Oceanografia Chimica

General Description

Chemical Oceanography  (OCeanografia CHImica, OCCHI) Group investigates the chemical composition of sea water, looking at the interactions between organic and inorganic substances and the biological, physical and geological conditions of the ocean. OCCHI research is fundamentally interdisciplinary in cooperation with physical oceanographers and marine ecologists. The chemistry of the ocean is in fact  closely tied to ocean circulation, climate, plants and animals that live in the ocean and to the exchange of material with the atmosphere, cryosphere, continents and mantle.  

Group composition

Paola Rivaro - Coordinator Carmela Ianni Maria Luisa Abelmoschi

Research areas

We investigate the cycling of those elements which are important for biological processes ( eg. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron...) in Mediterranean and Ross Sea (Antarctica) waters. Processes, which introduce chemical species into the ocean and those which remove or transform the substances are important targets of our marine chemical research. We deal with sediment geochemistry with particular regards to metal speciation, also. Sea water contains many gaseous components, which are introduced into the atmosphere or are absorbed from it. We investigate the inorganic carbon system and acidification due to atmospheric CO2 increase and the distribution of anthropogenic halocarbons (CFCs), obtaining valuable information about the rates and pathways of water mass ventilation processes.

ERC keywords

  • PE10_3 - Climatology and climate change
  • PE10_8 - Oceanography (physical, chemical, biological, geological)
  • PE4_18 - Environment chemistry

Ongoing external academic collaborations

Department of Environmental Sciences, Parthenope University of Naples, Italy (G.Budillon, P.P.Falco, Y. Cotroneo, P.Castagno, G.Fusco) Department of Biology , University Federico II, Naples, Italy (O. Mangoni) Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy (M.Saggiomo) National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Marine Sciences, Bologna, Italy (L.Langone) Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University Halifax, Canada (L.Raimondi) British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK (C.Manno) Lamont - Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University New York City, United States (B.Smethie)

Projects

OCCHI is involved in various oceanographic research programs, mainly in the Ross Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea. Ross Sea Ongoing Project (Coordination): IT PNRA16_00207 - A3 CELEBeR (CDW Effects on glaciaL mElting and on Bulk of Fe in the Western Ross sea) Project. (https://www.researchgate.net/project/CDW-Effects-on-glaciaL-mElting-and…) Ross Sea Archived Projects: Ross Sea Marginal Ice Zone Ecology (ROSSMIZE, 1994) Climatic Long-term Interaction for Mass-balance in Antarctica (CLIMA, 1998-2006) (https://www.researchgate.net/project/Climatic-Long-Term-Interaction-for…) Terra Nova Bay Research Experiment (T-REx, 2011–12) Ross Sea Mesoscale Experiment (RoME 2014-2016) (https://www.researchgate.net/project/Ross-Sea-Mesoscale-Experiment-RoME) Mediterranean Sea Archived Projects: VECTOR VulnErabilità delle Coste e degli ecosistemi marini italiani ai cambiamenti climaTici e loro ruolO nei cicli del caRbonio mediterraneo (2008-2010) RITMARE (2012-16) OCCHI is also involved in the following Research Networks: Italian SOLAS network (http://www.solas-int.org/community/national-networks.html) Southern Ocean Observation System SOOS (https://www.scar.org/soos/) Italian working group of ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observing System) network (http://www.icos-italy.it)

Dissemination activities

OCCHI group is strongly involved in dissemination initiatives at all education levels, often in collaboration with Italian National Program of Research in Antarctica (PNRA). Information on the research activities is promoted through local and national media to reach the external audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-Zf6BgDA_o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLV2Mk6mBB4 https://www.festivalglocal.it/speaker-glocalnews-2018/ https://eventi.mondadoristore.it/it/event/2018/03/13/presentazione-del-…