Marine Chemistry Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Marine Chemistry?
Marine chemistry is a branch of chemistry that focuses on the study of chemical processes in the oceans and seas. It involves understanding how ocean chemistry is affected by human activities, natural processes, and climate change. Marine chemists use a variety of analytical techniques to measure and monitor concentrations of elements, compounds and isotopes in seawater. They also study how these components interact with each other to influence oceanic processes such as nutrient cycling, sedimentation, and coral reef formation. In addition, marine chemists investigate the effects of pollutants on marine ecosystems and develop strategies for mitigating their impacts.Marine chemistry is closely related to other fields such as geochemistry, oceanography, ecology, physical/chemical oceanography, biology/zoology/botany/ecosystems analysis. Marine chemists make use of samples collected from various locations in the oceans or seas to help them understand the composition and structure of different aquatic environments. They also analyze samples taken from organisms living within those environments to better understand their ecology. Ocean circulation patterns can be studied using isotope geochemistry which allows us to measure the movement of elements within different water masses over time; this helps us understand how nutrients move around our oceans or seas throughout seasons or over years for example. Marine chemists can also look at organic matter content in water samples collected from various depths; this information can then be used to assess trophic level shifts due to human impact on an ecosystem or seasonal variations in primary productivity due to climatic changes for example. The emerging field of green chemistry also makes use of marine chemistry when looking at ways we can reduce our impact on aquatic resources by applying biodegradable materials instead traditional polluting ones – like plastics – into our daily lives; this helps us reduce pollutant build up in our sea waters while still allowing us access the benefits they have provided historically (fishing etc.). Finally researchers are increasingly looking into ways we can utilize existing resources more efficiently while reducing waste production through engineering approaches like ËœUpcycling’ which uses existing materials found within waste streams (e-waste etc.) and turns them into valuable goods or energy sources both reducing pollution generated by production processes but allowing society access new technologies previously unobtainable using traditional methods.