Week 6: Water - The Chemical Ocean

Lecture 1: Biogeochemical control of ocean chemistry (Dr Tom Trull)
Introduction to the controls on the chemical composition of the global ocean, especially the dynamic balance between biological transformation of nutrients and their re-supply by the physical circulation, including the use of radioactive tracers (14C) to measure the rates of these processes

Lecture 2: Ocean control of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (Dr Tom Trull)
Introduction to the air-sea exchange of CO2 and quantitative expressions describing carbon dioxide dissolution and chemical equilibrium. Exploration of the possibility of the acidification of the seas by waste CO2 from industrial emissions.

Lecture 3: Micronutrients (Dr Tom Trull)
Micronutrient limitations of Southern Ocean food-webs. Examination of field experiments designed to increase productivity of phytoplankton by the addition of trace quantities of iron. General concepts of chemical limitation of biological production.

Tutorial: Discuss the potential effects of "fertilising" the Southern Ocean to increase productivity. Discuss the factors which cause difficulty in characterizing the mean carbon uptake by the Southern Ocean.