Chemical Oceanography
Course material for OCN 623. This site is currently under development (as of 2025).
Instructor
Seth Bushinsky: smb4@hawaii.edu, MSB 523
Individual lectures by other MGG members
Course texts:
Emerson and Hamme: Chemical Oceanography- Elemental Fluxes in the Sea
or:
Emerson and Hedges: Chemical Oceanography and the Marine Carbon Cycle
- I have one copy of Emerson and Hamme and two copies of Emerson and Hedges that I can loan out for the semester. There should also be a copy available at the library. However, I think these are very useful texts to have (regardless of your specific sub-discipline) and recommend buying a copy of the Emerson and Hamme text.
Course format:
Tuesday & Thursday, 1:30-2:45pm, MSB 307
Zoom link for when/if we need it:
E-mail me to request the zoom link, otherwise I’ll send it out at the start of the semester
- Most days I will log in to zoom, if only to record the lecture easily. I’ll post these recordings after class, but it’s much better to be present in person
Office hours:
Monday’s at 11am, MSB 523. If you need to meet via Zoom instead, let me know.
Course Schedule
Readings / lectures/ Assignments subject to change with notification
Section 1: Ocean Chemistry Concepts
| Week | Month | Day | Topic | Readings | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan. | 14 | Introduction, Chemical composition of SW | E & Hedges Ch. 1; E & Hamme, Ch. 1 | PS1 |
| 16 | Ocean circulation, Geochemical Mass Balances | E & Hedges Ch. 2; E & Hamme, Ch. 2 | |||
| 2 | 21 | Gas solubility and Exchange | E & Hedges Ch. 10; E & Hamme Ch. 2.2 | PS2 | |
| 23 | Hydrothermal systems | E & Hedges Ch. 2.3; E & Hamme, Ch. 2.1.4 |
Section 2: The chemical signature of life in the ocean
| Week | Month | Day | Topic | Readings | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Jan. | 28 | Nutrient distributions, biological production and consumption | E & Hedges Ch. 6; E & Hamme, Ch. 3 | |
| 30 | Bio day 2, seasonal cycle box models | PS3 | |||
| 4 | Feb. | 4 | Catch up day / Paper discussion / in class problem | Global Biogeochemical Cycles - 2018 - Wolf - Oxygen Saturation Surrounding Deep Water Formation Events in the Labrador Sea.pdf |
| 6 | Global Carbon Cycle and box models | E & Hedges Ch. 11; E & Hamme, Ch. 8 | ||
| 5 | 11 | Export and the nitrogen cycle, sediments (McClish) | E & Hedges Ch. 6, E & Hedges Ch. 12; E & Hamme, Ch. 3, 4; E & Hamme, Ch. 4.2.5 | |
| 13 | Review Session | |||
| 6 | 18 | Exam 1 | ||
| 20 | BUOYS - No Class |
Section 3: Thermodynamics, or why do things happen the way they do?
