ESCI 752/852 Chemical Oceanography Spring 2015
Linda Kalnejais
linda.kalnejais@unh.edu
Office: 140 Morse Hall
Office Hours: To be scheduled
Text books (optional, but it is strongly recommended to have access to one of these)
Emerson, S.R and Hedges, J.I. Chemical Oceanography and the Marine Carbon Cycle. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2008.*
Pilson, M.E.Q. An Introduction to the Chemistry of the Sea. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA, 1998.
Supplemental Reading
Berner, Elizabeth Kay and Robert A. Berner. Global Environment: Water, Air, and Geochemical
Cycles. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1996.
Broecker, Wallace and Peng, Tsung-hung , Tracers in the Sea , Palisades, N.Y. Lamont-Doherty
Geological Observatory, Columbia University. 1982.
Burdige David, Geochemistry of Marine Sediments. Princeton University Press, 2006.
Morel, Francois M. M. and Janet G. Hering. Principles and Applications of Aquatic Chemistry. WileyInterscience, New York, 1993.
Millero, Frank J. Chemical Oceanography, Third Edition. CRC Press, New York, 2006.
Sarmiento, Jorge and Nicolas Gruber, Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics*
Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 2006.
* Indicates books have been placed on reserve in Dimond library
Course Content
The lectures will cover the following topics:
(1) Introduction, Background and Physical Oceanography
Introduction, the composition of seawater, what is salinity? The properties of water and seawater, the
global hydrologic cycle, general oceanic circulation, meridional overturning circulation, global salinity
distribution, density and vertical density profiles.
(2) Geochemical Cycling through the Oceans
Compositions and Residence Times
Major ions and salinity, box models, mass balances, river input, weathering, cyclic salts, hydrothermal
systems and sediments, speciation of major ions.
Tools for Studying Geochemistry
Introduction to stable isotopes. Introduction to radiochemistry, chart of the nuclides. Applications eg
Carbon-14 dating, particle scavenging rates, air-sea gas exchange quantification.
The Global Journey - inputs to and outputs from the ocean
Rivers and estuaries, weathering, hydrothermal processes, gas exchange across the air-sea interface,
atmospheric deposition, sediments.
Inorganic Carbon Chemistry
The oceanic chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, the alkalinity of seawater, ion activity
products, preservation of carbonate sediments.
(3) Biogeochemical Cycling within the Water Column
Life Processes in the Ocean
Redfield ratios, nutrients, nutrient limitation, photosynthesis, respiration, particles and scavenging in
the water column, transport and removal of particles, 234-Th methods,
controls of primary productivity, nutrient distributions, trace element distributions, trace elements and
phytoplankton, quantifying fluxes and rates.
(4) Biogeochemical Cycling in the Sediments
Sediment Chemistry
The importance of oxygen, redox geochemistry, early diagenesis, sequence of terminal electron
acceptors, organic matter preservation, global distribution of sediments.
(5) Global Biogeochemical Cycles
The Carbon Cycle - long term cycles, weathering, preservation in sediments, anthropogenic impacts.
The Nitrogen Cycle - denitrification, nitrogen fixation, annamox, paleo-oceanographic applications.
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Credit
Mid-Term Exam
Final Exam
Assignments
Presentation
Journal Article Questions
Participation
25%
25%
20%
20%
5%
5%
Exams
There will be one mid-term exam that will cover all the material up to Lecture 22. The final exam will
cover all the material that has been presented in class.
Problem Sets
There will be 6 problem sets handed out over the duration of the class. The aim of the problems is to
reinforce and extend the quantitative aspects of the course material. All problem sets must be handed
in on the date specified. Late assignments will lose 10% of the total grade each day. Late assignments
will not be accepted (and given a grade of zero) once I have returned the assignment to the rest of the
class or provided solutions.
Only legible assignments will be graded. Always show and explain any working.
Class Presentations
Every student will present a research paper to the class and then lead a class discussion on that paper.
The paper must deal with an aspect of Chemical Oceanography and first be discussed with and
approved by the instructor. A list of suggested papers is provided at the end of this document.
Students may also find other papers that are of interest to them. A draft powerpoint presentation
must be submitted to the instructor at least 3 days prior to the presentation. There will be two
students presenting per class. The total time for each student’s presentation and discussion is 25
minutes.
