GEOL 7830/7930

BIOGEOCHEMISTRY

Biogeochemistry is an interdisciplinary science that examines the role of biological processes in mediating the geological and chemical dynamics of the Earth's hydrosphere and lithosphere.  The integrative nature of biogeochemical studies requires the application of tools from a variety of scientific disciplines including microbiology, biochemistry, geochemistry, ecology, hydrology, mathematics, physics and many others.

This course examines the control and function of the Earth's global biogeochemical cycles.  This course reviews the basic inorganic and organic chemistry of biologically significant elements, and then considers the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nutrients, and metals that take place in soils, sediments, rivers, the oceans and atmosphere. Topics include weathering, acid-base chemistry, biological redox processes, nutrient cycling, trace gas fluxes, bio-active metals, the use of isotopic tracers, and mathematical models. Interactions between global biogeochemical cycles and other components of the Earth system are discussed.
 

Instructor: Dr. D. Reide Corbett 

 

Office: Graham Bldg. Rm. 201c 

 

Telephone: 328-1367 

 

E-mail: corbettd@mail.ecu.edu 

 
Course Syllabus

Course Reading List

Tentative Lecture Scedule