make possible the general application of the equation. It is, therefore, 

 necessary to seek other means for evaluating rates of biochemical 

 changes in the oceans. In some instances, water masses can be isolated 

 or identified and physically traced to give, when coupled with the proper 

 chemical observations, rates of change, but these cases are few and 

 far between, and generally this approach is not useful for determining 

 reaction rates in the open ocean. 



An understanding of the ocean cannot result from knowledge, however 

 complete, of the chemical makeup of the ocean alone. The physics, 

 biology, geology, and chemistry are so intimately interwined that 

 the amalgamation of knowledge from all these fields is essential to 

 understanding the impact of life processes on the chemistry of the 

 ocean. This is probably well understood by chemical oceanographers, 

 but the synthesis of knowledge from such fields as biochemistry, organic 

 chemistry, physical chemistry, and radiochemistry will be essential in 

 applying chemical knowledge to the solution of important chemical 

 problems. The impact of man's activities on the chemistry, biology, 

 and geology of the ocean cannot be assessed or predicted without the 

 application of such knowledge. It is also pertinent to point out that 

 the converse is true for biology and geology, as has already been indicated 

 in the Preface of this document. The short- and long-term eff'ects of 

 pollution on marine organisms, for example, will be the results of complex 

 interactions among water, biota, and sediments. 



The ultimate goal for research is to apply our knowledge to the pre- 

 diction of changes in the ocean, the possible control of those changes, 

 and predicting the impact that biological events, stimulated naturally 

 or artificially, will have on the chemistry of the oceans. One attempt has 

 been made to identify areas of research that will increase our ability 

 finally to predict and apply the impacts of life processes on the chemistry 

 of the ocean. 



IMPACT OF LIFE PROCESSES ON THE MAJOR CONSTITUENTS 



For the purposes of this discussion, the major ionic constituents in 

 seawater are those whose concentrations are at least 1 mg/liter and 

 include chloride, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium, potassium, 

 bicarbonate, bromide, borate, strontium, and fluoride ions. 



Life processes in the sea fall broadly into the categories of photo- 

 synthesis and respiration, where the latter includes the consumption 

 of organic material as food by the various trophic levels of the food 

 web. Although they might also be listed as respiratory processes, the 

 formation of skeletal material by organisms in the sea and sulfate re- 

 duction are important life processes that have an impact on the major 

 constituents. The processes listed above may be shown diagrammatically 

 as follows: 



47 



