Open Sea Stations Research Articles

Biochemistry and associated fauna of holopelagic Sargassum spp. in the Caribbean Sea

Holopelagic Sargassum spp. (sargassum) are the founding species of diverse communities in the Sargasso Sea. Since 2011, a new area of concentration of these algae was formed in the equatorial North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. We analyzed elemental composition, and the small mobile fauna associated with sargassum collected at 41 stations, during two expeditions in the Caribbean Sea in 2018 and 2019, that covered open-sea stations in two marine ecoregions, and coastal stations (< 20 km from the shore) in one of them. Metal(loid) concentrations generally followed the order As > Zn > Cu > Cd > Se > Pb > Hg, and contents of As (195.5 ± 13.7 µg g−1), Cd (0.59 ± 0.02 µg g−1), and Hg (0.22 ± 0.09 µg g−1) were highest in S. fluitans III in the South-Western-Caribbean ecoregion. Mean [Ctot] per ecoregion varied between 26.1 and 30.1 mg g−1, and variation was mainly accounted for by higher [Cinorg] (likely produced by calcifying epibionts) in the South-Western Caribbean (10.12) compared to the Western Caribbean (8.92 and 7.19); this tendency that was also found for [Ntot] (between 1.06 and 1.27), and these contents were positively correlated with seawater chlorophyll concentrations. Sixty-six taxa of mobile fauna were identified, with the phylum Arthropoda being most abundant and diverse. The faunal community composition was similar in both open-sea regions, but differed in the coastal stations, which was mostly explained by differential relative abundance of Latreutes fucorum, Carpias minutus, Litiopa melanostoma, and some fish species. The Caribbean open-sea rafts harbor a diverse fauna comparable to that found in the Sargasso Sea, and likely provide similar ecosystem services, and thus merit similar protective efforts as those directed towards sargassum in the Sargasso Sea.

Uneven response of phytoplankton-bacteria coupling under Saharan dust pulse and ultraviolet radiation in the south-western Mediterranean Sea

The microbial carbon (C) flux in the ocean is a key functional process governed by the excretion of organic carbon by phytoplankton (EOC) and heterotrophic bacterial carbon demand (BCD). Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels in upper mixed layers and increasing atmospheric dust deposition from arid regions may alter the degree of coupling in the phytoplankton-bacteria relationship (measured as BCD:EOC ratio) with consequences for the C-flux through these compartments in marine oligotrophic ecosystem. Firstly, we performed a field study across the south-western (SW) Mediterranean Sea to assess the degree of coupling (BCD:EOC) and how it may be related to metabolic balance (total primary production: community respiration; PPT:CR). Secondly, we conducted a microcosm experiment in two contrasting areas (heterotrophic nearshore and autotrophic open sea) to test the impact of UVR and dust interaction on microbial C flux. In the field study, we found that BCD was not satisfied by EOC (i.e., BCD:EOC >1; uncoupled phytoplankton-bacteria relationship). BCD:EOC ratio was negatively related to PPT:CR ratio across the SW Mediterranean Sea. A spatial pattern emerged, i.e. in autotrophic open sea stations uncoupling was less severe (BCD:EOC ranged 1–2), whereas heterotrophic nearshore stations uncoupling was more severe (BCD:EOC > 2). In the experimental study, in the seawater both enriched with dust and under UVR, BCD:EOC ratio decreased by stimulating autotrophic processes (particulate primary production (PPP) and EOC) in the heterotrophic nearshore area, whereas BCD:EOC increased by stimulating heterotrophic processes [heterotrophic bacterial production (HBP), bacterial growth efficiency (BGE), bacterial respiration (BR)] in the autotrophic open sea. Our results show that this spatial pattern could be reversed under future UVR × Dust scenario. Overall, the impact of greater dust deposition and higher UVR levels will alter the phytoplankton-bacteria C-flux with consequences for the productivity of both communities, their standing stocks, and ultimately, the ecosystem's metabolic balance at the sea surface.

Metabarcoding reveals high diversity of benthic foraminifera linked to water masses circulation at coastal Svalbard.

