Ocean Chemistry

SOEST researchers are global leaders at monitoring, understanding, and advancing global knowledge of seawater carbonate chemistry—knowledge that is vital to understanding the ocean response to growing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.  The longest continuous record of oceanic pH, collected by the Hawai‘i Ocean Time-Series at Station ALOHA, shows a clear and compelling acidification of the ocean as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels grow virtually unabated.

In addition to work on ocean acidification, students and staff conduct observational, experimental, and theoretical studies that cover a broad spectrum of research in the areas of marine chemistry and global biogeochemical cycles. These include sediment geochemistry, biogeochemistry and physics of the benthic boundary layer, the interaction of seawater with the oceanic crust at hydrothermal vent systems, trace metal geochemistry, and human influence on coastal ocean chemistry and ecosystem productivity.