Biogeochemistry

About this programme

In this course we will approach the subject by highlighting how life on Earth is constrained by Earth’s energy resources and how transport and exchange between Earth’s major reservoirs is affected by biological processes. We will deal with the redox chemistry of biologically active substances, mass transport phenomena and their quantitative treatment and the flows of carbon and energy within and between cells and in the Earth's system. The course will make use of the application of isotopes for quantifying and tracing biogeochemical processes and introduces the quantitative treatment of geochemical data using equilibrium and reaction-transport modelling. After completing the course, you should be able to explain how the development of life may have affected the solid Earth, the atmospheric chemical composition, and the chemistry of the oceans. You should be familiar with the use of stable isotopes in biogeochemistry, and apply mathematical models to quantify biogeochemical processes in the Earth's system. Further, you should have basic understanding of fundamental biochemical processes controlling element cycles such as photosynthetic carbon fixation, organic decomposition, chemolithotrophic processes, and account for energetic and kinetic regulation of biogeochemical processes. The course is constructed around lectures, exercises, literature studies, home assignments, and independent projects that are presented in writing and in a seminar. At the end of the course, the student is expected to be able to: a) Use physical and chemical parameters to calculate and explain ho