Research carried out in the Marine Organic Chemistry lab focuses mainly on the biogeochemical cycling of natural and anthropogenic organic compounds in the marine environment. The fundamental goal of this research is to investigate how we can use these organic compounds as molecular markers to study other cycles and pathways occurring in the oceans. Research projects include studies of marine organisms, dissolved and particulate organic matter in the water column, and recent and ancient marine sediments, as well as terrestrial – marine interactions.
Most
of the recent work in our lab has been carried out in Venice,
Italy, and the Lagoon of Venice. This work has spanned a variety
of topics ranging from public health concerns in the canals to examining
the ecological effects of building floodgates to prevent damage caused
from frequent high water (acqua alta) flooding events.
Over the past twenty-five years, some of the other types of research projects carried out in my laboratory have included the following:
- Inputs, fates, and effects of oil pollution in the marine environment.
- Biochemical production, storage, and transfer of metabolic energy reserves in Antarctic mid-water food webs.
- Production and cycling of archaebacterial phytanyl ether lipids in anoxic and hypersaline oceanic systems.
- Use of organic biomarkers to trace inputs, dispersal and accumulation of marine, terrestrial and urban organic matter.
- Uptake and accumulation of toxins by marine organisms.
Analytically, we are equipped with high resolution gas chromatographs, a combined gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, an Iatroscan lipid class analyzer, and a high performance liquid chromatograph. Also available in the Department are an organic carbon analyzer, elemental (CNH) analyzer, compound specific stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer, and most other equipment necessary for full organic geochemical work.
