Thesis (M. Sc.)--York University, 1998. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-234). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ39210.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2002. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (master's)--Lund University, 2005. / "February 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-47). Also issued electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1997. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-152). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alaska, 1988. / "February 1989." Includes bibliographical references.

The flux of carbon in to and out of the atmosphere exerts a fundamental control over the Earth's climate. The oceans contain almost two orders of magnitude more carbon than the atmosphere, and consequently, small fluctuations within the oceanic carbon reservoir can have very significant effects on air-sea CO₂ exchange, and the climate of the planet. Pelagic carbonates represent a major long-term flux of carbon from the surface ocean to deep-sea sediments. Within sediments, the biologically produced carbonates act as a longterm carbon store, but also as chemical recorders of past surface ocean conditions. Counterintuitively, despite the production and sedimentation of carbonate acting as a CO₂ sink, over periods shorter than the mixing-time of the ocean, the pH change associated with calcium carbonate precipitation enriches the surface waters in CO₂ and elevates the equilibrium value of gaseous exchange with the atmosphere. Coccolithophores, ubiquitous marine photosynthetic plankton, produce calcium carbonate plates, coccoliths, which account for around one third of all marine calcium carbonate production. Sedimentary coccoliths therefore represent a valuable repository of surface ocean geochemical data, as well as a very significant carbon-cycle flux. This thesis examines how the mass of calcium carbonate produced by coccolithophores has changed in response to rising levels of atmospheric CO₂. A -40% increase in average coccolith mass over the last 230 years, paralleling anthropogenic CO₂ release, is demonstrated within a high-accumulation rate North Atlantic sediment core. Additionally, a flow-cytometry method is presented, which enables the automatic separation of coccoliths from clay particles in sedimentary samples, representing the first step in a coccolith cleaning procedure, which should ultimately enable down-core measurements of coccolith trace-element/calcium ratios. Complementing this work I describe results from continuous dissolution analysis of cultured coccoliths which allows a first-order evaluation of trace-element partitioning into coccoliths produced by the species Coccoliths pelagicus, and present a conceptual methodology to allow the determination of single-species coccolith chemical data.

Graduation date: 2002

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a first look at the spatial and temporal distributions of dissolved organic material (DOM) off the Oregon coast of North America. While this paper is not a comprehensive examination of these distributions, several patterns are identified as promising candidates for continued research. Most of the data presented was acquired during a strong El Nino event. The DOM data is presented as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and is accompanied by temperature, salinity, nitrate plus nitrite (N+N), ammonium, silicate, chlorophyll, total organic carbon (TOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), total nitrogen (TN), total organic nitrogen (TON), and zooplankton biomass measurements. During July 1997, we examined the distribution of DOM in the surface waters off the Oregon and Southern Washington coasts. Eleven east-west transects were sampled from nearshore waters to 190km offshore. DOC concentrations as high as 180 iM were observed in the Columbia River plume. Patterns in the DOC distribution were also associated with upwelling regions, an offshore coastal jet, and an oligotrophic water mass in the northern portion of our study area. Beginning with the July 1997 study and continuing until July 1998, samples were collected on weekly and seasonal time scales at station NH-05, located 9km offshore from Newport, Oregon. Various problems have limited our seasonal comparisons, but we were able to collect high quality data depicting the changes in organic matter partitioning during a phytoplankton bloom and its decline during a two month period from mid-July through mid-September in 1997. During the bloom, POC increased dramatically, but DOC decreased. Possible explanations for this decrease and for changes in the C/N ratio of the DOM during the bloom are explored. Suggestions for future research are presented in the final chapter. / Graduation date: 2000

Graduation date: 2003