Photochemistry marine organic matter

K. Mopper, D.J. Kieber (2001). Photochemistry and the cycling of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorous. In D.A. Hansell, C.A. Carlson (Eds), Biogeochemistry of Marine Organic Matter (pp. 455-507), Academic Press, New York. 

Mopper, K., and D. J. Kieber. 2002. Impact of DOM photochemistry on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus in the sea. In Biogeochemistry of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter (D. Hansell and C. A. Carlson, Eds.), pp. 455-489 Academic Press, New York. 

To ascertain the magnitude and the mechanism of a photochemical reaction, it is necessary to determine the rate of the process (see eq. 1). In classical photochemistry, reactions which are very slow are usually considered to be unimportant and hence of little interest. In the marine environment very slow reactions can be significant if they are the only operating mechanism for a particular process or if they compete favorably with other abiotic or biotic mechanisms contributing to the same process. Remineralization of organic matter, for example, is generally attributed solely to biological routes, and for those compounds readily utilized by the biota... 

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