People | Thomas M. Church

• Education
• Research Interests
• Current Projects
• Research Group
• Teaching
• Publications
• Former Students
• More Publications: Complete List
• In Press

• Postdoc, CNRS-NSF Postdoctoral Exchange Fellow, University of Paris VI, IPG, 1972.
• Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California (E. Goldberg), 1970.
• A.B., Chemistry (m.c.l.), Colgate University (S. Brown), 1964.

• Atmospheric Chemistry: Transport of continental emissions to the ocean; Chemistry of marine precipitation; Trace element deposition to natural waters
• Chemical Oceanography: Trace metal transport and cycling in salt marsh, estuarine, coastal and open ocean waters
• Sedimentary Geochemistry: Redox processes of metals, sulfur, and nutrients
• Marine Chemistry: Sea water precipitates and oceanic mineralization

NSF Volatile Polonium and Tellerium Species in the Marine Environment

The basic chemical properties of polonium and tellurium suggest that alkylation will occur via common reactions, and strong field evidence exists for the production of volatile species of both elements in marine enviornments. However volatile species have not yet been directly observed in marine systems.

NSF Impact of Atmospheric Depostition on the Distribution and Speciation of Trace Elements in the Upper Ocean

Focus on Iron in the Sargasso Sea: This study will contribute toward an understanding of the biogeochemistry of the Sargasso Sea, building on the foundation of NSF-funded programs such as BATS, BTM, OFP and AEROCE. It will also provide general, mechanistic information regarding the delivery of aeolian iron to the surface ocean, and the biogeochemical transformations of iron in the upper water column.

Patrick Ollivier,  Post-doctoral researcher, (Ph.D. in Geochemistry, Univerisity of Marseille III, France, 2006)  Research Interest:  Transport of continental trace elements to the ocean; quantification of submarine groundwater inputs to the ocean using natural radioelements, volatile species of polonium and tellurium from the marine environments. 

Andrew Bahrou, M.S. student, Oceanography program, (B.S. in Environmental Science, Wayne State University, 2006), Research Interest:  Trace element atmospheric marine biogeochemical cycles and impacts.

Zheng Long Tian, M.S Student, (Shandong University China B.S. Env. Eng. 2001, M.S South China Sea Inst. Oceanology 2004)

Elizabeth Naylor, Staff Assistant.

• CHEM/MAST667 Environmental Chemistry
• MAST601 Introduction to Oceanography
• MAST646 Chemical Oceanography
• MAST853 Oceanography Seminar
• MAST867 Isotope Geochemistry

Thesis

Church, T. M. 1970. Marine Barite. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, San Diego. 100 pp.

Book

 1. Church, T. M. 1975. Ed. Marine Chemistry in the Coastal Environment. American Chemical Society, Symposium Series, Vol. 18.

Refereed Publications
Recent

153.  Church, T. M. and M. M. Sarin.  U- and Th- series nuclides in the atmosphere: Supply, Exchange, Scavenging, and applications to aquatic processes. Chap. 2 (in) Radioactivity in the Environment. Vol. 13. S. Krishnaswami and J. K. Cochran (eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2008, p 11-47.

152.  Sedwick, Peter N., E. R. Sholkovitz, T. M. Church. 2007. Impact of anthropogenic combustion emissions on the fractional solubility of aerosol iron: Evidence from the Sargasso Sea.  Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 8:Q10Q06, doi:10.1029/2007GC001586.

151. Church, T.M. C.K. Sommerfield, D.J. Velinsky, D. Point C. Benoit, D. Amouroux, D. Plaa and O.F.X. Donard. 2006. Marsh Sediments as records of sedimentation, eutrophication and metal pollution in the Urban Delaware Estuary. Marine Chemistry, 102: 72-95.

150. Sedwick, P.N., T.M. Church, A.R. Bowie, C.M. Marsay, S.J. Ussher, K.M. Achilles, P.J. Lethaby, R.J. Johnson, M.M. Sarin and D.J. McGillicuddy. 2005. Iron in the Sargasso Sea (BATS region) during sumer: Eolian imprint, spatiotemporal variability, and ecological implications. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 19(4): GB4006.

