Bigelow Senior Research Scientist Dr. Steve Archer will lead a discussion titled “Are Marine Trace Gases the Smelling Salts for Climate Change?” at Bigelow Laboratory’s Tuesday, Aug. 21, Café Scientifique gathering at 6 p.m. in the Opera House at 86 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor.

Archer, a marine biogeochemist, investigates the critical role that the ocean plays in global climate and will talk about his ongoing research on the relationship between marine life and atmospheric chemistry.

“The atmosphere over the ocean is the most pristine on the planet, but it is subject to major climate-related changes and feedback from the ocean,” Archer said. “My work focuses on the processes that influence exchange of trace gases between the surface ocean and the atmosphere. A suite of climate-active gases—particularly sulfur, iodine, and nitrogen-containing compounds—are products of surface ocean microbiology and are key components of atmospheric chemistry.”

Before joining Bigelow Laboratory this past spring, Archer was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the UK for over ten years. He has been on more than a dozen major oceanographic research expeditions and conducted shore-based fieldwork in Antarctica, the Arctic, and European waters. He holds a Ph.D. in marine biology and physiology from the University of St. Andrews and a B.Sc. in marine biology from Liverpool University. His career includes research appointments with the British Antarctic Survey and the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory in the UK. Recently, he has been involved in several European programs studying how ocean acidification influences planktonic microbiology and ocean-atmosphere gas exchange. 

The Laboratory’s Café Scientifique gatherings are informal discussions about scientific issues and society, current research, and the latest news from the field. They are free and open to the public, with beer, wine, and sodas available for purchase. The complete 2012 summer Café Scientifique program is available at www.bigelow.org.