People | Thomas M. Church

• 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.

Maria Wilburn,  M.S. student, Oceanography Program,  (B.S. Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry concentration, University of Delaware, 2007)  Research Interest:  Estuarine biogeochemistry, nutrient flow and pollution sources to the Delaware Bay. 

Amanda Vandermark, Ph.D. student, Oceanography Program, (B.S. in Chemistry, Biogeochemistry concentration, St. John Fisher College, 2009), Research Interest:  Environmental Chemistry and Biogeochemistry.

David Marson, B.S. Student, Arts and Sciences, Biochemistry  Research Interest:  Environmental Chemistry and Biogeochemistry.

Sylvain Rigaud, Post Doc, Oceanography Program, (Ph.D. Environmental Geosciences, University of Aix-Marseilles III, 2011),  Research Interest:  Biogeochemical cycles of trace elements in coastal aquatic environments, sediment biogeochemicstry, early diagenesis, modeling of transport-reactions processes, thermodynamic calculations, bioavailability and ecotoxicological implication.

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

161. Kim, G., T.-H. Kim,  and T.M. Church. 2011.  "²¹⁰Po in the Environment: Biogeochemical cycling and Bioavailability" in Chapter 14,  Baskaran, M. (Ed.), Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.  doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-1063.7-8_14. (pdf)

160.  Ollivier, P. R. L., A. S. Bahrou, T. M. Church. and T. E. Hanson.  2011.  Aeration Controls the Reduction and Methylation of Tellurium by the Aerobic, Tellurite-Resistant Marine Yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa.  Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77(13):4610-4617.  doi: 10.1128/AEM.00351-11.    (pdf)

159.  Sholkovitz, E. R., P. N. Sedwick, and T. M. Church. 2010. On the fractional solubility of copper in marine aerosols: The toxicity of aeollian copper revisited.  Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L20601, doi: 10.1029/2010GL044817. (pdf)

158. Fowler, S.W., J.-L. Teyssie, and T.M. Church. 2010.  Scavenging and retention of bismuth by marine plankton and biogenic particles.  Limnol. Oceanog. 55(3):1093-1104. doi: 10.4319/lo.2010.55.3.1093. (pdf)

157. Sholkovitz, E.R., Sedwick, P. N., Church, T.M., 2009.  Influence of anthropogenic combustion emissions on the deposition of soluble aerosol iron to the ocean: Empirical estimates for island sites in the North Atlantic.  Geochimical et Cosmochimica Acta, 73, 3981-4003.  doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2009.04.029.  (pdf) 

156.  Ollivier, P.R.L. Bahrou, A.S., Marcus, S., Cox, T., Church, T.M., Hanson, T.E., 2008.  Volatilization and Precipitation of Tellurium by Aerobic, Tellurite-Resistant Marine Microbes.  Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 74(23), 7163, doi: 10.1128/AEM.00733-08. (pdf)

155.  Barats, A., D. Amouroux, L. Chauvaud, C. Pécheyran, T.M. Church, J. Thébaut, O.F.X. Donard, 2008.  High frequency barium profiles of the Great Scallop "Pecten maximus": a methodical long term and multi-site survey in Western Europe.  Biogeosciences Discussions. 5. S2013-S2015. (pdf)

 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 sediments"

Guebuem Kim (1998) Ph.D. "Atmospheric inputs and upper ocean biogeochemistry of trace elements and radionuclide tracers in the Atlantic"

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 (2009) M.S. "Coupling between the atmospheric deposition and oceanic flux of Fe and Al in the Sargasso Sea"

Bahrou, Andrew (2009) M.S. "Polonium precipitation and volatilization by Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Bacillus." 

Click here for a complete list of publications.