The presentations will be during the second half of the semester, every Friday (see schedule for dates).
A sign up sheet for both the presentation date and subject will be set up on Blackboard. Specific details
of the content of the presentations will also be handed out once class begins.
The presentations will include three parts;
(i) Introduction and review of the article’s subject matter;
(ii) Critical review of the chosen paper;
(iii) A discussion about the paper lead by the presenter.
Class Discussion
On every student presentation day everyone is expected to read at least one of the papers that
will be presented and participate in the discussion on both papers. Some useful starting points for
discussion that you should consider while reading the papers may include:
•
Assumptions made by the investigating teams
•
Limitations the authors faced (data, time, analytical capabilities)
•
Choices made by the authors (methods, locations, etc.)
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Regional/global importance of the investigations and the topic
•
How the papers could be improved
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Remaining questions suitable for future study
Journal Article Questions
For each student presentation day you must read and think about at least one of the papers that are to be
discussed and come prepared with five written questions or comments you have about the paper. Your
written questions must be emailed to me or printed out prior to class. I will grade them for thought and
content. You must hand in questions on at least seven of the papers that you are not presenting.
Questions that are not handed in by the end of the class will be given a zero.
Suggested Papers for Your Class Presentation
Some potential papers and subjects are listed below. Feel free to propose a different paper (though I
need to approve it). Some papers deal with topics we will cover in the second-half of the semester, if
this is a case I have included a date constraint for that paper to ensure that we will have covered the
required background information.
Nutrient Controls on Primary Productivity
Tyrrell, T. (1999). "The relative influences of nitrogen and phosphorus on oceanic primary
production." Nature 400(6744): 525-531.
Arrigo, K. R. (2005). "Marine microorganisms and global nutrient cycles." Nature 437(7057): 349-355.
Isotopic tracers of carbon in the ocean
Williams, P. M. and E. R. M. Druffel (1987). "Radiocarbon in dissolved organic-matter in the central
North Pacific-Ocean." Nature 330(6145): 246-248.
Estuarine Chemistry (can be presented after lecture 24)
Sholkovitz, E. R. (1976). "Flocculation of dissolved organic and inorganic matter during mixing of
river water and seawater." Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 40(7): 831-845.
Submarine Ground Water Discharge (can be presented after lecture 27)
Moore, W. S. (1999). "The subterranean estuary: a reaction zone of ground water and sea water."
Marine Chemistry 65(1-2): 111-125.
Hydrothermal Systems (can be presented after lecture 27)
Von Damm, K. L., et al. (1995). "Evolution of East Pacific Rise hydrothermal vent fluids following a
volcanic eruption." Nature 375: 47-50.
Trace Gases in the Ocean (can be presented after lecture 28)
Hamme, R. C. and J. P. Severinghaus (2007). "Trace gas disequilibria during deep-water formation."
Deep-Sea Research Part I-Oceanographic Research Papers 54(6): 939-950.
Ocean Aerosols and Climate (can be presented after lecture 28)
Charlson, R. J., J. E. Lovelock, et al. (1987). "Oceanic phytoplankton, atmospheric sulfur, cloud albedo
and climate." Nature 326(6114): 655-661.
Ocean Acidification (can be presented after lecture 20)
Orr, J. C., V. J. Fabry, et al. (2005). "Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century
and its impact on calcifying organisms." Nature 437(7059): 681-686.
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Rost, B., I. Zondervan, et al. (2008). "Sensitivity of phytoplankton to future changes in ocean carbonate
chemistry: current knowledge, contradictions and research directions." Marine Ecology-Progress Series
373: 227-237.
Anthropogenic CO2 in the Ocean (can be presented after lecture 20)
Sabine, C. L., R. A. Feely, et al. (2004). "The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2." Science
305(5682): 367-371.
Marine Mercury Cycle
Kraepiel, A. M. L., K. Keller, et al. (2003). "Sources and variations of mercury in tuna." Environmental
Science & Technology 37(24): 5551-5558.
Mason, R. P., A. L. Choi, W. F. Fitzgerald, C. R. Hammerschmidt, C. H. Lamborg, A. L. Soerensen
and E. M. Sunderland (2012). "Mercury biogeochemical cycling in the ocean and policy implications."
