GEOL634 - CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

The field of chemical oceanography has evolved from one of discovery to an interdisciplinary science that uses chemical distributions to understand physical, biological, geological and chemical processes in the sea. The study of chemical oceanography includes much of the background required to understand the global carbon cycle on all time scales. In this course, the main unifying science Theme #1 is the Global Carbon Cycle. The syllabus is organized into three broad subthemes. Theme #2. What controls the composition of seawater and are humans changing it? Theme #3. What are the chemical constraints on biological production in the ocean? Theme #4. What is the fate of organic matter produced by biological production and what are th eimpacts of this organic matter on the ocean and underlying sediments.