Department of Marine Science | Academics | Course Offerings | MAR 441 Syllabus

MAR 441/541 Marine Chemistry
Alan M. Shiller (x8-1178; alan.shiller@usm.edu; Bldg 1020, Rm 149)

MAR 441/541 Marine Chemistry
Alan M. Shiller (x8-1178; alan.shiller@usm.edu; Bldg 1020, Rm 149)

This course is designed to provide the student with an introduction to chemical processes occurring in all oceanic environments. Students in non-chemical marine disciplines will gain an understanding of how marine chemistry can be used as a tool in other types of marine studies and also how chemistry affects or is affected by biological, physical and geological processes. The course focuses on fundamental principles and also provides the student with a systems approach to understanding the marine environment.

Fall 2003

Class	Lecture: Chapters in {Pilson} and [Libes]	Labs
1. Aug. 18	Introductory overview {1} [1-2]	Safety
2. Aug. 20	Chemical review; Water {2,6} [2-3]
3. Aug. 25	Ocean chemical composition; salinity {3-4} [3-5, 29]
4. Aug. 27	Why is the sea salty? {15} [21]
5. Sept. 1	LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
6. Sept. 3	Geochemical Cycles {13, 15} [21]
7. Sept. 8	History of major element composition	Volumetric equipment
8. Sept. 10	Dissolved Gases {5} [6; p537-539]
9. Sept. 15	Dissolved Gases	Salinity
10. Sept. 17	Oxygen [12]
11. Sept. 22	Oxygen
12. Sept. 24**	Quiz #1
13. Sept. 29	Anoxia {12}	Oxygen
14. Oct. 1	Nutrients: Phosphate {8} [8-10]
15. Oct. 6**	Nutrients: Nitrogen (Term paper prospectus due)
16. Oct. 8	Nutrients: Silica [8-10, 16, 24]
17. Oct. 13	Redfield ratios and nutrient regeneration	Phosphate
18. Oct. 15	CO2 System and CO2 Chemistry {7} [15]
19. Oct. 20	Alkalinity/CO2 chemistry
20. Oct. 22	Inorganic carbon distribution [15, 25]
21. Oct. 27**	Organic carbon {11} (Term paper bibliography due)	Alkalinity
22. Oct. 29	Carbonate sediments [25, 22, 23]
23. Nov. 3	Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2
24. Nov. 5**	Quiz #2
25. Nov. 10	Redox Chemistry [7]
26. Nov. 12	Radionuclides {10} [28]
27. Nov. 17	Radionuclides
28. Nov. 19	Radionuclides
29. Nov. 24	Trace Elements {9} [11]
30. Nov. 26**	Sediment Chemistry [13-20] (Term paper due)
31. Dec. 1	Sediment Chemistry
32. Dec. 3	Review/other topics
33. Dec. 8**	Alan’s Revenge (i.e., the final) Exact date & time of exam to be determined

MAR 441/541—Course Information

Text: An Introduction to the Chemistry of the Sea, M.E.Q. Pilson; also, Course Notes
(Additionally, An Introduction to Marine Biogeochemistry, S.M. Libes, can be useful–students from recent years may have copies of this text.)

FTP Site: Copies of class Powerpoint slides can be downloaded from the class ftp site. The host computer is moray.dms.usm.edu; your user name is mar541; your password is tre0ckej. You must set your ftp program for passive transfers. (If you’re not sure what “ftp” is or need an ftp program for your computer, go to http://dragon.ep.usm.edu/~int/capstone/tonette/ftproject.html.)

Grading: Report on topic of mutual consent (22.5% of grade); First midterm (22.5% of grade); Second midterm (22.5% of grade); Final--32.5% of grade. See following pages for details on report.
Note: for those registered in MAR 441, the report is optional—if a report is submitted, then the grade on the report can be substituted for the grade on one of the midterms (however, both midterms must be taken).

Office hours: I am in my office or lab most of the time during working hours (unless I happen to be out of town) and am happy to talk with students most any time. Occasionally, if I’m in the midst of something, I may ask you to come back in a little while. Also, please don’t come by right before class, because I’m preparing notes and handouts then. You can always give me a call or drop me an e-mail (alan.shiller@usm.edu) to schedule an appointment. If you have a question about the lecture material, it’s helpful to have read any associated material from the text and course notes before coming to my office. If this policy doesn’t meet your needs, let me know, and I’ll schedule formal office hours.

