The Silicon Cycle: Human Perturbations and Impacts on Aquatic Systems

Venugopalan Ittekkot · Daniela Unger · Christoph Humborg · Nguyen Tac An

sept 2012 · Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) Series Libro 66 · Island Press

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Silicon is among the most abundant elements on earth. It plays a key but largely unappreciated role in many biogeochemical processes, including those that regulate climate and undergird marine food webs. The Silicon Cycle is the first book in more than 20 years to present a comprehensive overview of the silicon cycle and issues associated with it. The book summarizes the major outcomes of the project Land-Ocean Interactions: Silica Cycle, initiated by the Scientific Community on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). It tracks the pathway of silicon from land to sea and discusses its biotic and abiotic modifications in transit as well as its cycling in the coastal seas. Natural geological processes in combination with atmospheric and hydrological processes are discussed, as well as human perturbations of the natural controls of the silicon cycle.

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The Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) was established by the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 1969. It brings together natural and social scientists to identify emerging or potential environmental issues and to address jointly the nature and solution of environmental problems on a global basis. With its headquarters in Paris, France, SCOPE programs are conducted by volunteer scientists from every inhabited continent of the globe. Venugopalan Ittekkot- Principal Invesitgator in several research projects on the biogeochemistry of rivers, estuaries and coastal seas funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), the European Union, Volkswagen Foundation. Participated and led about 30 research expeditions to the Black Sea, Western South-Atlantic, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Indonesian and Vietnamese Coastal Waters within bilateral and multilateral (German-Turkish-US, German-Brazilian, German-Indian-US, German-Indonesian), European (Black Sea-EROS; Mekong-Delta-Project) and international projects (IGBP-JGOFS-German Arabian Sea Process Study) as well as in several small and large world rivers. Coordination of bilateral Marine Science programs of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (German Federal Ministry for Education and Research-BMBF) in tropical South and Southeast Asia. Contribution to the work of several national and international organizations and scientific committees and their programs. Member of the Senate Committee for Oceanography of the DFG, Chair of German National Committee for ICSU-SCOPE (International Council of Scientific Unions-Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment), Member of Research Councils of Marine Research Institutes. Contribution to the work of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC (Convening Lead Author Oceans in WG II, Second Assessment Report; Lead Author for Chapter: Coastal Zones and Marine Ecosystems and Chapter: Small islands WG II, Third Assessment Report:), Participation in German activities in the UNESCO-IOC, Member Executive Committee of ICSU-SCOPE. Books: Facets of Modern Biogeochemistry (Editors: Ittekkot, V., Kempe, S. Michaelis, W. and Spitzy, A. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. 1989. Monsoon Biogeochemstriy (Editors: Ittekkot, V. and Nair, R.R.), SCOPE/UNEP Special Issue of Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, 76, 192 pp., 1993. Particle Flux in the Ocean (Editors: Ittekkot, V., Schäfer, P., Honjo, S. and Depetris, P.J.), SCOPE Report 57, Wiley, Chichester, 372 pp., 1996. Biogeochemistry of the Rivers of Tropical South and Southeast Asia (Editors: Ittekkot, V., Subramanian, V. & Annadurai, S.), SCOPE Sepcial Issue of Mitt. Geol.-Paläontol. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, 82, 297 pp., 1999. Land-Sea Nutrient Fluxes: the Silica Cycle (Editors: Nguyen Tac An, Thu, V. Ittekkot, Ch. Schnack) Collection of Marine Research Works 12, Suppl., Nha Trang Vietnam, 2002. The Bay of Bengal (Editors: V. Ittekkot, H.Kudraß, D. Quadfasel & D. Unger) Deep Sea Research II, 2003.