Biogeochemistry studies the interaction of biological, chemical, and geological processes with the goal of understanding how these interactions modulate elemental cycling and ecosystem dynamics in a range of environments, including coastal margin systems, along continental shelves, in the open ocean, in deep sea environments, like hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, and in polar regions. Biogeochemistry is an inherently interdisciplinary science and faculty are actively involved in many areas of biogeochemical research, including aquatic photochemistry, air-sea exchange, elemental and organic matter cycling (including trace elements and biomarkers), and earth system science. This discipline's integrative nature requires knowledge from a wide range of disciplines such as chemistry, geology, microbiology, hydrology, optics, mathematics and physics.
