Ocean Biogeochemical Cycles

This course examines the chemical composition of the oceans and the physical, chemical, and biological processes governing this composition in the past and present. Emphasis on the cycles of major elements including nutrients, carbon, and oxygen, involved in structuring marine ecosystems and regulating Earth's climate on time scales of years to millions of years. Processes and phenomena include oceanic chemical fluxes at the ocean-atmosphere and ocean-sediment interfaces, the interactions of ocean biogeochemical cycles with the physical climate system and biodiversity, and the ongoing anthropogenic perturbations.