This report covers the period 1997-98. My goal for 1997-1998 remained one of building a new program in aquatic photochemistry within the Oceanography Department.
Marine photochemistry is relatively young.
Its perceived importance has grown over the last 15 years from a novelty source of radical compounds in the photic zone to a critical chemical process with an essential role in aquatic carbon cycles, trace element redox chemistry, biological availability of both carbon and iron, and water optical properties and the penetration of light into the water column. With current research on the impact of increased UV radiation caused by stratospheric ozone depletion, global climate change, and the direct application of UV radiation as an Advanced Oxidation Process for wastewater treatment, the interest in environmental photochemistry has recently expanded. My research group has similarly seen a rapid growth during my first three years at Dalhousie. In this way, the global significance of marine photochemistry might be more accurately estimated from remotely sensed data. Data generated was added to our previous field data towards the generation of a synoptic data set for CDOM optical properties within and below the seasonal mixed layer from shore to shelf break.