Ocean alkalinity plays a major role in ocean’s carbon uptake, in buffering, and in calcium carbonate production and dissolution, and it impacts and is affected by various biogeochemical processes.
geochemistry
Aquatic Plants May Help Chesapeake Bay Resist Ocean Acidification
In freshwater vegetation flats upstream of the Chesapeake, chemical reactions create molecules that raise pH levels in the bay.
Internal Compass Guides Salmon’s Incredible Journey
New study finds evidence that magnetite particles play a role in fish navigation.
Meteoric 10Be Reveals Lithological Control on Erosion Rates
New meteoric 10Be data quantify fast erosion of slates in the Zhuoshui River catchment in Taiwan and demonstrate the influence of lithology on landscape steepness.
Geology and Chemistry Drive Animal Migration in the Serengeti
Fieldwork in Tanzania suggests that soil chemistry—influenced by local volcanism and tectonic activity—might help dictate the record-setting migration of over a million wildebeests.
Explaining Cold and Fresh Southern Polar Ocean Surface Waters
Global climate models do not reproduce observed trends of the Southern polar ocean surface, but an increase in wind-transported sea ice that melts and inhibits mixing may account for the disparity.
Why Sunlight Matters for Marine Oil Spills
A decade of research since the Deepwater Horizon disaster has revealed how sunlight—its importance long understated in oil spill science—substantially alters petroleum floating at the sea surface.
Looking Back at Our Pale Blue Dot
Astronomers model changes in Earth’s chemical signature over the past 4 billion years to improve the search for Earth-like exoplanets.
The Arctic Ocean May Not Be a Reliable Carbon Sink
The rapid changes happening in the Arctic Ocean, including increasing freshwater input, could dramatically affect its ability to store carbon.
Taro Takahashi (1930–2019)
This giant in geochemistry also pioneered early high-pressure, high-temperature studies that launched the field of mineral physics.