Grand challenges in marine biogeochemistry

INTRODUCTION The ocean plays a central role in our earth’s climate system and also provides a range of important ecosystem services, including food, energy, transport, and nutrient cycling. Marine biogeochemistry focuses on the study of complex biological, chemical, and physical processes involved in the cycling of key chemical elements within the ocean, and between the ocean and the seafloor, land and atmosphere. The ocean is increasingly perturbed by human induced alterations to our planet, including anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and trace elements, and climate change. The establishment of a detailed understanding of biogeochemical processes, including their rates, is essential to the identification and assessment of climatic and chemical feedbacks associated with changes in the chemical and physical environment that are mediated through ocean biology, chemistry and physics. Important research areas in marine biogeochemistry involve the cycling of organic and inorganic forms of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, the cycling and biological roles of essential trace elements, and the fate and climatic impact of marine produced trace gases.