Chemical Reference Materials: Setting the Standards for Ocean Science (2002)

Andrew Dickson (Chair) is an Associate Professor-in-Residence at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research focuses on the analytical chemistry of carbon dioxide in sea water, biogeochemical cycles in the upper ocean, marine inorganic chemistry, and the thermodynamics of electrolyte solutions at high temperatures and pressures. His expertise lies in the quality control of oceanic carbon dioxide measurements and in the development of underway instrumentation for the study of upper ocean biogeochemistry. Dr. Dickson served on the NRC Committee on Oceanic Carbon. He is presently a member of the IOC CO₂ Advisory Panel and of the PICES Working Group 13 on CO₂ in the North Pacific.

Robert Bidigare is a Professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii. His research focuses on bio-optical oceanography, nutrient cycling, phytoplankton pigment biochemistry, and the intermediary metabolism of marine plankton. Of particular importance to this committee is Dr. Bidigare’s research exploring the ability to identify and quantify the pigments in phytoplankton, which is essential for estimating ocean primary production from satellite observations. Dr. Bidigare has served on the Joint Task Group for Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, IOC Group of Experts on Standards and Reference Materials, and was the U.S. algal pigment consultant for the international JGOFS program. In addition, Dr. Bidigare coordinated an

international pigment inter-comparison exercise among JGOFS pigment analysts.

John Hedges was a Professor of Chemical Oceanography at the University of Washington. His research focused on marine organic geochemistry, specifically the sources, transport, and fates of organic materials in aquatic environments and the comparative geochemistry of carbohydrates, lignins, and proteins. His expertise was in the analysis of organic compounds in seawater. Dr. Hedges participated in the Carbon in the Amazon River Experiment (CAMREX) and the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). Furthermore, Dr. Hedges served on the NRC Committee on Oceanic Carbon and was a member of the Ocean Studies Board. He passed away before this report was released.

Kenneth Johnson is a Senior Scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. His research interests are focused on the development of new analytical methods for chemicals in seawater and application of these tools to studies of chemical cycling throughout the ocean. His group has developed a variety of analytical methods for analyzing metals present at ultratrace concentrations in seawater. His expertise lies in trace metal analysis and instrumentation. The creation of reference materials to calibrate these instruments is important for the production of long-term, high-precision datasets. Dr. Johnson has participated on the NRC Committee on Marine Environmental Monitoring and the Marine Chemistry Study Panel.

Denise LeBlanc is the Group Leader for the Marine Sciences Group and the Manager of the Certified Reference Materials Program at the Institute for Marine Biosciences (IMB) of the National Research Council of Canada. The Certified Reference Materials Program manufactures instrument calibration standards and certified reference materials for shellfish toxins, PCBs, PACs, and trace elements in marine sediments, in biological tissues, and in seawater. Her experience resides in the manufacture and long-term production of reference materials.

Cindy Lee is a Professor at the Marine Sciences Research Center of Stony Brook University. Dr. Lee’s research examines the distribution and behavior of biogenic organic compounds, in particular the rates and mechanisms of transformation reactions occurring as these compounds undergo alteration. Her research investigates organic compounds in the sediments and waters of open ocean and coastal areas, salt marshes, lakes, as well as the atmosphere above these areas. Her expertise centers on the analytical techniques used to measure organic matter in the ocean. Dr. Lee is cur-

rently a member of the Ocean Studies Board and was a member of the U.S. Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE).

Frank Millero is a Professor of Marine and Physical Chemistry and Associate Dean at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami. Dr. Millero’s research interests include the application of physical chemical principles to natural waters to understand how ionic interactions affect the thermodynamics and kinetics of processes occurring in the oceans. He has extensive experience with many aspects of marine chemistry and chemical analysis including the analysis of trace metals and gases in seawater. Dr. Millero is a former member of the NRC’s Ocean Studies Board and was a member of the Study Committee on Effects of Human Activities on the Coastal Ocean.

James Moffett is an Associate Scientist of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His research interests include the speciation and redox chemistry of trace elements in natural waters, the analysis and characterization of biologically produced chelators, and the interactions between metal geochemistry and cyanobacterial ecology. He is particularly interested in the relationship between speciation and analysis for analytes exhibiting dynamic chemistry in the seawater matrix (e.g., non-stable redox states). Dr. Moffett has served on numerous national and international committees and chaired a recent meeting to establish protocols for iron standards in seawater formed under the auspices of SCOR Working Group 109.

Willard Moore is a Professor of Geochemistry and Chemical Oceanography at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Moore’s research focuses on the use of natural radioisotopes as tracers of geologic and oceanographic processes, such as the interactions of river water and sediments with sea water; flow of ground water through salt marshes; the mixing rate of the ocean; hydrothermal processes at ocean spreading centers; the internal structure of minerals; the ages, rates, and processes of formation of manganese nodules; the rate of growth of corals; and sea level changes. Dr. Moore has served on the NSF Future of Ocean Chemistry Steering Committee and the SCOR Groundwater Discharge Working Group.

Ann McNichol is a Research Specialist at the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which produces high-precision ¹⁴C measurements from small-volume samples. Dr. McNichol’s research interests include the study and use of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope techniques to quantify biogeochemical processes, the study of the fate of organic matter (both natu-

ral and anthropogenic) in sediments, and the development of techniques for analysis of oceanographic samples by AMS.

Edward Peltzer is a Senior Research Specialist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Dr. Peltzer’s research focuses on the development of new analytical techniques for the measurement of major components and selected trace gases in natural and synthetic clathrate hydrates. His past research investigated the role of dissolved organic matter in the global ocean carbon cycle emphasizing the development of new techniques for the measurement of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen. He collaborated with several other U.S. JGOFS investigators on the development of ad hoc standard reference materials and blanks for these substances.

Stan Van Den Berg is a Professor of Chemical Oceanography at the University of Liverpool. His research interests focus on the chemical speciation of trace elements and organic compounds in natural waters and the redox chemistry of metals and sulfides. His research group has pioneered advances in analytical techniques using electroanalytical methods (cathodic stripping voltammetry and chronopotentiometry). Dr. Van Den Berg is a broad-based analytical chemist.

Joanne Bintz (Study Director) has been a Program Officer at the Ocean Studies Board since June 2001. She received her Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Dr. Bintz has conducted research on the effects of decreasing water quality on eelgrass seedlings and the effects of eutrophication on shallow macrophyte dominated coastal ponds using mesocosms. Her interests include coastal ecosystem ecology and function, eutrophication of coastal waters, seagrass ecology and restoration, oceanography and global change education, and coastal management and policy.

Darla Koenig (Senior Project Assistant) received her B.A. in English and her M.Hum. in Humanities from the University of Dallas in 1992 and 1997, respectively. During her tenure with the Ocean Studies Board, she has worked on studies involving living marine resources, fisheries issues, and marine chemistry.