning. 

In addition, I may give additional bonus marks if you decide to hand in some other software 

project.


Collaboration, Copying and Plagiarism Policy 

The purpose of the class is to learn a skill, and for many people it is beneficial to collaborate 

with others in order to do so. Past experience shows that working with others a) gets the work 

done slightly faster, b) tends to prevent getting “stuck”, c) makes the experience more enjoyable, 

and d) does not degrade learning outcomes, as long as all parties are contributing. However, it is 

possible to complete the course on your own. 

In class, we will assign you to small groups (4/5 people each) with which you will complete 

WORKSHEETS and class exercises. These groups will also be used for completing Part 2 of 

the mid-term and final exam. Note - if you decide not to attend lectures, you will be placed in a 

’group of 1’ for the mid-term and final exam. 

During the labs, we will enforce a degree of collaboration using “pair programming” ideas, and 

we will ask you to report the name of your partner. During the lab period you will work with this 

partner. Completion of labs tends to take extra time outside of the lab period; you can choose 

whether or not to work with your partner during those times. You are expected to TRUTHFULLY 

REPORT: a) the name of your partner(s), and b) the level of collaboration. 

Collaboration on assignments is allowed, but you are expected to TRUTHFULLY REPORT: a) 

the name of your partner(s), and b) the level of collaboration. 

Workload 

You are expected to read the text before class in order to be ready for worksheets. It is not 

necessary to read the labs before lab times, but you are welcome to do so (they tend to get posted 

the preceding evening). You are expected to work outside of scheduled lab and class hours. This 

class is considered by many to have a higher workload than many other classes, although there 

is a wide variation in times reported by students. 

Although some people may complete the labs in the time provided (2 hours), typically 3 or 4 

hours is required. If you need more than 6 please come and see an instructor or TA. 

In the 2nd half of the term you are given assignments that typically take about 14 hours to 

complete over two weeks, although there is significant variation in times reported (factor of 2). 

You can work on assignments during the scheduled lab period if you wish (TA’s are available at 

that time, as well as during TA-hour time slots). 

Finally, note this is a 2nd year class, and most students are in their 2nd year, with little background 

in programming. However, a small fraction are also registered in other years, and a small 

fraction has previous programming experience. Upper year students have no general advantage 

in their background, although they tend to be more efficient as they have usually attained more 

mastery of study skills. Obviously knowing how to program will let you go through ‘how to 

learn programming’ assignments much more quickly.

EOSC 211 - Earth and Ocean Sciences, Department of

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