Marine organisms water column chemicals

In addition to the dissolved elements and compounds in the oceanic water column, a wide variety of water column chemicals are found in marine organisms and organic detritus. For example, a milliliter of surface seawater can contain on the order of 10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria, 100,000 phytoplankton, and 10,000 zooplankton [9]. With the advent of soft ionization processes for mass spectrometry systems, scientists have been able to study these marine organisms at molecular level. The use of electrospray ionization (ESI see Section 2.1.15), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization... 

The process of removal of calcium by marine organisms in the water column is well known. Production of calcium carbonate by water column biological processes may be estimated from primary productivity and from the mean chemical composition of plankton. After death of the organisms and removal of the organic protective layer, the skeletons may undergo dissolution if they encounter water undersaturated with respect to their mineral composition. Active dissolution of calcium carbonate occurs mainly near the sediment-water interface in deep waters that are undersaturated with respect to both calcite and aragonite (see Chapter 4). Thus, calcium is regenerated from calcareous skeletons and, finally, only a small fraction of the initial production of these materials accumulates in sediments. An... 

Synthetic organics, either as pesticides and anti-foulants (notably tributyl tin (TBT)) or as industrial chemicals, are present in seawater, biota, and sediments, and affect the whole spectrum of marine life, from primary producers to mammals and birds. The more persistent and toxic compounds are now banned or restricted, but since many are resistant to degradation and tend to attach to particles, the seabed sediment acts as a sink, from which they may be recirculated into the water column. Other synthetic compounds include plastics, and the increasing use of these has brought new problems to wildlife and amenities. 

Amino acid-like fluorescence is often associated with autochthonous FDOM, and its presence has been consistently related to elevated biological activity in the water column from freshwater to marine systems, including pristine and polluted waters. This fluorescence signal has been positively correlated with chemical characteristics of DOM indicative of microbial derived precursor material, including the bulk signature, the total organic N and aliphatic C content of the DOM (Cory et al., 2007), and the free amino acid or protein... 

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