Some philosophy: Nature provides me with challenges and questions every day; if I’m able to answer half of those questions on a given day then it’s been a very successful one. In view of this, I try to make the course both interesting and challenging for everyone. I try to teach the course at a level where all students can come away with the basic concepts, but even the best students will find something to challenge them. The problems I assign (in the lab course) and the exams I give follow this same philosophy—anyone meeting the course prerequisites who puts in the effort to study the material should be to get a reasonable grade; however, it’s the rare student who finishes the course with over ninety percent of the points on the exams.

Problems, problems, problems: If a student is having trouble keeping up with the course because of medical, other personal problems, or job demands (i.e., your boss is sending you to sea for a month in the middle of the semester) you may wish to discuss this with the instructor in a timely fashion—once exams are taken there’s little that can be done.

If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical impairments, or chronic health disorders. Students should contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies. Box 8568; Telephone (601) 266-5024; TTY (601) 266-6837; Fax (601) 266-6035.

MAR 441L/541L

Text: Parsons et al.; class notes; ACS Lab Safety booklet

This course consists of both homework problems and in-lab analytical work. Where the course schedule notes a lab topic, we will be in the lab that day doing analytical work; otherwise, there will be a short (~30 min) session dealing with homework problems. To pass the course, it is required that you attend the in-lab sessions.

Graded on lab assignments including homework problems. For all labs, please show your work on all problems. Be sure your answers are neat and legible. Be thorough and quantitative. You may discuss approaches to the problems with other students, but the answers you turn in must be your own work.

SAFETY IS A PRIORITY WHILE DOING CHEMICAL LAB WORK–If you’re ever uncertain about what you’re doing, ask the instructor or TA for more information.

Tips on doing lab/homework problems:

In approaching a problem think about whether a standard concept might be useful in solving the problem. That is, is something such as mass being conserved? Is the system at steady state? Is there some other reasonable assumption you can make as a starting point for the problem? If so, be sure to clearly state what it is you’re assuming.

If there’s a number that you think you need to solve the problem and it’s not part of the given information, you may be able to find it in the text or a standard reference (e.g., CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics). Alternatively, you might consider whether or not you actually need that number–sometimes constants divide out of a problem.

Note that some lab problems are the same as those given in years past–use of answers handed out in past years is not allowed.

Term Paper Due: November 26th (with interim assignments due Sept. 8, Oct 6, Oct 27)

The purpose of the paper is to review and synthesize the available knowledge of some aspect of marine chemistry. The paper shall be on a topic selected by the student with the instructor's approval. For graduate students, the paper is the “research component” of the course. It must be your own work and the topic must be something you have not previously written about. The paper shall be approximately 2500 words in length and fully referenced like a journal article. Tables and figures may also be included. The paper shall be typed, double-spaced, using an easily readable typeface (preferably a 12 pt. Times Roman font). The paper must be more than a simple regurgitation of facts: synthesize the available information and make suggestions as to what else needs to be done or what conclusions can be drawn from a collection of research. Reasoned and justified speculation is acceptable (and even encouraged!). Be sure to introduce your subject matter carefully, explaining why it is important. If talking about a specific element or compound, describe its distribution, fluxes and physical-chemical form. Referencing needs to be done in accord with an accepted journal style; we will use the style of Limnology & Oceanography and you can find details of that referencing style by consulting the journal or the ASLO web page (www.aslo.org). Use this style not only for the paper but also the interim assignments (see below).

You may wish to look through the text for possible topics and I’m happy to discuss possibilities with you. Also, databases such as Oceanographic Abstracts and GEOREF can help you locate pertinent references. Useful journals in Maury Library include: Marine Chemistry, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Earth & Planetary Science Letters, Deep-Sea Research, Journal of Geophysical Research (Oceans Section), Limnology & Oceanography, Journal of Marine Research, Nature, and others. In Maury Library or online through the USM Library you can also find certain databases (e.g., GEOREF, FirstSearch, Oceanographic Abstracts) that let you do keyword and subject searches through the literature. Also, some local universities have their library catalogs on-line (e.g., Tulane). Maury Library can get photocopies of articles from journals they don’t have–but this service can take a month. The USM library will also let you get articles faxed to you through Infotrieve; however, this is only free if the USM library does not subscribe to the journal and the article is <$35.

