The chemical oceanography faculty includes William
Fitzgerald, Rob
Mason, Annelie
Skoog, Thomas
Torgersen, and Pieter
Visscher. In addition, Penny
Vlahos is a professor in residence with the
department.
A common denominator for the chemistry faculty
is a cross-disciplinary approach - all professors
in the group use biology, geology, and physics
to understand chemical processes in the complex
natural environment. The research interests in
the group include environmental chemistry and
cycling of mercury, organic geochemistry, evaluation
of the rates of transport and reaction in aqueous
systems, geomicrobiology of mineral formation,
trace gas production in microbial mats, modeling
of organic matter distributions, and the effect
of bubble cavitation on marine organic matter.
Chemical oceanography includes both field and
laboratory work. The group works in a range of
environments, from the cold of the Arctic to the
heat of hydrothermal environments and tropical
areas. Analytical techniques used include high-performance
liquid-chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography
(GC), spectrophotometry, fluorometry, micro-electrodes,
GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and inductively
coupled plasma with infra-red detection (ICP-IR).
The group also uses many more pieces of chemical
instrumentation belonging to the Suspended Matter
Analysis Laboratory for Education and Research,
an NSF-funded facility housed in the department.
Five new clean rooms, ranging from class 10,000
to class 100, are other recent additions to the
infrastructure available to the chemistry group.
The clean rooms make it possible to carry out
sensitive trace analysis of metals and organic
materials.
In addition to regularly scheduled
seminar and special topic courses, we offer the
following chemical oceanography courses:
MARN 4030W Marine Biogeochemistry
Composition, origin and solution chemistry of sea water. Marine biogeochemical cycles of water, salt, carbon, nutrients, gases and trace elements. Effects of ocean circulation, biological cycles and crustal exchanges on the distribution and transfer of substances in the marine environment.
MARN 5020 Marine Bioorganic Chemistry
Overview of the molecular basis of metabolic and bioenergetic pathways and processes with emphasis on life in the marine environment. Synthesis of marine natural products. Laboratory demonstrations of selected molecular and physiological techniques used in oceanography.
MARN 5030 Chemical Oceanography
The role of the oceans in the major global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, sulfur, nutrients, gases and trace elements. Studies include reaction rates, chemical speciation, equilibria, solubility, oxidation-reduction, absorption, complexation, and their effects on the composition of seawater and the transfer of substances at the Earth's surface.
MARN 5031 Aqueous Geochemistry
Application of chemical theory to rock-water interaction and the geochemistry of the Earth?s aqueous systems.
MARN 5032 Coastal Pollution and Bioremediation
Overview of processes and compounds leading to pollution in the nearshore marine environment. The impact of pollution on marine foodwebs and its response is emphasized. Alleviation of pollution through metabolism of organisms, including bacteria, sea grasses and salt marshes.
MARN 5033 Marine and Atmospheric Processes of Global Change
Fundamentals of marine and atmospheric processes in global biogeochemistry. Evaluation of atmospheric, biological, and chemical processes that contribute to global change.
MARN 5050 Marine Geology
Relationships between physical and chemical processes and the occurrences and distribution of rock types and compositions in the oceanic environment.
MARN 5051 Radiotracer Applications in Natural Systems
Applications of radiotracers in the environment for environmental engineers, environmental scientists, geologists, hydrologists and oceanographers. Use of radionuclides in the interpretation and quantification of aqueous transport processes. The interaction of geochemistry, mass transport, and flux balances in Earth, ocean and environmental systems.
Instructor consent required.
MARN 5064 Ocean Waves
General methods of wave analysis; surface gravity waves; tidal wave dynamics; internal waves and tides; planetary, edge and topographic Rossby waves.
MARN 5830 Seminar in Chemical Oceanography
Readings and discussion of current literature in chemical oceanography. For graduate and advanced students in oceanography or related field.
Instructor consent required. May be repeated for credit.
For more information
please contact.
Annelie Skoog Associate Professor of Marine Sciences
Email: annelie.skoog@uconn.edu
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