Department of Marine Chemistry and Biochemistry of IO PAN

Head: Assoc. Prof. Alicja Kosakowska

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
  • 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
  • geochemistry of heavy metals
  • geochemistry of natural organic substances
  • climate change influence on geochemical cycles
  • 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
  
  
• Marine Geotoxicology
  • geochemistry of anthropogenic organic substances
  • semipermeable membranes (SPMD) as tool for studying bioavailable persistant organic pollutants
  • biomarkers of anthropogenic stress in the marine environment
  • anthropogenic and natural radionuclides in marine environmet