Guia docente 2023_24 Facultade de Ciencias do Mar

Contents

Topic	Sub-topic
Unit 1. Introduction	Distribution and abundance of chemical elements in the sea. Metabolic pathways and key plankton functional groups. Properties of element cycles.
Unit 2. Production of organic matter.	Variability and control of primary production. Stoichiometry of phytoplankton production. Dynamics of dissolved organic matter. New and regenerated production. Trophic organization and biogeochemical functioning of the ecosystem.
Unit 3. Remineralization.	Distributions of nutrients and oxygen. Oxygen utilization rates. Stoichiometric relations. Heterotrophic processes: quantification and variability. Photosynthesis respiration balance. Balance between N2 fixation and denitrification. Global nitrogen cycle.
Unit 4. Export.	The biological pump. Methodological issues. Spatio-temporal variability in export. Attenuation of vertical fluxes: controlling factors. Shallow and deep sedimentation. Coast-ocean gradients.
Unit 5. Biogeochemical processes in the sediments.	Physical structure of the sediment. Coast-ocean gradients. Reactions of organic matter oxidation. Redox potential. Spatio-temporal variability in benthic fluxes. Global carbon budget in the sediments.
Unit 6. The global carbon cycle.	Chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Distribution and abundance of main DIC forms. CO2 fluxes between ocean and atmosphere. The biological pump and the solubility pump. Global C cycle: current unbalances.
Unit 7. The calcium carbonate cycle.	CaCO3 oceanic budget. Carbonate saturation. Production, export and redissolution of CaCO3. Distribution of carbonates in the sediments. Pelagic calcification: coccolithophore blooms and biogeochemical impacts.
Unit 8. Global change and the biology of the ocean.	Multiple environmental stressors. Warming. Acidification. Deoxygenation. Eutrophication. Impacts on species, communities, ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Global feedback processes.
Seminar program.	Biomass, production and growth of phytoplankton. Observation in oceanography: formulation and testing of hypotheses. Ecological and biogeochemical role of iron. Distribution patterns of diatoms and coccolithophores. Biogeochemistry of coastal eutrophication.
Practical session program.	Data analysis of phytoplankton cell size, abundance and metabolism. Graphical representation of xyz distributions. Open-ocean nitrogen budgets. Modelling the global carbon cycle using computer models. Case analysis.