RESEARCH FIELD

Marine Chemistry

Marine chemistry investigates the chemical composition of the ocean and the biogeochemical cycles that regulate it, including the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and other elements between seawater, marine organisms, sediments, and the atmosphere. The ocean is Earth's largest active carbon reservoir and plays a critical role in regulating atmospheric CO2 through biological and solubility pumps. Research topics include the biological carbon pump — the sinking of organic particles from surface to deep water — trace metal micronutrients that limit phytoplankton growth, marine organic geochemistry, ocean acidification driven by anthropogenic CO2 uptake, and the exotic chemistry of hydrothermal vent systems. Key methodological advances include ultraclean trace-metal sampling from research ships, GEOTRACES ocean section programmes providing global trace-element distributions, and autonomous biogeochemical Argo floats. Marine chemistry is funded by oceanographic institutes, NSF ocean sciences, the European Research Council, and international ocean observation programmes.