Chemical oceanography 387500 208535806 2008-04-27T15:12:09Z Erodium 6056825 '''Chemical oceanography''' is the study of the behavior of the [[chemical element]]s within the [[Earth]]'s [[ocean]]s. The ocean is unique in that it contains - in greater or lesser quantities - nearly every [[chemical element|element]] in the [[periodic table]]. Much of chemical oceanography describes the [[biogeochemical cycle|cycling]] of these elements both within the ocean and with the other [[Earth's spheres|spheres]] of the Earth system (see [[biogeochemical cycle]]). These cycles are usually characterised as quantitative [[flux]]es between constituent [[reservoir (water)|reservoirs]] defined within the ocean system and as [[residence time]]s within the ocean. Of particular global and [[climate|climatic]] significance are the cycles of the biologically active elements such as [[carbon cycle|carbon]], [[nitrogen cycle|nitrogen]], and [[phosphorus cycle|phosphorus]] as well as those of some important trace elements such as [[iron]]. Another important area of study in chemical oceanography is the behaviour of [[isotopes]] (see [[isotope geochemistry]]) and how they can be used as tracers of past and present oceanographic and climatic processes. For example, the incidence of <sup><small>18</small></sup>O (the heavy isotope of oxygen) can be used as an indicator of polar [[ice sheet]] extent, and [[boron]] isotopes are key indicators of the [[pH]] and [[carbon dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub>]] content of oceans in the geologic past. ==Bibliography== * Frank J. Millero. ''Chemical Oceanography'', Third Edition. CRC, '''2005'''. ISBN 0849322804. * ''Chemical Oceanography'', Vol. 1- 10 (2nd Ed.) - J. P. Riley and G. Skirrow, eds, Academic Press (1975- 1989). * Riley, J. P. and Chester, R. ''Introduction to Marine Chemistry'', Academic Press, 1971. ISBN 0125887507. == See also == * [[Anoxic event]] - [[Anoxic sea water]] - [[Hypoxia (environmental)]] * [[Climate change]] * [[Global Ocean Data Analysis Project]] * [[Oceanography]] * [[Physical oceanography]] * [[World Ocean Atlas]] {{ocean-stub}} [[Category:Chemical oceanography|*]] [[Category:Oceanography]] [[ca:Oceanografia química]] [[hr:Kemijska oceanografija]] [[it:Oceanografia chimica]] [[ja:海洋化学]]