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
Michele Torri - Research Fellow
Alessio Barletta - Research Fellow
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;
Department of Biology, University Federico II, Naples, Italy;
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy;
Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy;
University of Messina, Messina, Italy;
Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, Trieste, Italy;
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK;
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research, Wellington, New Zealand.
Projects
Ongoing Projects:
IBIZA - Iron-Binding organic ligands – planktonic microbes Interactions in coastal and offshore Zones of the Ross Sea-, Antarctica aims to study the interaction between planktonic organisms (prokaryotes and protists) and the distribution of iron within the framework of the following general hypothesis: “The physico-chemical characteristics of the water column shape planktonic microbial communities, which in turn adapt their strategies to cope with iron limitation in the Ross Sea”.
GLOB - The GLOmar Challenger Basin: a key area to study the inflow of CDW under the Ross Ice shelf and the connection of the eastern and western Ross Sea sectors- aims to fill the gaps in our understanding of circulation and biogeochemical cycles in this key area of the Ross Sea, where waters of circumpolar origin intrude as far as the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, and where there are connections and zonal exchanges between the eastern and western parts of the basin.
ARCTIC – Advanced Research for CO2 and Temperature Impact in Coldwaters- aims to assess the extent of ocean acidification in relation to Arctic ocean dynamics and its link to the variability of the North Atlantic circulation. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the Italian Navy Hydrographic Institute as part of the activities of the IT Navy HIGH NORTH programme, which was recently recognised by IOC-UNESCO as Action 35 of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
OCCHI is also involved in the following Research Networks:
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.facebook.com/italiantartide/videos/la-puntata-di-unomattina…