Bio-geochemical Oceanography

The oceans produce half of the oxygen in our atmosphere and are currently storing about one third of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans.

The oceans also play a significant role in the global cycles of elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, iron and other trace elements. The ocean's role in these elemental cycles is preserved in the geological record. Ocean biogeochemistry in IMAS has active research programs across all of these areas. We study the interaction of ocean physics, chemistry and biological productivity using satellites, ocean moorings, and autonomous vehicles such as robotic floats, and through field programs on research vessels and at Antarctic stations. Our work enhances our understanding of ocean processes at time scales of hours to millennia, with relevance to the improvement of computer models.