Environmental Research 119: 101-117.
Air pollution and lead in the North Atlantic Ocean
Wu, J. F. and E. A. Boyle (1997). "Lead in the western North Atlantic Ocean: Completed response to
leaded gasoline phaseout." Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 61(15): 3279-3283.
Ocean Hypoxia
Rabalais, N.R., E.R. Turner and D. Scavia (2002). “Beyond science into policy: Gulf of Mexico
hypoxia and the Mississippi River.” BioScience, 52(2): 129-142
Iron Chemistry in the Ocean
Wells, M.L. et al., (2009). “Persistence of iron limitation in the western subarctic Pacific SEEDS II
mesoscale fertilization experiment.” Deep-Sea Research II 56, 2810–2821.
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Kessler, J.D. et al., (2011). “A persistent oxygen anomaly reveals the fate of spilled methane in the
deep Gulf of Mexico.” Science 331: 312-315.
Paleo-Oceanography
Zachos, J. C. et al., (2005). “Rapid acidification of the ocean during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal
maximum.” Science 308: 1611-1615.
Accomodations
The University is committed to providing students with documented disabilities equal access to all
university programs and facilities. If you think you have a disability requiring accommodations, you
must register with Disability Services for Students (DSS). Contact DSS in MUB 118 or at 603-8622607. If you have received an Accommodation Letter for this course from DSS, please provide me with
that information privately, outside of class, in a timely manner so that I can review those
accommodations.
Academic Conduct
Students are encouraged to discuss their work with other class members. However all assignments
must be written up independently. You are encouraged to read the UNH Code of Student Conduct
available from the Office of Student Affairs.
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ESCI 752/852 Chemical Oceanography
Draft Syllabus Spring 2015
Lecture
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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18
19
20
21
22
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24
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28
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32
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34
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41
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Date
21-Jan
23-Jan
26-Jan
28-Jan
30-Jan
2-Feb
4-Feb
6-Feb
9-Feb
11-Feb
13-Feb
16-Feb
18-Feb
20-Feb
23-Feb
25-Feb
27-Feb
2-Mar
4-Mar
6-Mar
9-Mar
11-Mar
13-Mar
16-Mar
18-Mar
20-Mar
23-Mar
25-Mar
27-Mar
30-Mar
1-Apr
3-Apr
6-Apr
8-Apr
10-Apr
13-Apr
15-Apr
17-Apr
20-Apr
22-Apr
24-Apr
27-Apr
29-Apr
1-May
4-May
Day
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
M
W
F
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M
7-May
Th
Topic
Introduction and Background
Background
Background and Physical Oceanography
Background and Physical Oceanography
Composition and Residence Time
Composition and Residence Time
Composition and Residence Time
Life Processes in the Ocean
Life Processes in the Ocean
Life Processes in the Ocean
Life Processes in the Ocean
Inorganic Carbon Chemistry
Inorganic Carbon Chemistry
Inorganic Carbon Chemistry
Inorganic Carbon Chemistry
Tools for Studying Ocean Processes
Tools for Studying Ocean Processes
Tools for Studying Ocean Processes
Tools for Studying Ocean Processes
Tools for Studying Ocean Processes
The Global Journey
The Global Journey
Mid Term Exam
Spring Break
Spring Break
Spring Break
The Global Journey
The Global Journey
Student Presentations 1
The Global Journey
The Global Journey
Student Presentations 2
The Global Journey
Biogeochemistry of Sediments
Student Presentations 3
Biogeochemistry of Sediments
Biogeochemistry of Sediments
Student Presentations 4
Biogeochemistry of Sediments
Trace Elements in the Ocean
Trace Elements in the Ocean
Biogeochemical Cycles
Biogeochemical Cycles
Biogeochemical Cycles
Biogeochemical Cycles
Final Exam 1-3 pm
** Please note these dates are only guidelines and may change slightly
Problem Sets**
Problem set 1 handed out
Problem set 1 due in, problem set 2 out
Problem set 2 due in, problem set 3 out
Problem set 3 due in
Problem set 4 handed out
Problem set 4 due in
Problem set 5 out
Problem set 5 due in
Problem set 6 out
Problem set 6 due in