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.
Single-celled algae in the ocean known as coccolithophores play an important role in the marine carbon cycle when they take up bicarbonate from seawater to build their shells. Coccolithophore numbers have been increasing ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 5, 2026
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14
A comprehensive study by the CritMET research group, led by Prof. Michael Bau, a geochemist at Constructor University in Bremen, provides evidence of widespread contamination of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea with MRI contrast ...
Environment
Nov 26, 2025
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312
We've gone to the bottom of the ocean to study how its chemistry shapes our planet's climate, even chasing lava-spewing underwater volcanoes to do it. But it turns out we may have missed something far closer to home: the ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 5, 2025
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40
A new review led by the MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen—highlights how hydrothermal vents on the seafloor shape iron availability and influence the global oceanic element cycles. ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 20, 2025
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30
Scientists digging through data collected by the Cassini spacecraft have found new complex organic molecules spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus. This is a clear sign that complex chemical reactions are taking place within ...
Astrobiology
Oct 1, 2025
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123
Plastic pellets, bio-beads and other microplastics are polluting coastlines around the world, with new research showing sharp regional differences in the types and concentrations of plastic found.
Environment
Sep 29, 2025
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86
In 2020, haunting images of corroded metal barrels in the deep ocean off Los Angeles leapt into the public consciousness. Initially linked to the toxic pesticide DDT, some barrels were encircled by ghostly halos in the sediment.
Environment
Sep 9, 2025
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377
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enters the ocean at the surface and has been increasing the acidity of Pacific waters since the beginning of the industrial revolution over 200 years ago. A new study, led by University of ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 19, 2025
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31
As human activity across the world's oceans expands, scientists are zeroing in on shifts in atmospheric composition—particularly ozone, a key player in marine atmospheric chemistry. In a new study, researchers have completed ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 13, 2025
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43
A new study published in Nature Geoscience has revealed that the global ocean's chemical makeup is undergoing a transformation, with key nutrient ratios critical to marine life shifting away from the long-accepted Redfield ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 21, 2025
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50