For a paper topic you might consider talking the distribution of a particular element, trace gas, or anthropogenic chemical; alternatively, you might consider a particular process that affects chemical distributions or mass balances. Some possible topics include: nitrous oxide, methane, aluminum, iron, organic complexation of trace metals, chlorofluorocarbons, plutonium isotopes, methods for determining dissolved organic carbon, hydrothermal fluxes, formation of manganese nodules, chemical processes in estuaries, anoxic sediments, chemistry of the Black Sea, chemistry of the Gulf of Mexico, hydrogen peroxide, amino acids, colloid chemistry, and many many other possibilities. A good way to find an interesting topic is to go to the library, look through recent issues of relevant journals (see above for examples), and pick something that strikes your fancy. You might also ask your advisor for a suggestion.

This term paper project involves several interim assignments:

1. By Sept. 6 you must complete the USM tutorial on plagiarism: http://www.lib.usm.edu/~instruct/plag/plagiarismtutorial.htm. You should make sure a copy of the online quiz is e-mailed to alan.shiller@usm.edu (as well as to yourself).

2. By Oct. 6 you must turn in a one-page term paper prospectus. The prospectus will include a proposed title for your paper, a short abstract describing the topic and what you propose to talk about in your paper, and a list of five references you have found dealing with the topic. I must approve your topic, so if you have any doubts whether your prospectus describes a suitable topic, come and discuss it with me.

3. By Oct. 27 you must turn in an annotated bibliography. This will include at least 10 scientific references dealing with your topic. All of these references must be from scientific sources and at least 8 of them must be from the peer-reviewed literature. For each reference include a brief (a few sentences) description of the contents of each reference. (Think about interim assignment #1 as you do this!)

4. The final part of the assignment is to turn in the paper itself, as described above, by Nov. 26.

A few remarks and suggestions:
--Not everything you read in journals is correct (not even in my articles!).
--Everything you reference you must have read.
--Popular scientific magazines (e.g., Discover, Scientific American) as well as newspaper articles are fine for getting an initial understanding of a subject, but are not suitable scientific references for your paper.
--A good conclusion says more than “More work should be done.” Be specific in suggestions for future work and make sure those suggestions are justified in your text.
--Stick to your subject; don't wander around in your discussion.
--Remember, this is a scientific marine chemistry report.
--When describing someone's published work use your own words, not theirs (i.e., avoid plagiarism). Likewise, when describing someone else’s work, be sure to reference it (otherwise you give the reader the impression that the idea is yours, which again is plagiarism).
--Don’t use secondary references. That is, if you’re reading an article by Jones who mentions that Smith
figured out process X; then, when you talk about how X was figured out, be sure to reference Smith and not Jones. (Of course, that means you will need to read Smith, too.) Likewise, if Jones mentions some fact (e.g., “the Amazon is the world’s largest river”) but he didn’t actually determine that fact, then don’t cite Jones as the origin of the fact. Note that commonly known facts need no reference.
--Don’t turn in your first draft: few people are articulate enough or organized enough to get it right the first time around. Ask yourself if you could really learn anything from what you’ve written if you didn’t already know the material. Logical organization is key.
--Pruff-read your paper and be shure to use the spel checker. Grander would it be if your grammar
checker you used.
--Get familiar with the concept of a paragraph and learn to love it. Paragraphs generally express one key idea. There should be a topic sentence (frequently the first sentence) that expresses that basic idea. The other sentences support the topic idea and offer transitions between preceding and succeeding paragraphs.
--Treat yourself to a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White (MacMillan, 1979). It’s a slim volume chucky-jam full of advice.
--Don’t forget that science writing is not mystery writing; thus, be as up-front as possible about what you’re trying to say and the conclusions you’re trying to lead the reader to.
--On very rare occasions it may be impossible to find a critical reference. Usually this occurs with old, out-of-print monographs as well as obscure “grey literature” reports found in few libraries and a few foreign language journals. In these very, very rare situations one might give a citation as follows: “Jones (1876) as quoted in Smith (1990).” You would then list both the Smith and Jones references in your reference list. It is not acceptable to use this format to avoid reading a reference for yourself or because you were too late (or too lazy) in getting a reference. Many people misquote or misinterpret other papers which is the reason why the “Jones as quoted by Smith” format is so rarely used (and so potentially hazardous to your scientific argument). This really goes back to the issue mentioned above about using primary references. To gain some understanding of how rarely this format is used, pick ten journal articles at random and see if any of them has a reference in this format. Probably, none will. In other words, go find the original source, it’s out there. (I’ve never used this in any of the articles I’ve published or reports I’ve written.)
--Because of the increasing importance of the web, web sites can be valid scientific references. Indeed,
some journals are now web-based. URL references should always include the date the site was accessed since web-based material has a habit of disappearing or changing. For that reason, URL’s are generally less-desirable references. An exception to this is formal electronic journals (e.g., see Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems {G3} at http://g-cubed.org/.) These peer-reviewed electronic journals are every bit as legitimate as paper journals. Most electronic articles now have a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and this DOI must be given in the citation, e.g., Author, Year, Journal, DOI.
--Because of the multitude of unreviewed garbage on the web, web sites can be dubious references.
Make sure you understand the source and especially whether what you have found is a peer-reviewed article, agency report, rough draft of a manuscript, unsubstantiated opinion, etc.

