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Research in the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department
(MCG) involves all aspects of oceanic chemical fluxes. MCG
researchers use laboratory, field-based, and computational
tools to understand the processes that control the chemistry of
the oceans. Research projects often focus on mechanisms and
rates of chemical transport at ocean boundaries, from the flux
of pollutants in the coastal zone to the effects of ocean
biology on atmospheric carbon dioxide, and hydrothermal
influences on the deep ocean. Many studies require the use of
ships in remote places: MCG cruises in 2002 ranged from the
North Pacific to the Antarctic. Senior Scientist Ken Buesseler
and his research group participated in the Southern Ocean Iron
Experiment (SOFeX), which was unique in the simultaneous use of
three ships in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Ken was the chief
scientist on board the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar
Star. Scientists from 17 institutions, including WHOI,
collaborated to examine the rela tionship between biological
productivity and dust inputs to the ocean surface. Using
samples collected on the cruise, the WHOI group will measure
how much carbon was removed from the surface by an iron-induced
phytoplankton bloom.
Website: "http://www.whoi.edu/science/MCG/dept/"
[Summary provided by the MCG.]
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