Chemical Oceanography

Chemical oceanographers seek to understand how the ocean functions as a chemical system and how oceanic biological, geological and chemical processes control the chemistry of seawater and sediments. Indeed, many faculty at SoMAS study the interactions of biology, chemistry and geology in the oceans and thus work in an area termed 'biogeochemistry'. As this term implies, chemical oceanographers often collaborate with biological and geological oceanographers in studying broad, multidisciplinary areas such as the ocean carbon cycle. Chemical oceanographers at SoMAS also study the distribution and fates of a wide range of chemical species in the ocean, including trace metals, radionuclides, organic compounds and dissolved gases. Often these various chemical species are used as tracers to better understand the dynamics of oceanic processes.

Researchers:

Aller R., Black, Cochran, Fisher, Lee, Scranton, Zhu