Heated, mineral rich water spews from a hydrothermal vent on the ocean floor. (Image courtesy of NOAA PMEL Vents Program.)
Instructor(s)
Dr. Dierdre Toole
Dr. Karen Casciotti
Dr. Meg Tivey
Dr. Scott Doney
Dr. William Martin
MIT Course Number
12.742
As Taught In
Fall 2006
Level
Graduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course is an introduction to chemical oceanography. It describes reservoir models and residence time, major ion composition of seawater, inputs to and outputs from the ocean via rivers, the atmosphere, and the sea floor. Biogeochemical cycling within the oceanic water column and sediments, emphasizing the roles played by the formation, transport, and alteration of oceanic particles and the effects that these processes have on seawater composition. Cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and sulfur. Uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the ocean. Material presented through lectures and student-led presentation and discussion of recent papers.