Department of Marine Chemistry and Biochemistry of IO PAN

Head: Prof. Ksenia Pazdro

Department consist of three sections, each performing independently research on properties of various components of the marine environment and processes taking place there.

Major topics studied in the sections are as follow:

• Marine Biochemistry Laboratory
  • factors influencing transport of metal ions (at present iron) through cell membranes, and distribution within cells
  • pigments of phytoplankton as ecophysiology and chemotaxonomy indicators
  • allelopathy in aquatic environments
  • short and long-term trends in phytoplankton of the Baltic Sea
  
  
• Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory
  • geochemistry of heavy metals
  • geochemistry of natural organic substances
  • climate change influence on geochemical cycles
  
  
• Marine Geotoxycology Laboratory
  • speciation of heavy metals in sediments, water, and biota
  • ²¹⁰Pb dating of surface sediments
  • investigation of sedimentation and processes scavenging at the Barents Sea shelf
  
  
• Laboratory of Contemporary Threats to Marine Ecosystems
  • dumped hazardous material on the seabed -reemission of contaminants from sediments
  • point source propagation of contaminants on the seabed
  • climate change impact on trace metals release in polar ecosystems
  
  
• Large Scale Processes Group