Marine chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical composition, speciation, reactions, and biogeochemical cycles of substances in the marine environment, including seawater, sediments, and marine aerosols. It addresses the distributions and transformations of major, minor, and trace elements, dissolved gases, nutrients, and organic compounds, and how these are controlled by physical processes (mixing, circulation), biological activity (production, remineralization), and interactions with the atmosphere and lithosphere. Research in marine chemistry underpins understanding of ocean acidification, carbon cycling, redox dynamics, contaminant fate, and the chemical controls on marine ecosystems and climate-relevant processes.
For scientists who study the Southern Ocean, a long-standing silver lining in the gloomy forecast of climate change has been the theory of iron fertilization. As temperatures rise and glaciers in Antarctica melt, ice-trapped ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 26, 2026
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As carbon emissions continue to be pumped into the atmosphere at record levels, it will be critical to recapture and sequester as much of these warming gases as possible. While technological approaches face many barriers ...
Ecology
Feb 9, 2026
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For many years, the deep ocean has been seen as a nutrient-poor environment where microbes living in the water survive on very limited resources. But new research from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) challenges that ...
Ecology
Feb 9, 2026
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Earth's ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to temper the impact of climate change but increasing ocean acidity. However, calcium carbonate minerals found in the seabed act as a natural antacid: Higher ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 2, 2026
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A team of scientists announced Tuesday they have developed new deep-sea landers specifically to test their contentious discovery that metallic rocks at the bottom of the ocean are producing "dark oxygen".
Earth Sciences
Jan 20, 2026
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Through new experiments, researchers in Japan and Germany have recreated the chemical conditions found in the subsurface ocean of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. Published in Icarus, the results show that these conditions can readily ...
Sharks are the most feared predators in the sea, and their survival hinges on fearsome teeth that regrow throughout their lives. But changes in the ocean's chemistry could put those weapons at risk.
Plants & Animals
Jan 16, 2026
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Rivers deliver freshwater, nutrients, and carbon to Earth's oceans, influencing the chemistry of coastal seawater worldwide. Notably, a river's alkalinity and the levels of dissolved inorganic carbon it brings to the sea ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 12, 2026
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Seaweeds are versatile algae. They are sources of food, medicine, and many other products, and they have the added benefit of being extremely efficient at removing CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow.
Environment
Jan 9, 2026
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234
Common pollutants are disrupting energy production at the cellular level in wild seabirds, potentially affecting fitness, new research reveals. The study, published in Environment & Health, focused on Scopoli's shearwaters ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 8, 2026
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