The coastal ocean: hotspot of global change.

The coastal ocean is hotspot of global change. The human imprint on the coastal zone is sharply increasing, both in arctic, temperate and tropical regions. Coastal ecosystems are exposed to increased nutrient inputs (eutrophication), higher risk of oxygen depletion (hypoxia), and ongoing changes in the chemical composition of seawater (ocean acidification), which may lead to strong and rapid changes in element cycling and food web functioning. In order to understand how coastal ecosystems are affected by these aspects of global change, we must improve our understanding of coastal biogeochemistry. This project will adopt a multi-disciplinary perspective which allows us better to understand, quantify, and predict the interactions between physical forces (e.g. stratification), chemical transformations (e.g. carbonate thermodynamics) and biological processes (e.g. phytoplankton productivity).

Keywords:OCEANOGRAPHY, BIOCHEMISTRY

Disciplines:Geology, Oceanography, Aquatic sciences, challenges and pollution