Chemical Oceanography

Chemical oceanography studies the distribution and interactions of chemical species in the ocean and their exchange with the atmosphere and geosphere. This includes major elements (e.g. C, N, O) and trace elements (e.g. Fe, Zn), isotopes, trace gases (e.g. CO2, CH4) as well as organic and inorganic compounds. Chemical oceanographers investigate how biological and geological processes shape chemical properties and influence life in the ocean. One focus is on the changes caused by global change and their effects on the Earth system.

Project Overview


  • Monitoring and modelling of extreme events in the Elbe estuary and the German Bight


    EMS-FORE
    Eastern Mediterranean Sea as a model for Future Ocean Research



    Alternate scenarios, Innovative technologies, and Monitoring approaches for Sub-Seabed Storage of carbon dioxide


    Ocean Glow
    Controls on ocean productivity using ocean fluorescence detected from space


    ReSEAt
    Drivers of nutrient limitation and carbon export in the South East Atlantic


    AMMOTRACe
    Marine AMMunitiOn dump site exploration by surface- and underwater-based laser mass spectrometric TRACing technology



    CONcepts for conventional MArine Munition Remediation in the German North and Baltic Sea



    Element and Isotope Signatures in Neurodegenerative Diseases



    Understanding the sources, transport, distribution and impacts of plastic pollution 



    Plastic-LEACHate impact on ecosystem functions and human health



    Prof. Achterberg's working group has participated in a large number of GEOTRACES research cruises to date (current example: SO308)


    Biogeochemie der wichtigsten Elemente im Atlantik und im Pazifischen Ozean


     
    Modular Observation Solutions for Earth Systems


     
    Role of Eddies in the Carbon Pump of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems


    C-SCOPE 
    Towards Marine Carbon Observations 2.0: Socializing, COnnecting, Perfecting and Expanding


     
    Euro-Argo Research Infrastructure Sustainability and Enhancement



    Our Common Future Ocean in the Earth System



    West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use


     
    Building an innovation platform for more ocean observation and technologies where new hardware and software will be used to collect oceanographic and climate-related data.


     
    A citizen science project initiated to help marine researchers measure important information in the Kiel and thereby better understand the distribution of oxygen, temperature and salinity.


     
    The project investigates deep water inflow spreading rates and mixing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, involving the release of an inert tracer (SF5CF3) in October 2021 and subsequent campaigns in 2022 to measure and examine tracer concentrations, alongside studying ventilation using anthropogenic tracers CFC-12 and SF6.


     
    investigating the influence of gas and liquid ship emissions on trace gas cycling in the surface ocean


    Regional focus on the Indian Ocean
    investigating this region as a potential emissions hotspot for many atmospherically important trace gases, such as DMS, and determining the influence of anthropogenic deposition on surface ocean cycling of trace gases


    COS
    A novel approach to quantify global ocean emissions of carbonyl sulfide 


    BELS 
    Bubble exchange in the Labrador Sea


     
    Biogeochemcial processes and air-sea exchange in the sea-surface microlayer


     
    Innovative community engagement for building effective resilience and Arctic Ocean pollution-control governance in the context of climate change


    MUSE 
    CO2 eddy covariance buoy development


    FS SONNE SO305 - BIOCAT
    Biogeochemische/Atmosphären Prozesse im Golf von Bengalen: Ein Beitrag zur ‚2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition‘, BIOCAT-IIOE2, Colombo/Sri Lanka- Singapur,10.04.-22.05.2024


    CONNECT (BMBF - Federal Ministry of Education and Research)
    Pan Atlantic connectivity of marine biogeochemical and ecological processes and the impact of anthropogenic pressures


    RV SONNE SO287 - CONNECT


    CLIMALG-SN
    Seaweed for climate change resilient blue economies, biodiversity and ecosystem services in Senegal and West Africa


    RECOVER
    Euromarine, foresight workshop, 12.-13. 12.2019: Seaweed aquaculture: A promising tool for the restoration and sustainable development of coastal environments or an expensive end-of-pipe technology?


    RV Poseidon 533/1: AIMAC


    HalOcAt


     
    Eckernförde Bay, SW Baltic Sea


     
    The MarinE MethanE and NiTrous Oxide database



    NITROSO
    Nitrous oxide in the Southern Ocean, Sino-German project funded by SOA and BMBF


     
    Integrated carbon and trace gas monitoring in the Baltic Sea, funded by EU and BMBF


     
    Pathways and emissions of cliamte-relevant trace gases in achanging Arctic Ocean, UK-German project funded by NERC and BMBF


    Nitric oxide
    NO in the Ocean, funded by DAAD


    Carbon monoxide
    CO in the coastal ocean, funded by CSC


    Measurements of isotopic signatures and short-lived tracers of nitrogen cycle processes in the Baltic Sea
    funded by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation


  • Optimizing and Enhancing the Integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing System



    Development and Metrological Improvements of Marine Chemical Sensors



    Metrology for standardised seawater pHT measurements in support of international and European climate strategies



    High Resolution pH Measurements Using a Lab-on-Chip Sensor in Surface Waters of Northwest European Shelf Seas




    Strategies for Environmental Monitoring of Marine Carbon Capture and Storage




    Climate - Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean



    Horizontal and vertical oceanic distribution, transport and impact of microplastics



    Ex-situ, near-real-time exPlosive compound deTection in seawater


    NICA
    Development of a consistent thermodynamic model of trace element - organic matter interactions in the Ocean


    OceanLiNES
    Ocean Limiting Nutrients – Examination from Space



    Iron speciation in the microenvironment surroundig pyhtoplankton cells and the consequences for Fe bioavailability



    EqPac co-limitation: Abolition of nutrient limitation of phytoplankton productivity in the equatorial Pacific: integration of experimental, proteomic and fluorescent approaches



    MOSES/REEBUS Eddy Study II, Eastern Tropical North Atlantic, Nov./Dec. 2020 



    Northeast Siberia, Russia, June 2020



    Optimising and Enhancing the Integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing Systems 



    Carbon Cascades from Land to Ocean in the Anthropocene



    Supporting EU-African Cooperation on Research Infrastructures for Food Security and Greenhouse Gas Observations



     
    Improving and Integrating European Ocean Observing and Forecasting Systems for sustainable use of the Ocean 


    Artic Ventilation
    The project, conducted during the 2021 Synoptic Arctic Survey, aims to constrain ventilation and estimate anthropogenic carbon storage in the Arctic Ocean through the analysis of multiple transient tracers, including CFC-12, SF6, 'Medusa' Tracers, and radioactive tracers, utilizing the Transit Time Distribution method.


    LASSO
    Lagrangian study of air- sea exchange over the ocean


    OASIS


    THREAT


    SHIVA


    SHIVA-SONNE


    TransBrom


    SOPRAN

Research Areas