 149. Scudlark, J. K. C. Rice, K. M. Conko, O. P. Bricker and T. M. Church. 2005. Transmission of atmospherically derived trace elements through an undeveloped, forested Maryland watershed. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 163:53-79.

148. Kim, G., L.Y. Alleman, and T.M Church. 2004. Accumulation records of radionuclides and trace metals in two contrasting Delaware salt marshes." Marine Chemistry, 87: 87-96.

147. Church, T. M. and T. D. Jickells, 2004. Atmospheric chemistry in the coastal ocean: A synopsis of processing, scavenging and inputs, Indian Journal of Marine Science, Vol. 33(1), pp. 71-76.

146. Kim, G., N. Hussain, and T.M. Church, 2003. Tracing the advection of organic carbon into the subsurface Sargasso Sea using a 228 Ra/ 226 Ra tracer. Geophysical Research Letters , 30(16), 10

 Pellenbarg, Robert E. (1976) Ph.D. "The aqueous surface microlayer and trace metals in the salt marsh"

Leone, Gerald M. (1977) M.S. "Trace metals in petroleum; a tool for monitoring estuarine oil spills"

Conway, William P. (1979) M.S. "Copper, cadmium, and manganese concentrations within the soft tissues of the marsh mussel Geukensia demissa (Dillwyn)"

Lord, Charles J. III (1980) Ph.D."The chemistry and cycling of iron, manganese, and sulfur in salt marsh sediments"

Eastman, Kurt W. (1980) M.S."Mixing behavior of iron, manganese, and humic acid in a salt marsh creek"

Fleisher, Martin Q. (1985) M.S."Geochemistry of uranium in salt marshes; Tidal mixing and salt marsh estuary exchange"

O'Shea, Leo E. (1986) M.S."The accumulation of trace metals emitted from coal fired power plants as recorded in the sediments of Maryland and Delaware salt marshes" (co-advised by R. Biggs)

Hartman, Mary C. (1987) M.S. "The total deposition of Pb, Cd, Zn and 210-Pb-Pb, and atmospheric transport to the western Atlantic using 222-Rn and air mass trajectory analysis"

Ferdelman, Timothy G. (1988) M.S. "The distribution of sulfur, iron, manganese, copper and uranium in a salt marsh sediment core as determined by a sequential extraction technique"

Johnston, Kirk (1989) M.S. "Estuarine organic complexation of copper in the Delaware Bay"

Burkhard, Carolyn A. (1994) M.S. "Speciation and reactivity of manganese with reduced sulfur in the marine environment" (co-advised by G. W. Luther, III) 

Timothy Ferdelman (1994) Ph.D. "Oceaongraphic and geochemical controls on sulfur diagenesis in coastal sediements"

Roadman, Megan (2001) M.S. "Gaseous ammonia emissions from a poultry house in the Delaware Inland Bays Watershed" (co-advised by W. Ullman)

Achilles, Kate (2004) PhD."The importance and bioavailability of iron for Trichodesmium" (co-advised by David A. Hutchins)

Tian, Zenglong (2006) M.S. "Coupling between the atmospheric deposition and oceanic flux of Fe and Al in the Sargasso Sea"

Click here for the complete list of publications.

Tian, Z.-L., P. Ollivier, T. M. Church, and M. Conte.  "Ocean flux of Fe and Al in the Sargasso Sea" to Deep-Sea Research II

Ollivier, P., A. S. Bahrou, S. Marcus, T. Cox, T. M. Church, and T. E. Hanson.  "Volatilization and precipitation of tellurium by aerobic tellurite resistant marine microbes" to Applied Environmental Microbiology. 

In Review:

 Church, T. M. and K. M. Conko. Trace metals in the Potomac I: Riverine concentration, distribution, loading and yields” submitted to Marine Chemistry

Barats, A., D. Amouroux, L. Chauvaud, C. Pecheyran, T. M. Church, J. Thebaut, O.F.X. Donard. 2008.  Episodic barium shell enrichment in Pecten maximus related to summer phytoplankton blooms in temperate coastal enironments. 

Tian, Z.-L., P. Ollivier, and T. M. Church. (2008). "Coupling between atmospheric deposition and oceanic flux of Fe and Al in the Sargasso Sea", submitted to Marine Chemistry .