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Biogeochemistry and Oceanography

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Biogeochemistry and the Environment

Abstract

The atmosphere and oceanic hydrosphere constitute the largest aspects of the Earth’s surface, creating the coloration that from space led the Earth to be named the “blue planet.” Predominantly air (nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, etc.) and water (hydrogen, oxygen), both spheres are essential for all plant and animal life and form the links between the biological, biochemical, biophysical, geochemical, and geophysical worlds, and hence are the main components of biogeochemistry. The studied relationship between biogeochemistry, biogeography, and atmospheric and oceanic sciences is still evolving, and debates prevail concerning this complex relationship at the global level. This chapter examines the relations between the biogeochemistry of oceanic ecosystems and marine life and those parts of the atmosphere just above the oceans. The biogeography of the oceans plays an interacting role with oceanic biogeochemistry, as biogeochemistry enables the existence of marine plant and animal life, which also enable chemical cycling. Case studies are cited from the Earth’s oceans, and the historical background of oceanography and associated sciences is also cited. It is concluded that biogeochemistry, biogeography, and oceanography comprise a growing scientific complex, and the understanding of the clusters of these sciences is important for the assessment of the expanding science of ocean biogeochemistry.

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Change history

  • 28 February 2024

    A correction has been published.

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Correspondence to Michael O’Neal Campbell .

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Campbell, M.O. (2023). Biogeochemistry and Oceanography. In: Biogeochemistry and the Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47017-2_5

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