Chemistry of Marine Water and Sediments

The most important processes on the Earth`s surface occur in the Ocean where materials and energy are primarily exchanged. In the case of marine chemistry different fields of chemistry from organic to inorganic as well as thermodynamics and biochemistry are involved. Analytical Chemistry is a very important tool for the quantification of biogeochemical processes by providing correct and even more sophisticated methodologies. These are often directly applied 'in situ', in order to detect trace and ultra-trace natural and anthropogenic substances. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies allow us to establish whether the process occurs. Once discovered it is then possible to build up general models for environmental systems. This book gathers many aspects with the aim of creating a general picture of the chemical processes occurring in the marine environment

The book deals with the processes in marine environment with particular emphasis on the interface processes (sediments-water and atmosphere-water) regarding organic matter and energy fluxes, carbon dioxide intake and transformation. Particular analytical methodologies concerning biosensors for analysis in situare discussed.

Marine Biogeochemical Processes

1 Sea Water as an Electrolyte.- 2 The Chemical and Physical Properties of Marine Aerosols: An Introduction.- 3 Photochemical Processes in the Euphotic Zone of Sea Water: Progress and Problems.- 4 Sedimentary Organic Matter Preservation and Atmospheric O2 Regulation.- 5 Particulate Organic Matter Composition and Fluxes in the Sea.- 6 Diagenesis of Organic Matter at the Water-Sediment Interface.- 7 Sedimentary Geochemistry of the Carbonate and Sulphide Systems and their Potential Influence on Toxic Metal Bioavailability.- 8 Speciation of Metals in Natural Water.- 9 Binding Ability of Inorganic Major Components of Sea Water toward some Classes of Ligands, Metal and Organometallic Cations.- 10 Equilibrium Analysis, the Ionic Medium Method and Activity Factors.- 11 Acid-Base Equilibria in Saline Media: Application of the Mean Spherical Approximation.- 12 Modelling of Natural Fluids: Are the Available Databases Adequate for this Purpose?.- 13 Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Marine Environment.- 14 Chemistry of Organic Toxicants in Marine Environment.- 15 Toxic Effects of Organometallic Compounds towards Marine Biota.- 16 Flow Injection Techniques for the in situ Monitoring of Marine Processes.- 17 Luminescence for the Analysis of Organic Compounds in Natural Waters.- 18 Affinity Electrochemical Biosensors for Pollution Control.- 19 Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions Using Stable Carbon Isotopes and Organic Biomarkers.- 20 Studies of Water Masses Mixing in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) Using Chemical Tracers.- 21 Solid Speciation and Selective Extraction Procedures: Trace Metal Distribution and Speciation in Coastal Sediments of the Adriatic Sea.- 22 Organic Matter Sources and Dynamics in Northern Adriatic Coastal Water.