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This course emphasizes the chemical principles that control basic aqueous chemistry in marine systems. The focus of this course will be to show that the chemistry of the various elements in sea water can be understood as a consequence of basic general chemical concepts such as electron structure, chemical bonding, amd group and periodic properties.

The goal is to leave students with a basic understanding of the chemistry of the various elements in sea water such that they can answer questions like: why are elements such as cadmium and mercury toxic whereas calcium and magnesium are not? How do you think the element Technetium might behave in sea water? Which elements are most likely to be scavenged from sea water and why? Why are the rare earth elements so valuable as an indicator of chemical processes in marine systems?

The level at which this course is taught assumes that the student has already had a college level sequence of courses in chemistry (although they need not have been a chemistry major). There are in-class projects (involving both problem sets and library work) as well as a final examination which will be used as the basis for a grade.