化学海洋学家试图了解各种元素在海洋中循环的方式，以及这些元素经历的反应。海洋化学家增进了我们对海洋生物在海水中繁衍生息的基本条件的理解，并帮助预测了人为和自然气候变化对海洋组成的影响。<br> <br>海洋科学学院的研究计划包括广泛的主题，例如海水中营养物质的作用和变异性，稀土元素和其他微量金属的分布和循环，海洋CO2系统检查，研究海洋中溶解的有机物，分子有机化合物，放射性核素和稳定同位素，以及化学污染物的分布及其对海洋生物和生态系统的毒性。教职员工利用各种先进的仪器和技术来研究这些研究问题。
Chemical oceanographers seek to understand the ways in which various elements are cycled within the oceans, and the reactions that these elements undergo. Ocean chemists improve our understanding of the basic conditions under which ocean life thrives in seawater, and help predict the effects of anthropogenic and natural climate change on ocean composition. <br><br>Research programs in the College of Marine Science include such wide ranging topics as the role and variability of nutrients in seawater, the distribution and cycling of rare earth elements and other trace metals, examination of the oceans? CO2 system, the study of dissolved organic matter, molecular organic compounds, radionuclides and stable isotopes in the oceans, and the distribution of chemical pollutants and their toxicity on marine organisms and ecosystems. Faculty and students utilize a wide variety of state-of-the art instrumentation and technology for investigating these research problems.