Dynamic Processes in the Chemistry of the Upper Ocean (Nato Conference Series (17))

The. Advanced Research Inst i tute (ARI) on Dynamic Processes in the Chemistry of the Upper OCean had its origins in discussions by the NATO Special Programme Panel on Marine Sciences during 1978 when a wide range of topics for future ARIs was being considered. What was then envisaged was a workshop on chemical aspects of the oceanic mixed layer, at which consider­ ation would be given to the inputs, cycling and removal of material, and the problems involved in the quantitative assessment of fluxes. It was realised that any attempt to model chemical processes would need the active collaboration of workers from other fields, especially physical oceano­ graphers concerned with air-sea interaction and turbulence, and biological oceano~raphers with expertise in primary productivity and the cycling of particulate and dissolved organic material. As plans for the ARI developed further a somewhat different emphasis emerged, focused on the question as to how chemists should set about observing an environment as variable and dynamic as the upper ocean and selecting the appropriate scales for the framework of measurements to study a particular process, especially in the light of current knowledge of physical processes of transport and mixing. It was plain that the capabil­ ity of physical oceanographic methods to resolve differences on small spatial and temporal scales is considerably ahead of the capabilities of biologists and chemists who rely upon discrete sampling and complex lab­ oratory manipulations in order to obtain most of their data. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Report of Working Group I: Gases....Pages 1-10 Report of Working Group II: Particles....Pages 11-21 Report of Working Group III: Solutes....Pages 23-27 Upper Ocean Chemistry: Space and Time Scales....Pages 29-39 The Chemistry of Near-Surface Seawater....Pages 41-51 Processes Affecting Upper Ocean Chemical Structure in an Eastern Boundary Current....Pages 53-77 Structure and Evolution of Gulf Stream Warm-Core Rings: A Physical Characterization....Pages 79-91 Turbulence in the Upper Layer....Pages 93-105 Convection in the Upper Ocean....Pages 107-116 Field Measurements of Gas Exchange....Pages 117-128 Photochemistry and the Sea-Surface Microlayer: Natural Processes and Potential as a Technique....Pages 129-135 Organic Chemical Dynamics of the Mixed Layer: Measurement of Dissolved Hydrophilic Organics at Sea....Pages 137-157 Surface Water 234 Th/ 238 U Disequilibria: Spatial and Temporal Variations of Scavenging Rates within the Pacific Ocean....Pages 159-172 Dominant Microorganisms of the Upper Ocean: Form and Function, Spatial Distribution and Photoregulation of Biochemical Processes....Pages 173-186 Short Term Variations in Primary Productivity....Pages 187-195 Some Perspectives on Ecological Modeling Focused on Upper Ocean Processes....Pages 197-213 What Controls the Variability of Carbon Dioxide in the Surface Ocean? A Plea for Complete Information....Pages 215-231 A Preliminary Model of the Role of Upper Ocean Chemical Dynamics in Determining Oceanic Oxygen and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Levels....Pages 233-240 Back Matter....Pages 241-246 The. Advanced Research Inst i tute (ARI) on Dynamic Processes in the Chemistry of the Upper OCean had its origins in discussions by the NATO Special Programme Panel on Marine Sciences during 1978 when a wide range of topics for future ARIs was being considered. What was then envisaged was a workshop on chemical aspects of the oceanic mixed layer, at which consider­ ation would be given to the inputs, cycling and removal of material, and the problems involved in the quantitative assessment of fluxes. It was realised that any attempt to model chemical processes would need the active collaboration of workers from other fields, especially physical oceano­ graphers concerned with air-sea interaction and turbulence, and biological oceanõraphers with expertise in primary productivity and the cycling of particulate and dissolved organic material. As plans for the ARI developed further a somewhat different emphasis emerged, focused on the question as to how chemists should set about observing an environment as variable and dynamic as the upper ocean and selecting the appropriate scales for the framework of measurements to study a particular process, especially in the light of current knowledge of physical processes of transport and mixing. It was plain that the capabil­ ity of physical oceanographic methods to resolve differences on small spatial and temporal scales is considerably ahead of the capabilities of biologists and chemists who rely upon discrete sampling and complex lab­ oratory manipulations in order to obtain most of their data