Marine Chemistry and Global Biogeochemical Cycles

This lecture introduces the fundamental principles of inorganic carbon chemistry in marine systems. It explores the measurement and significance of carbonate species and their connection to major oceanic biogeochemical processes.

This session examines the entry of rivers, groundwater, and hydrothermal fluids into the ocean. It delineates how these varied sources impact ocean chemistry via distinct mixing and non-conservative processes.

This lecture dissects the mechanisms of gas transfer between the atmosphere and the ocean. It highlights both the thermodynamic controls, like gas solubility, and the kinetic processes governing air-sea exchange.

This session introduces critical concepts of atmospheric structure, chemistry, aerosols, and radiation. It focuses on how these atmospheric components interact dynamically with the ocean and influence its biogeochemical cycles.

This lecture introduces the mechanisms of primary production in the marine environment, detailing how phytoplankton utilize photosynthesis to fix inorganic carbon into organic matter and oxygen, alongside the environmental controls regulating these processes.

This lecture continues the discussion on primary production, focusing on the controls over phytoplankton growth, including light, nutrients, and temperature. It then transitions into various methods used for measuring primary production in marine environments.

This lecture delves into the sinking and transformation of organic matter in the ocean. It highlights the use of radionuclides like thorium and protactinium as tracers for particle fluxes and characterizes the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM).

This lecture explores geochemical signatures of organic matter remineralization in the ocean. It demonstrates how scientists infer rates of respiration and nutrient cycling using chemical tracers, offering an alternative to direct biological measurements.

This lecture introduces marine sediments as a critical, yet often overlooked, component of chemical oceanography. It emphasizes the sediment surface layer's role as a major interface between the water column and buried sediments, akin to the air-sea boundary.

This session examines the dissolution, preservation, and interaction of biogenic opal and calcium carbonate within ocean sediments. It explains their significant roles in paleoceanography, sediment diagenesis, and global biogeochemical cycles.

This lecture provides a comprehensive overview of the global phosphorus cycle. It highlights the cycle's relative simplicity due to the lack of a significant gaseous phase, tracing phosphorus movement from rocks through land, rivers, ocean, and sediments.