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Abstract
Each year, the editorial board invites a distinguished member of the oceanographic community to contribute a prefatory chapter; this year, we were delighted when Karl Turekian, Sterling Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Yale, accepted our invitation. Over the course of a long and productive career, Dr. Turekian has pursued his interests in marine and atmospheric geochemistry by using natural radioactive and radiogenic isotopes to study Earth's evolution and the impacts of global change. He has also directed both the Center for the Study of Global Change at Yale and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies.
In this interview, conducted by his former student Kirk Cochran, Dr. Turekian tells the story of his early career and discusses some of the major scientific challenges and opportunities faced along the way. His personal account of the rise of geochemistry is a charming story of how chance events and personalities impact scientific careers. His technical insight into the future of this field is illuminating, particularly for scientific outsiders who appreciate the central role of geochemistry in discerning and understanding patterns of global change.
–Craig A. Carlson and Stephen J. Giovannoni, Editors