The course has attracted a wide variety of M.S. and Ph.D. students from the Geological Sciences, Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry departments, the Marine Science Program and the School of Public Health. Chemical Oceanography is a required course in the Marine Science curriculum and is an important course for many students in the Departments of Geological Sciences, Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Biochemistry. I have made a commitment to regularly teach this course at a very rigorous level that includes the latest developments in the field of marine chemistry. In the course I cover the physical and chemical properties of seawater, major and minor elements, the carbonate buffering system, nutrients, radioactive and stable isotopes, primary productivity, organic matter and marine biogeochemical cycles. The students have responded positively to this renewed emphasis on in-depth examination of ocean chemistry topics and the discussion of selected recent publications.
Stable isotopes are a key tool in the broad area of biogeochemistry.
As such, this course needs to be available to students in the Department of Geological Sciences, Marine Science Program, as well as to selected students in the Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Biochemistry Departments. I have made the commitment to regularly teach this course, which had not been offered in the recent years, as part of our revised department s curriculum. The course deals with the principles and cutting-edge applications of stable isotope geochemistry at a rigorous level. The topics covered include isotope effects, fractionation processes, instrumentation and analytical techniques, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope geochemistry, and applications in oceanographic, climatic and ecological studies. In all of them, I have received evaluation rankings of 3 or higher.