Ocean Biogeochemistry


Book Description

Oceans account for 50% of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere. During the past 15 years an international programme, the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), has been studying the ocean carbon cycle to quantify and model the biological and physical processes whereby CO2 is pumped from the ocean's surface to the depths of the ocean, where it can remain for hundreds of years. This project is one of the largest multi-disciplinary studies of the oceans ever carried out and this book synthesises the results. It covers all aspects of the topic ranging from air-sea exchange with CO2, the role of physical mixing, the uptake of CO2 by marine algae, the fluxes of carbon and nitrogen through the marine food chain to the subsequent export of carbon to the depths of the ocean. Special emphasis is laid on predicting future climatic change.




Surface Ocean


Book Description

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 187. The focus of Surface Ocean: Lower Atmosphere Processes is biogeochemical interactions between the surface ocean and the lower atmosphere. This volume is an outgrowth of the Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) Summer School. The volume is designed to provide graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers from a wide range of academic backgrounds with a basis for understanding the nature of ocean-atmosphere interactions and the current research issues in this area. The volume highlights include the following: Background material on ocean and atmosphere structure, circulation, and chemistry and on marine ecosystems Integrative chapters on the global carbon cycle and ocean biogeochemistry Issue-oriented chapters on the iron cycle and dimethylsulfide Tool-oriented chapters on biogeochemical modeling and remote sensing A framework of underlying physical/chemical/biological principles, as well as perspectives on current research issues in the field. The readership for this book will include graduate students and/or advanced undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and researchers in the fields of oceanography and atmospheric science. It will also be useful for experienced researchers in specific other disciplines who wish to broaden their perspectives on the complex biogeochemical coupling between ocean and atmosphere and the importance of this coupling to understanding global change.




Marine Biogeochemical Cycles


Book Description

This Volume belongs to a series on Oceanography. It is designed so that it can be read on its own, or used as a supplement in oceanogrphy courses. After a brief introduction to sea-floor sediments, the book shows how the activities of marine organisms cycle nutrients and other dissolved constituents within the oceans, and influence the rates at which both solid and dissolved material is removed to sediments. It goes on to review the carbonate system and shows how sediments that come from continental areas may be transported to the deep sea, explores what sea-floor sediments have taught us about the history of the oceans, and describes the biological and chemical processes that continue long after sediments have been deposited on the deep sea-floor. * Covers the basics on the occurrence, distribution, and cycling of chemical elements in the ocean * Features full-color photographs and beautiful illustrations throughout * Reader-friendly layout, writing, and graphics * Pedagogy includes chapter summaries, chapter questions with answers and comments at the end of the book; highlighted key terms; and boxed topics and explanations * Can be used alone, as a supplement, or in combination with other Open University titles in oceanography







The Global Carbon Cycle


Book Description

While a number of gases are implicated in global warming, carbon dioxide is the most important contributor, and in one sense the entire phenomena can be seen as a human-induced perturbation of the carbon cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle offers a scientific assessment of the state of current knowledge of the carbon cycle by the world's leading scientists sponsored by SCOPE and the Global Carbon Project, and other international partners. It gives an introductory over-view of the carbon cycle, with multidisciplinary contributions covering biological, physical, and social science aspects. Included are 29 chapters covering topics including: an assessment of carbon-climate-human interactions; a portfolio of carbon management options; spatial and temporal distribution of sources and sinks of carbon dioxide; socio-economic driving forces of emissions scenarios. Throughout, contributors emphasize that all parts of the carbon cycle are interrelated, and only by developing a framework that considers the full set of feedbacks will we be able to achieve a thorough understanding and develop effective management strategies. The Global Carbon Cycle edited by Christopher B. Field and Michael R. Raupach is part of the Rapid Assessment Publication series produced by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), in an effort to quickly disseminate the collective knowledge of the world's leading experts on topics of pressing environmental concern.




Ecological Comparisons of Sedimentary Shores


Book Description

Sedimentary coasts with their unique forms of life and productive ecosystems are one of the most threatened parts of the biosphere. This volume analyzes and compares ecological structures and processes at sandy beaches, tidal mudflats and in shallow coastal waters all around the world. Analyses of local processes are paired with comparisons between distant shores, across latitudinal gradients or between separate biogeographic provinces. Emphasis is given to suspension feeders in coastal mud and sand, to biogenic stabilizations and disturbances in coastal sediments, to seagrass beds and faunal assemblages across latitudes and oceans, to recovery dynamics in benthic communities, shorebird predation, and to experimental approaches to the biota of sedimentary shores.




The Northern North Atlantic


Book Description

The northern North Atlantic is one of the regions most sensitive to past and present global changes. This book integrates the results of an interdisciplinary project studying the properties of the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian Seas and the processes of pelagic and benthic particle formation, particle transport, and deposition in the deep-sea sediments. Ice-related and biogeochemical processes have been investigated to decipher the spatial and temporal variability of the production and fate of organic carbon in this region. Isotopic stratigraphy, microfossil assemblages and paleotemperatures are combined to reconstruct paleoceanographic conditions and to model past climatic changes in the Late Quaternary. The Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian Seas can now be considered one of the best studied subbasins of the world`s oceans.




Chemical Oceanography and the Marine Carbon Cycle


Book Description

The principles of chemical oceanography provide insight into the processes regulating the marine carbon cycle. The text offers a background in chemical oceanography and a description of how chemical elements in seawater and ocean sediments are used as tracers of physical, biological, chemical and geological processes in the ocean. The first seven chapters present basic topics of thermodynamics, isotope systematics and carbonate chemistry, and explain the influence of life on ocean chemistry and how it has evolved in the recent (glacial-interglacial) past. This is followed by topics essential to understanding the carbon cycle, including organic geochemistry, air-sea gas exchange, diffusion and reaction kinetics, the marine and atmosphere carbon cycle and diagenesis in marine sediments. Figures are available to download from www.cambridge.org/9780521833134. Ideal as a textbook for upper-level undergraduates and graduates in oceanography, environmental chemistry, geochemistry and earth science and a valuable reference for researchers in oceanography.




The Antarctic Silverfish: a Keystone Species in a Changing Ecosystem


Book Description

This book encompasses the body of available scientific information on the notothenioid fish Pleuragramma antarctica commonly known as Antarctic silverfish. This plankton-feeder of the intermediate trophic level is the most abundant fish in the coastal regions of high Antarctica, and plays a pivotal ecological role as the main prey of top predators like seals, penguins, whales and Antarctic toothfish. Broad circum-polar distribution, a key role in the Antarctic shelf pelagic ecosystem, and adaptations makes understanding the species’ likely response to environmental change relevant to foresee the potential responses at the local ecosystem level. Additionally, a detailed understanding of the abundance and trophic interactions of such a dominant keystone species is a vital element of informing the development of marine spatial planning and marine protected areas in the Antarctic continental shelf region. Experts in the field provide here unique insights into the evolutionary adaptation, eco-physiology, trophic ecology, reproductive and population ecology of the Antarctic silverfish and provide new clues about its vulnerability in facing the challenges of the ongoing environmental changes.