Aquatic Geochemical Oceanography

Aquatic Geochemical Oceanography provides a comprehensive review of the quantitative study of the geochemistry of the ocean. It outlines the basic principles of aquatic chemistry, with instruction and tools to develop an in-depth understanding of the distribution of elements and compounds in the ocean and how they transform based on their fundamental chemical properties. Geochemical oceanography includes processes that occur on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales; from global to regional to local to microscopic spatial dimensions and time scales from geological epochs to glacial-interglacial to millennial, decadal, interannual, seasonal, diurnal and all the way to microseconds. Emphasis has been placed on trace elements, the carbonate system, gases and oxidation-reduction environments. Geochemical oceanography will continue to be an exciting, dynamic and vibrant field as the earth's population deals with the effects of the increase in fossil fuel CO2 and other anthropogenic trace gases causing global warming and ocean acidification. Students of this material will obtain the core marine chemical skillset and familiarity with current research topics to address the key questions in addressing global change, preparing them for a diverse range of future career paths.

1 - Introduction
2 - Overview of Ocean Distributions and Circulation
3 - Mass Balance: The Cornerstone of Chemical Oceanography
4 - Properties of Water and Seawater
5 - Chemical Equilibrium
6 - Activity Scales and Activity Corrections
7 - Major Components, Salinity, and Density of Seawater
8 - Major Macronutrients
9 - Marine Trace Element Biogeochemistry
10 - Trace Element Distributions and Controlling Processes in the Ocean
11 - Ocean Carbonate Chemistry: Reactions and Calculations
12 - Ocean Carbonate Distributions
13 - Gases and Gas Exchange
14 - Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
15 - Oxidation-Reduction (Redox) Environments
16 - What Controls the Composition of River Water and Seawater: Equilibrium versus Kinetic Ocean
17 - Global Ocean Cycles of Mg, Si, P, N, C, O2, and Fe

James W. Murray, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he has taught courses in the School of Oceanography on aquatic and chemical oceanography since 1973. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in 1973. He was Founding Director of the UW Program on Climate Change in 2001 and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union.