One aim of the marine chemist is to inventory the organic chemicals 

 in the sea and to understand their origin, role, and fate in terms of oceanic 

 processes. When correlated with data from other scientific disciplines, 

 models of oceanic processes can be developed and tested. 



Progress in the different areas of marine organic chemistry (Table 5) 

 has been uneven. In some areas (synthesis and turnover by microor- 

 ganisms; marine polymers) we lack much basic information. In other 

 areas (marine lipids), existing knowledge may permit modeling marine 

 processes in some regions. 



The understanding of marine processes, and specifically of mechanisms 

 and rates, is critically important to the further development and appHca- 

 tion of marine chemistry. The reaction rates and mechanisms determine 

 the magnitude of the "standing crop" of organic compounds in the 

 dynamic system of the sea and the magnitude of the impact of natural 

 and synthetic materials on marine ecology. Rates and mechanisms 



Table 5 

 Organic Compounds of the Marine Environment 



54 



