uranium and vanadium in sediments record the redox history of the oceans. Within aquatic environments, cadmium(II) can either be in the form CdCl+(aq) in oxic waters or CdS(s) in a reduced environment. Thus, higher concentrations of Cd in marine sediments may indicate low redox potential conditions in the past. For copper(II), a prevalent form is CuCl+(aq) within oxic environments and CuS(s) and Cu2S within reduced environments. The reduced seawater environment leads to two possible oxidation states of copper, Cu(I) and Cu(II). Molybdenum is present as the Mo(VI) oxidation state as MoO42−(aq) in oxic environments. Mo(V) and Mo(IV) are present in reduced environments in the forms MoO2+(aq) and MoS2(s). Rhenium is present as the Re(VII) oxidation state as ReO4− within oxic conditions, but is reduced to Re(IV) which may form ReO2 or ReS2. Uranium is in oxidation state VI in UO2(CO3)34−(aq) and is found in the reduced form UO2(s). Vanadium is in several forms in oxidation state V(V); HVO42− and H2VO4−. Its reduced forms can include VO2+, VO(OH)3−, and V(OH)3. These relative dominance of these species depends on pH. In the water column of the ocean or deep lakes, vertical profiles of dissolved trace metals are characterized as following conservative–type, nutrient–type, or scavenged–type distributions. Across these three distributions, trace metals have different residence times and are used to varying extents by planktonic microorganisms. Trace metals with conservative-type distributions have high concentrations relative to their biological use. One example of a trace metal with a conservative-type distribution is molybdenum. It has a residence time within the oceans of around 8 x 105 years and is generally present as the molybdate anion (MoO42−). Molybdenum interacts weakly with particles and displays an almost uniform vertical profile in the ocean. Relative to the abundance of molybdenum in the ocean, the amount required as a metal cofactor for enzymes in marine phytoplankton is negligible. Trace metals with nutrient-type distributions are strongly associated with the internal cycles of particulate organic matter, especially the assimilation by plankton. The lowest dissolved concentrations of these metals are at the surface of the ocean, where they are assimilated by plankton. As dissolution and decomposition occur at greater depths, concentrations of these trace metals increase. Residence times of these metals, such as zinc, are several thousand to one hundred thousand years. Finally, an example of a scavenged-type trace metal is aluminium, which has strong interactions with particles as well as a short