Exploring the Mystery of Organic Carbon in Deep Sea and Possible Effects on the Climate
The second talk in the Fall 2011 Climate-Sustainability Lecture Series will take place on Friday, Nov. 18, from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m., in the Carl DeSantis Building, room 3049/3051. Dennis Hansell, Ph.D., professor of marine and atmospheric chemistry at the University of Miami, will present a talk titled “The Mystery of Organic Matter in the Deep Ocean.” The series is hosted by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology.
Presentation Abstract
Oceanic dissolved organic carbon (RDOC) has long been recognized as highly resistant to removal, with a mean lifetime of thousands of years. But unlike in today’s ocean, this vast reservoir has been implicated by some in the paleoceanography community as a relatively rapid carbon source involved in Earth’s past climate changes.
Accordingly, RDOC in ancient oceans had to be, at times, a much larger reservoir than it is today, and that large pool had to have been rapidly mobilized to release its carbon into the atmosphere. These calls for RDOC to play a role in climate—in the past, present, and future—require an understanding of RDOC that is well beyond our knowledge today. This talk will present our current state of knowledge.
The Climate-Sustainability Lecture Series aims to increase the understanding of the science, technology, and policies relating to climate change and sustainable development. Experts in related fields from within NSU and other institutions are featured speakers. These lectures give faculty members and students the opportunity to discuss the scientific, technological, social, and policy aspects of sustainability-related issues.
For more information, contact Song Gao, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, at (954) 262-8388.