Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen. I am a marine chemist. If you aren't sure what
that means, don't worry. Most people have a vague idea that my work involves
the chemical composition of the oceans, but after that they are usually at
a loss. But after today, you'll be able to share your knowledge
of marine chemistry with others -- and I hope you will.
Marine chemists
go by a couple other titles. Some prefer chemical oceanographer or marine
geochemist. But we are all concerned with essentially the same questions.
What
kind of questions? Glad you asked.
Around the world, marine chemists
are trying to find answers to questions like:
- Is seafood truly safe for human consumption?
- Does the ocean help minimize the greenhouse effect caused by pollution?
- How did the oceans form? How have they changed? Are they still changing
now?
- What effect do pesticides and other manmade compounds have on the oceans?
- Do the oceans contain natural chemicals that may produce medicines for
future generations?
The answers, of course, are not easy to come by. They take years
and even decades of research. And every marine chemist is working on just
part of the question, with others in laboratories and research centers around
the world tackling other elements.
There is another aspect to marine
chemistry as well. It involves carbon dating. Marine chemists are called in
to help date artifacts found beneath the sea -- from shark teeth to items
taken from shipwrecks. We use science to pinpoint the approximate age of nearly
anything.
And of course, marine chemists are chemists first and foremost.
So, yes, my laboratory is filled with beakers and test tubes. You're
welcome to come and visit any time.
Without the ability
to write well, a marine chemist's research will not carry the impact
that it should.