The oceans interact with climate drivers in manifold ways that range from obvious to subtle. This largest water bath stores heat and dampens temperature swings. Oceans also dissolve, store and cycle radiatively active gases such as carbon dioxide, thereby reducing their greenhouse effects. Dissolution of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the sea causes ocean acidification. The chain of chemical events driven by acidification makes carbontate, needed by many organisms to make shells and other support structures more difficult to obtain. The hydrogen ion then associates with a carbonate ion to form another bicarbonate ion, thereby making carbonate, needed to form shells and hard parts of organisms from microscopic phytoplankton to clams and lobsters, more difficult to obtain. The problem can be exacerbated by multiple stressors such as acidification, warming and metal shortage. Algae in the oceans take up carbon dioxide and use it to synthesize organic matter. Marine physical and biogeochemical processes determine whether the cells produced will decompose in surface waters and return to the atmosphere quickly as carbon dioxide, whether they will sink to deep waters and return carbon dioxide on time scales of ocean overturn or be buried for geological time (millions of years). Burial in marine sediments is the only major exit route for carbon from the active biosphere. SMS scientists also study how turbulence enchances phytoplankton nutrient uptake. Enhanced stratification from global warming is expected to decrease average turbulence intensities but to raise turbulence intensities locally and episodically in more violent weather events. If you are interested in the ways that climate change influences the ocean and in the ways that the ocean influences climate change, be sure to visit the interactive COSEE-OS website.
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Fei Chai
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Biological-Physical Interactions, Fisheries Sciences, Ocean Modeling and Prediction, Marine Biogeochemistry, Biological Oceanography, Marine Climate Change
fchai@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4317
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Peter A. Jumars
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Benthos, Benthic Oceanography, Biological-Physical Interactions, Bioacoustics, Biological-Physical Interactions, Ocean Observing Systems, Ocean Modeling and Prediction, Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Marine Climate Change
jumars@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 563-3146 x242
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Lee Karp-Boss
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Biological-Physical Interactions, Phycology, Marine Physiological Ecology, Marine Optics, Biological Oceanography, Marine Climate Change
lee.karp-boss@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4305
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Mary Jane Perry
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Biological-Physical Interactions, Phycology, Ocean Observing Systems, Marine Physiological Ecology, Marine Biogeochemistry, Marine Optics, Biological Oceanography, Marine Climate Change
perrymj@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-3321 x245
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Andrew Pershing
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Biological-Physical Interactions, Fisheries Sciences, Ocean Modeling and Prediction, Biological Oceanography, Marine Climate Change
andrew.pershing@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 228-1656
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Neal Pettigrew
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Ocean Energy, Marine Climate Change, Coastal Physical Oceanography, Ocean Observing Systems, Gulf of Maine, autonomous vehicles, data buoys, coastal currents, AUV, glider
nealp@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4384
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Malcolm Shick
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Marine Physiological Ecology, Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Marine Biogeochemistry, Phycology, Marine Biology, Marine Climate Change
shick@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-2562
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Robert Steneck
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Marine Ecology, Benthic Oceanography, Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Marine Biology, Biological Oceanography, Marine Policy, Marine Climate Change, coral reefs, coastal marine ecosystems
steneck@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-5315
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Andrew Thomas
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Ocean plankton patterns, Biological-physical interactions, Satellite oceanography, Digital image processing, Marine Climate Change
thomas@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4335
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David W. Townsend
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Biological-Physical Interactions, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, Nutrient Dynamics, Biological Oceanography, Marine Climate Change
davidt@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4367
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Mark Wells
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Phytoplankton Physiology, Trace Metals, Iron, Marine Biogeochemistry, Iron Limitation, CDOM, Sensors, Harmful Algal Blooms, Biological-Physical Interactions, Marine Aquaculture, Marine Optics, Marine Physiological Ecology, Ocean Observing Systems, Biological Oceanography, Marine Climate Change
mlwells@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4322
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Huijie Xue
Bio sketch→
Interests:
Physical Oceanography, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Ocean Modeling and Prediction, Ocean Energy, Biological-Physical Interactions, Marine Climate Change
hxue@maine.edu
Phone: (207) 581-4318
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