| Week | Month | Day | Topic | Readings | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 25 | Balancing equations, oxidation state, redox | Pdf on Laulima | PS4 | |
| 27 | Thermodynamics | E & Hedges Ch. 12; E & Hamme, Ch. 4.2.5 | |||
| 8 | March | 4 | Chemistry in seawater: Redox potential, pE-pH | E & Hedges Ch. 3 (pdf on Laulima) | PS5 |
| 6 | Acids and Bases + Carbonate chemistry | E & Hedges Ch. 4; E & Hamme, Ch. 5 | |||
| 9 | 11 | Estuarine & coastal biogeochemistry | PS6 | ||
| 13 | Diagenesis in sediments (König) | E & Hedges Ch. 3 (pdf on Laulima) | |||
| 10 | Spring Break | ||||
| Spring Break | |||||
| 11 | 25 | Trace elements in SW (Hawco) | E & Hedges Ch. 6; E & Hamme, Ch. 3.1.3 | ||
| 27 | Review session | ||||
| 12 | April | 1 | Exam 2 |
Section 4: Global Impacts
| Week | Month | Day | Topic | Readings | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 3 | Global Energy Balance (Sabine) | E & Hedges Ch. 11; E & Hamme Ch. 8 | PS7 | |
| 13 | 8 | Global CO2 and Climate (Sabine) | E & Hedges Ch. 5; E & Hamme, Ch. 7 | ||
| 10 | Ocean Acidification (Sabine) |
Section 5: Measuring processes in the ocean on short and long timescales
| Week | Month | Day | Topic | Readings | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 15 | Paleoceanography (Zeebe) | E & Hedges Ch. 7; E& Hamme Ch. 8.3 | PS8 | |
| 17 | Paper discussion or in class problem | ||||
| 15 | 22 | Ocean tracers | E & Hedges Ch. 5; E & Hamme Ch. 6 | ||
| 24 | Stable Isotopes | E & Hedges Ch. 5; E & Hamme, Ch. 6 | PS9? | ||
| 16 | 29 | Radioisotopes | E & Hedges Ch. 5; E & Hamme, Ch. 7 | ||
| May | 1 | Paper discussion or in class problem | |||
| 17 | 6 | Review session | |||
| 15 | Exam 3 during finals week |
Course Learning Objectives:
1) Explain the underlying principles of chemical and biogeochemical cycling in marine systems; 2) Explain the first order ways that biological and physical processes are captured by global chemical tracers; 3) Identify marine chemical and biogeochemical processes that impact your area of oceanographic interest, and know how to access and understand information on these processes; 4) Develop your chemical intuition: start to learn how to determine if a given magnitude, rate, or flux seems right to a 1st order;
Github repository
https://github.com/SethBushinsky/ocn_623_chemical_oceanography_UHM/
- I will put example code for figures shown in class, plotting, etc. here
Prerequisites:
- Chem 171 w/ B grade, or consent of instructor
- To get a registration override, e-mail me with your UH ID number
Grading
Grade Breakdown:
Exams, 51% (17% each); 49% Homework assignments
Assignment improvements:
I will give you the opportunity to fix mistakes on HWs and Exams for a portion of credit back (typically ~50%). Ideally I would like these back within ~ 2 weeks of when I return them to you.
Submitting assignments and exams:
Assignments and exams can either be submitted in person or through Laulima (preferred). If electronically through Laulima, I would like a single pdf, not a picture or a separate file for each page. I use an app called “Adobe Scan” that converts pictures from my phone into pdfs and does a pretty good job of cleaning up the image.
Exams will be open notes, closed internet. I will hand out exams during the class period and give you 24 hours to submit the exam (either through Laulima or sliding it under my office door if I’m not around).
I encourage you to work together on assignments, but any work that you turn in should be your own.
Accessibility
Class leave / sick policy:
I ask that you respect both me and each other by not joining in person if you are sick or by wearing a mask if you are unsure. If you cannot come to class because you are sick let me know and I’ll get zoom going for the day or record the lecture. Overall attending in person will be more useful as we will do problems together, but I want to be flexible if possible. Additionally, if you have to miss class due to field work or for other reasons, give me a heads up and we can come up with a workaround.
KOKUA / Accessibility
If you are enrolled in the KOKUA program (https://www.hawaii.edu/kokua/) and there are accommodations that you require, please let me know if I am not already aware through a KOKUA notification.
Regardless of whether you are in KOKUA, if there is any aspect of class that is not accessible to you or could be improved (graphics, delivery, etc.) please let me know and I’ll try to make things better for you.
Pronouns / name
Send me an email or let me know in class if you use a different name than is in Laulima or would like to specify your pronouns. I use he/him.
Mental health / well-being
Grad school can/is a stressful time. The goal of this class is to help you learn the material by interacting with it in different ways. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to me and let me know. Also, the UH Counseling and Student Development Center has a variety of services available: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/counseling/.