Dynamic Processes In The Chemistry Of The Upper Ocean

The. Advanced Research Inst i tute (ARI) on Dynamic Processes in the Chemistry of the Upper OCean had its origins in discussions by the NATO Special Programme Panel on Marine Sciences during 1978 when a wide range of topics for future ARIs was being considered. What was then envisaged was a workshop on chemical aspects of the oceanic mixed layer, at which consider ation would be given to the inputs, cycling and removal of material, and the problems involved in the quantitative assessment of fluxes. It was realised that any attempt to model chemical processes would need the active collaboration of workers from other fields, especially physical oceano graphers concerned with air-sea interaction and turbulence, and biological oceano~raphers with expertise in primary productivity and the cycling of particulate and dissolved organic material. As plans for the ARI developed further a somewhat different emphasis emerged, focused on the question as to how chemists should set about observing an environment as variable and dynamic as the upper ocean and selecting the appropriate scales for the framework of measurements to study a particular process, especially in the light of current knowledge of physical processes of transport and mixing. It was plain that the capabil ity of physical oceanographic methods to resolve differences on small spatial and temporal scales is considerably ahead of the capabilities of biologists and chemists who rely upon discrete sampling and complex lab oratory manipulations in order to obtain most of their data.

The. Advanced Research Inst i tute (ARI) on Dynamic Processes in the Chemistry of the Upper OCean had its origins in discussions by the NATO Special Programme Panel on Marine Sciences during 1978 when a wide range of topics for future ARIs was being considered. What was then envisaged was a workshop on chemical aspects of the oceanic mixed layer, at which consider ation would be given to the inputs, cycling and removal of material, and the problems involved in the quantitative assessment of fluxes. It was realised that any attempt to model chemical processes would need the active collaboration of workers from other fields, especially physical oceano graphers concerned with air-sea interaction and turbulence, and biological oceano~raphers with expertise in primary productivity and the cycling of particulate and dissolved organic material. As plans for the ARI developed further a somewhat different emphasis emerged, focused on the question as to how chemists should set about observing an environment as variable and dynamic as the upper ocean and selecting the appropriate scales for the framework of measurements to study a particular process, especially in the light of current knowledge of physical processes of transport and mixing. It was plain that the capabil ity of physical oceanographic methods to resolve differences on small spatial and temporal scales is considerably ahead of the capabilities of biologists and chemists who rely upon discrete sampling and complex lab oratory manipulations in order to obtain most of their data.

The Norwich Symposium, 'Radionuclides in the Study of Marine Proces ses', is a sequel to the very successful conference held at Cherbourg, France in June 1987. The international character of the meeting has been maintained with thirty-eight contributions, from seventeen countries, being accepted for oral presentation. For many years, the radioactive properties of the naturally occurring radionuclides have been used to determine their distributions in the marine environment and, more generally, to gain an understanding of the dynamic processes which control their behaviour in attaining these distributions. More recently the inputs from human activities of both natural and artificial (i.e. man-made) radionuclides have provided additional opportunities for the study of marine processes on local, regional and global scales. Because the sources of artificial radionuclides are often reasonably well defined in space and time, and because a wider range of elements is represented, new viewpoints for the study of processes have become available. Although it is outside the scope of this Symposium, it must be acknowledged that the radiological protection requirements for radioactive waste disposal prac tices to be based on a sound scientific understanding of radionuclide behaviour in the sea have also provided a very strong impetus for the studies.

This book which is the outcome of a NATO-Advanced Study Institute on Mod elling the Ocean Circulation and Geochemical Tracer Transport is concerned with using models to infer the ocean circulation. Understanding our climate is one of the major problems of the late twentieth century. The possible climatic changes resulting from the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other trace gases are of primary interest and the ocean pla. ys a ma. jor role in determining the magnitude, temporal evolution and regional distribution of those changes. Because of the poor observational basis the ocean general circulation is not well understood. The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) which is now underway is an attempt to improve our knowledge of ocean dynamics and thermodynamics on global scales relevant to climate change. Despite those efforts, the oceanic data base is likely to remain scarce and it is crucial to use appropriate methods in order to extract the maximum amount of information from observations. The book contains a thorough analysis of methods to combine data of val'ious types with dynamical concepts, and to assimilate data directly into ocean models. The properties of geocl;temical tracers such as HC, He, Tritium and Freons and how they may be used to impose integral constraints on the ocean circulation are discussed.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Castéra-Verduzan, France, June 1-5, 1987

The oceans cover more than 70% of the earth's surface to an average depth of almost 4000 metres. It is therefore not surprising that exchanges that occur between ocean and atmosphere exert major influences on the global climate. In addition, there is great variety within the expanses of the ocean, including large temperature differences, and enormous biodiversity brought about by the great chemical diversity within the marine environment. Written by international experts in the field, Chemistry in the Marine Environment offers a multidisciplinary and authoritative review of this important topic. Included is a review of the opportunities and challenges in developing new pharmaceuticals from the sea and an examination of contamination and pollution in the marine environment, which is a cause of great concern world-wide. The international perspective of this book will engage the interest and attention of a wide readership, from chemical oceanographers to policymakers, from students in environmental science to those in oceanography programmes.