Important Web URL’s

USM Libraries: http://www.lib.usm.edu/
Maury Oceanographic Library (The Navy library at Stennis): http://library.navo.navy.mil/
Tulane Library: http://voyager.tcs.tulane.edu/
First Search: http://firstsearch.oclc.org/FSIP (this is provided by Maury Library and is for on-site IP#’s)
Alan’s web site: http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/~ahiller (Note: the “ahiller” is not a typo!)

The AGI Glossary of Geology is on our local network. From a USM-SSC computer, open Network Neighborhood, then Coral, then Applications, and then AGI. If you haven’t used the system before, click on Full.nfo to get the instructions and while it’s open click on Glossary.nfo.

To Access Infotrieve: http://www.lib.usm.edu

Go to USM Libraries Web page (http://www.lib.usm.edu/) and click Web Services. You will need to register the first time you use the system. (NOTE: there have been a number of changes to the document delivery procedure in recent months, so I cannot give you detailed instructions–but it should be fairly self-explanatory.) If you have problems, contact someone at the USM Library Information Desk in Hattiesburg (601-266-4249 or email askus@lib.usm.edu). Be sure to tell them that you are at Stennis Space Center. PLEASE DON’T BE LAZY: It’s possible to get Infotrieve to fax you articles from journals that are in Maury Library. If you do this you will be wasting University funds since you can just walk down the block to Maury and photocopy the article yourself for free. You may also find that various faculty have certain journals in their offices.

Eagle Express: This is a service provided by the USM library . You can have them make a copy of a journal article found in the Hattiesburg library and send it to you. Typically this will cost you ~$3/article.

Electronic Access to Journals through Anna:

Anna is the USM on-line library catalogue and is available at http://anna.lib.usm.edu/. There are some journals to which USM has both print and electronic subscriptions. If you do a search for a journal on Anna and USM has an electronic subscription, there will be a link to it on Anna. For example, log into Anna and type Geochimica in the search window and then hit Periodic Title button. You’ll see that the second listing is Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (Online). Hit “View” and then “Electronic Access”—this takes you to the Ebsco home page. On the right-hand side, under “Web editions Subscribers” hit “Open Remote Site in New Window”. Now you’ll see a listing of issues in the current volume of this journal; you can click on an issue and then click on a paper to see a “pdf” copy of the article. Note that for most journals only the past year or two are in electronic form.

USM Library Databases:

You can access a variety of useful databases (e.g., GEOREF, Oceanic Abstracts) though the USM Library web site (http://www.lib.usm.edu/; click on Databases). If you would like to use these databases from home, you will need to configure your web browser for a "manual proxy server." Instructions on how to do this can be found on the USM Library Databases web http://www.lib.usm.edu/userguides/remoteindex.html. You will need your Ocean login and password. Also, for some databases (e.g., Oceanic Abstracts) you may need to do a manual proxy configuration even if you're sitting at a USM computer in Bldg 1020.

Other Marine Chemistry Texts and Reviews

An Introduction to the Chemistry of the Sea, Pilson: This is the most recently published marine chemistry text.

An Introduction to Marine Biogeochemistry, S.M. Libes: Pretty comprehensive but a bit out of date and some errors.

Marine Geochemistry, Chester: Fairly comprehensive and well-referenced though some people dislike the organization.

Tracers in the Sea, Broecker and Peng: Very good on the subjects it covers but lacking in a lot of basic information.

Chemical Oceanography, Millero and Sohn: Coverage of topics is not too in-depth but has some analytical and physical chemistry information lacking in other texts.

Aquatic Chemistry (3rd edn.), Stumm and Morgan: The bible of aquatic chemistry; doesn't say much about the ocean but talks a lot about basic chemistry concepts applied to natural waters; some people find it daunting but it's a great reference.

Aquatic Chemistry Concepts, Pankow: This is one of several texts which can generically be called “Stumm and Morgan Explained”; Morel and Hering have another similar text.

Organic Geochemistry, Engel and Macko: A pretty good and thorough overview of the topic.

