Chemists and the Oceans

Abstract

MAN has an unrelenting curiosity about his environment and especially about those factors that influence his everyday living. Man's interest in the waters of the world stems not only from their vast disposition over the surface of the earth but also? and perhaps more significantly?from his constant struggle to maintain his home and industries against the ravages of water. Questions concerning the origin and behavior of natural waters were answered in the religious writings and legends of the first peoples for which we have recorded histories. The Greek civilizations provided the first atmosphere for the naturalistic interpretations of man's surroundings by separating thought from religious ritual. For over two thousand years the opinions of the Greek philosophers provided the focal points for argument and speculation. As the various scientific disciplines developed, the characteristics of natural waters, especially the oceans, were sought. Initially, academic curiosity motivated the studies, but later on such problems as the origin of life, climates, the formation of continents, and the evolution of organ isms directed many investigators to the study of the seas. And more often than not, knowledge about the chemistry of the oceans was needed in order to understand some of the strange phenomena that occur on the surface of the earth. The paths of marine chemistry have also been fashioned by the advances of chemistry itself. During recent times the elements that can be analyzed, as well as the more intimate description of this complex fluid, have been limited by the theories and techniques of the day. Whereas in the nineteenth century but twenty elements in sea water had been adequately assayed, today a knowledge of the concentration of fifty or sixty has been established and attention is now centering upon the distribution of isotopes of the elements. The marine chemist has enjoyed the relative homogeneity of marine waters, which has simplified his analytical procedures as compared to those of the rock chemist. But the problems arising from changes in chemical composition through evaporation or biological and chemical activity have forced him to transfer his laboratory from land to boats. Today, another great change is in the offing?the replacement of the seagoing chemist by machines that will carry out the analyses in situ more accurately and more rapidly. * Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, California. 162