Marine Meteorology

Unit: Applied Marine Meteorology
Code: HR0J 35
Learning Outcome(s): 3 – Analyse surface oceanographic processes and data.
4 – Evaluate the effect of meteorological and climatological
processes on passage planning.
Total Marks: 100
Pass Mark: 50%
Note:
Candidates should note that 100 marks are allocated to this assignment. In order to pass
candidates must achieve 50% of the total marks available for each outcome (LO3: Questions
2, 4, 7; LO4: Questions: 1, 3, 5, 6). Assignments submitted for assessment are to be Word
processed and must be submitted to Turnitin via Teams no later than the closing time on
the given date.
2021-HND-MET-LO3,4-A
Your vessel MV Navigator is due to undertake a voyage from Strait of Belle Isle, Canada
(51°30’N 56°30’W) to Cork, Ireland (51°53’N 8°28’W) via Fastnet Rock (51°18’N 9°36’W).
Name MV Navigator
Type of vessel Container Ship
Summer Displacement 50,000 t
Speed 15 knots
Distance via Bishop Rock 1710’
Departure date/Time TBC
Arrival date/Time TBC
Obtain a series of charts for EACH day of the voyage:
a) Synoptic Surface analysis
Upper air 500 mb
Sig wave height
b) Sea Ice Analysis / Iceberg
c) Ocean currents
https://ocean.weather.gov/Atl_tab.php
https://www.weather.gov/marine/marsh
https://ocean.weather.gov/gulf_stream.php
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/ice-forecastsobservations/latest-conditions.html
Student may include another relevant meteorological charts in their assignment.
2021-HND-MET-LO3,4-A
1. a) For the voyage, obtain the series of charts. (10)
b) For Day 1 (24 hrs after departure), Day 3 and Day 4 of the voyage: Plot the
vessels approximate position on the surface analysis chart and provide a
weather forecast for the days stated above. (20)
[30] 2. a) Describe the ocean currents the vessel may encounter on the voyage. (6)
b) Explain how these currents in Q2 a) develop (6)
c) Describe the various ways in which ocean current data can be presented. (10)
[22] 3. a) When deciding upon a route, describe the meteorological factors the Master
must consider for this voyage. (10)
b) State which route a prudent Master would take, explaining why. (10)
[20] 4. With the aid of an annotated chart describe the movement of an iceberg around
Greenland. [10] 5. With the aid of a nomogram, estimate the rate of ice accretion for the
following conditions: [4] Sea Temperature + 5°C
Wind Force 8
Air Temp – 7°C
6. Describe the conditions necessary for the formation of ice accretion, explaining
the factors that can affect the rate of accretion on a vessel. [8] 7. Give a full analysis of the sea ice conditions in 54°00’N 55°00’W. [6] 2021-HND-MET-LO3,4-A
Presentation of Assignment Work
All work submitted for assessment must be accompanied by a properly completed college
Header Sheet. The Header Sheet contains the learning outcomes for that part of the unit,
and the grading criteria that must be met to achieve success in the unit.
It has become a widely accepted convention in the academic world that the presentation
of essay-type work should conform to a standard format:
 All assignments submitted for assessment are to be word processed.
 You do not need to use expensive files or other items of stationery when you submit
work.
 Pages should always be numbered.
 White paper should be used together with an easily read font (Either Arial or Times New
Roman). Using Font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing with a left-hand margin of
approximately 1 ½ inches.
You should always retain a copy of all work you hand in, including a hard copy. You are
strongly advised to save all work on USB pen drives as well as hard discs in case your
computer malfunctions.
 Remember that content is even more important than presentation. Beautiful cover
pages will not gain you additional marks but well thought out ideas will.
When preparing your work, you should:
1. Provide a list of contents with page numbers.
2. Write an introduction that puts the nature of the assignment into context e.g. work
setting and the theoretical approach you intend to adopt.
3. Ensure that you undertake an analysis and do not simply provide a description of the
product or activity.
4. Wherever possible, incorporate evidence of relevant reading. In order to identify sources,
you will need to do a literature search. Make sure you do a literature search before you
commit yourself to a topic.
5. Use correct academic conventions. You should also reference your sources according to
the Harvard system and include a Bibliographical Reference page of all the sources you
consulted when writing your assignment. If you are unsure about Harvard referencing,
then more details can be found on the study skills handout.
2021-HND-MET-LO3,4-A
Double submission and plagiarism
There are two things which are vital to understand and avoid: double submission and
plagiarism. Double submission means using the same, or substantially the same piece of
work for more than one unit or work from another student.
Plagiarism
It is of vital importance that you make it clear when you are using your own words and when
you are quoting, ‘borrowing’ or closely paraphrasing somebody else’s words. Failure to
identify other people’s words is plagiarism, which is a serious academic misdemeanor and
can result in failure of the unit. Plagiarism may be using words from another student, from
a published book, journal, magazine, newspaper, leaflet or report or from the Internet or
a CD ROM.
Avoiding Plagiarism
When writing up work, make sure you use your own words. Take care when lending your
work to others, since the lender as well as the copier can be penalised. Be careful when
writing notes from a book, journal etc. or when copying material from the Web. If you use
any original text, make sure you put it in quotation marks and italics also make sure that
the quotation is fully referenced using the Harvard system.
When writing someone else’s ideas in your own words, ensure the material is appropriately
sourced. Do not be guilty of plagiarism by omission rather than intent.
All work must be submitted to Turnitin via Teams.