The Geochemistry of Natural Waters, Drever: Broad coverage of natural waters with only a small focus on the ocean; very much oriented to geochemical processes such as weathering, controls on solutes, etc.

Chemical Oceanography, Vol 1-10, various editors. A new volume comes out ever year or two; each volume has review articles on various subjects; the older volumes tend to be dated.

Mathematical Methods for Oceanographers: An Introduction, Laws: A fairly readable book that reviews calculus and discusses regressions, curve fitting, some numerical methods, box models, and time series.

Analytical Chemistry in Oceanography, Johnson et al. in Analytical Chemistry 64 [1992] 1065A. (Copy on reserve): A review article on marine chemistry for a general audience; good reading for new students, though somewhat dated.

Misprints in Libes

p. 25
In Table 2.2 the value given for the density of water at 25oC is actually the specific volume (cm3/g) of water at that temperature. The density of pure water at 25oC is 0.997075 g/ml or 0.997047 g/cm3. (Note that because 1 ml is defined as the volume of 1 g of water at its temperature of maximum density, 1 ml = 0.999972 cm3.) A table of density (and specific volume) of water at various temperatures can be found in the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.

p. 31
(3.1) No need to multiply by 1000!
Table 3.2: According to IUPAC, colloids are in the 0.001 - 1 :m size range.

p. 65
Table 5.3 shows free ion activity coefficients in seawater, not the total coefficients. The free ion coefficients are used in calculations such as those on p. 66-68; the total coefficients are used in equilibria where the total ion concentrations are used (such as the solubility of CaCO3).

p. 66
In the calculation at the bottom of the page (eqn 5.17) the Mg2+ and SO42- activity coefficients used are not from Table 5.3. Using the values from Table 5.3 would give Kc = 8.75.

p. 72
Table 5.7 presents the calculated inorganic speciation (it’s also 15 years out of date).

p. 151
In Table 9.2 some of the elements listed as probably not necessary for life may be necessary in some situations. For instance, some organisms (Acantharians, a type of zooplankton) can make shells out of SrSO4 and some organisms can use Cd as a cofactor in enzymes when Zn is not available.

p. 251
In the section “The Effect of Shell Formation.....” the third sentence states that the remineralization of POM has no effect on alkalinity. This is a simplistic view which ignores the generation of protons during respiration (and consumption during photosynthesis).

p. 253
In Figure 15.7, Libes shows no alkalinity change during photosynthesis/respiration. This is a simplistic view which ignores the generation of protons during respiration (and consumption during photosynthesis). Using Anderson and Sarmiento’s version of the Redfield Ratios yields a slope for these lines of: )Alk = -(17/117))ECO2.

p. 565
(29.8) *18Of = [*18Oo + 1000]f("-1) - 1000

p. 654
He does not have naturally-occurring radioactive isotopes and while Pb does, most of the Pb that’s around is stable, not radioactive.

p. 659
R = 0.0821 L atm oK-1 mol-1

p. 661
Volume of all oceans = 1322.198 x 106 km3
(and if you believe that degree of accuracy, I’ve got a bridge to sell you!)

p. 668
The units of these tables are mL/L.

MAR 541 Initial Supplementary Reading List

A. Introductory and Supplementary Material

**1. R. Chester, "Marine Geochemistry", 1990, Chpt. 1 & 7

B. Major Elements: Composition and History

*1. Broecker and Peng, p. 287-301; p. 311-312.
**+2. J.I. Drever, "The Geochemistry of Natural Waters", 2nd edn., 1988, p. 268-280.
*+3. F. MacKenzie, p. 325-327 in "Chemical Oceanography", Vol. 1, 2nd edn., J.P. Riley and G. Skirrow, eds., 1975.
**+4. J.M. Edmond and K. Von Damm, Hot springs on the ocean floor, Sci. Amer., April 1983, p. 78.
**+5. R.E. McDuff and F.M.M. Morel, The geochemical control of seawater (Sillen revisited), Environ. Sci. Tech. 14 (1980) 1182.
*+6. H.D. Holland, B. Lazer, and M. McCaffrey, Evolution of the atmosphere and oceans, Nature 320 (1986) 27.
7. H.D. Holland, "The Chemical Evolution of the Atmosphere and Oceans", 1984, Chpt. 9.
8. L.G. Sillen, The physical chemistry of seawater, in "Oceanography", M. Sears, ed., 1961.
9. H.D. Holland, The history of ocean water and its effect on the chemistry of the atmosphere, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. 53 (1965) 1173.
10. J.I. Drever, "Seawater". (Reprinted classic articles including above by Sillen and Holland and also Garrels and MacKenzie.)
11. R. Berner, A. Lasaga, and R. Garrels: Amer. J. Sci. 83 (1983) 641....or....p. 397-411 in "The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric CO2", E.T. Sundquist and W.S. Broecker, eds., 1985.
**12. Chester, "Marine Geochemistry", 1990, Sec. 15.1.3
*13. Chester, "Marine Geochemistry", 1990, Chpts. 2-6.
**14. Chester, Chpt. 17

C. Salinity

**+1. Grasshoff, Ehrhardt and Kremling (eds.), "Methods of Seawater Analysis", 2nd edn., 1983, Chpt 3. 2. Wallace, "The Development of the Chlorinity-Salinity Concept in Oceanography", 1974. (Good historical overview.)

D. Dissolved Gases Other Than CO2

** 1. Broecker and Peng, Chpt. 3
**+2. D.R. Kester, Dissolved gases other than CO2, in "Chemical Oceanography", Vol. 1, 2nd edn., J.P. Riley and G. Skirrow, eds., 1975, Chpt. 8.
*+3. R.E. Dickenson and R.J. Cicerone, Future global warming from atmospheric trace gases, Nature 319 (1986) 109.
**4. Chester, Chpt. 8.1-8.3

+On reserve; **Highly recommended; *Interesting & Useful

MAR 541: Exam Preparation

Advice in answering questions: Be as thorough as possible in answering, but stick to the point of the question and don’t b.s. Be sure to give the major points of the concept being addressed as well as any important details. If you can also provide some of the less important details, great; but, make sure it comes through in your answer that you understand what’s most important. Don’t expect me to read your mind and interpret what you “meant” to say.

IMPORTANT: The following are examples of the types of questions that could be asked on an exam. However, this is not meant as a comprehensive listing of things I expect you to know. Also, some topics listed here may not have been covered by the time of the midterm (and therefore, I won’t expect you to know them!)

1. What are the concentrations of the major ions in seawater?

2. What are the sources and sinks of the major seawater ions?

3. What is a conservative element?

4. How does the sea get and maintain its major ion composition?

5. What is the history of seawater major element composition? (How do we know this?)

6. Define residence time. What are the assumptions involved in its calculation? What differences might you expect in the distributions of different elements with residence times of 100 million years, 50 thousand years, and 100 years?

7. What is salinity? Why is it useful? How is it determined? How has its definition changed over the years?

8. Describe the stagnant film model of gas transfer.

9. What processes can cause an un-reactive gas to be out of equilibrium with the atmosphere?

10. What processes determine the oceanic distribution of oxygen?

11. Discuss the origin of the oxygen minimum.

12. What are the conditions necessary for anoxia? Give examples of anoxic oceanic areas.

13. Salinity and oxygen: what do their vertical profiles look like in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans? (Be quantitative.)

14. What is unique about water and how do its unique properties arise?

15. Consider the oxygen isotope composition of snow and sea ice. Which is isotopically heavier and why do they have different isotopic compositions?

16. Briefly describe the impact of hydrothermal processes on ocean chemistry.

17. What are the several ways in which oxygen measurements can be used in the estimation of the rate of primary production? What are the limitations of these various methods?

18. What are the major chemical forms of each of the three micronutrient elements? How are these three nutrients distributed in the ocean (both in vertical profiles and from ocean basin to ocean basin)?

19. How do the cycles and chemistry of the three nutrients differ from one another?

20. What is the concept of Redfield Ratios? What methods have been used to determine them? What are some representative values for these ratios? What can Redfield Ratios be used for?

21. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are increasing. Why are we, as ocean chemists, interested in this? Draw a schematic of the global carbon cycle.

22. What is alkalinity, how can it be determined, what processes affect it?

23. What is the predominant ionic form of total carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater? Write down the various equations needed to calculate the distribution of dissolved carbon dioxide species. What do we need to measure in order to make this calculation? Sketch a pH-log concentration diagram for carbon dioxide in seawater.

24. What processes affect total CO2 and alkalinity in seawater and how does each process affect each of these two parameters?

25. What would happen to atmospheric CO2 if: a) oceanic primary production increased, b) oceanic thermohaline circulation speeded up, c) the C:N Redfield Ratio increased, or d) massive amounts of acid were added to the ocean?

26. Pick a place in the ocean and draw as many vertical profiles of different chemicals as you can.

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