Arctic marine biodiversity is undergoing rapid changes due to global warming and modifications of oceanic water masses circulation. These changes have been demonstrated in the case of mega- and macrofauna, but much less is known about their impact on the biodiversity of smaller size organisms, such as foraminifera that represent a main component of meiofauna in the Arctic. Several studies analyzed the distribution and diversity of Arctic foraminifera. However, all these studies are based exclusively on the morphological identification of specimens sorted from sediment samples. Here, we present the first assessment of Arctic foraminifera diversity based on metabarcoding of sediment DNA samples collected in fjords and open sea areas in the Svalbard Archipelago. We obtained a total of 5,968,786 reads that represented 1384 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). More than half of the ASVs (51.7%) could not be assigned to any group in the reference database suggesting a high genetic novelty of Svalbard foraminifera. The sieved and unsieved samples resolved comparable communities, sharing 1023 ASVs, comprising over 97% of reads. Our analyses show that the foraminiferal assemblage differs between the localities, with communities distinctly separated between fjord and open sea stations. Each locality was characterized by a specific assemblage, with only a small overlap in the case of open sea areas. Our study demonstrates a clear pattern of the influence of water masses on the structure of foraminiferal communities. The stations situated on the western coast of Svalbard that are strongly influenced by warm and salty Atlantic water (AW) are characterized by much higher diversity than stations in the northern and eastern part, where the impact of AW is less pronounced. This high diversity and specificity of Svalbard foraminifera associated with water mass distribution indicate that the foraminiferal metabarcoding data can be very useful for inferring present and past environmental conditions in the Arctic.

Evaluation of Physicochemical Characteristics of Coastal Waters of Nellore, Southeast Coast of India, by a Multivariate Statistical Approach

The Swarnamukhi river estuary (SRE), and the surrounding sea in Nellore, southeast coast of India, is one of the least studied marine environments, notably for physicochemical characteristics. Seawater samples were collected from five stations every month from 2014 to 2017 to assess physicochemical characteristics. The open sea (OS) station was significantly different from the inner stations, according to non-metric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. The variability was shown by strong factor loadings of atmospheric temperature (0.87), water temperature (0.84), biochemical oxygen demand (0.77), ammonia (0.85), and total nitrogen (0.78). Furthermore, one-way ANOVA and box-whisker plots facilitated simplifying and corroborating multivariate results that showed high concentration in the inner stations. Based on the N/P and Si/N ratios, nitrate and silicate were the key limiting factors in this study. The findings are critical for establishing reference conditions for comparison studies with other comparable ecosystems in the tropical region for better environmental conservation and management.

Spatio-temporal variation in stable isotope and elemental composition of key-species reflect environmental changes in the Baltic Sea

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios are increasingly used to study long-term change in food web structure and nutrient cycling. We retrospectively analyse elemental composition (C, N and P) and stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) in archived monitoring samples of two important taxa from the bottom of the food web; the filamentous ephemeral macroalgae Cladophora spp. and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis trossulus from three contrasting regions in the Baltic Sea (coastal Bothnian Sea and Baltic Proper, open sea central Baltic). The aim is to statistically link the observed spatial and interannual (8–24 years’ time-series) variability in elemental and isotope baselines with their biomass trends and to the oceanographic monitoring data reflecting the ongoing environmental changes (i.e., eutrophication and climate) in this system. We find clear differences in isotope baselines between the two major Baltic Sea basins. However, the temporal variation in Mytilus δ13C was similar among regions and, at the open sea station, mussels and algae δ13C also correlated over time, likely reflecting a global (Suess) effect, whereas δ15N of both taxa varied with local and regional dissolved nitrogen concentrations in water. δ15N in source amino acids allowed detection of diazotrophic N in Mytilus, which was masked in bulk δ15N. Finally, Cladophora N:P reflected regional nutrient levels in the water while P%, which differed for both taxa, was linked to food quality for Mytilus. This study highlights the potential of a multi-taxa and multi-stable isotope approach to understand nutrient dynamics and monitor long-term environmental changes.

Phytoplankton primary production: 14C-in situ and 14C-incubator methods compared

Abstract We estimated phytoplankton depth-integrated primary production rates at an open sea station in the northern Baltic Proper in 2004–2009 by parallel in situ and ship-board incubations in an “ICES incubator”. Observations were strongly linearly related (r2 = 0.67, p &amp;lt; 0.00001) and produced similar seasonal signals, but incubator estimates were significantly lower in spring (∼5–20%, March–May) and summer (∼30%, June–August), but not in autumn (September–October). Incubator PBmax was significantly lower in all seasons (∼10, 23, and 14% in spring, summer, and autumn), and the initial slope of the PB/E-curve (αB) was two-thirds of in-situ αB in spring and autumn, and half in summer, but not significantly different in autumn, and had an order of magnitude lower standard deviation. Parallel incubations of mixed 0–10 m hose samples at discrete depths in situ and in the incubator gave similar differences in PBmax and αB. This strongly suggests that the main factor causing the lower photosynthesis rates in the incubator was light quality, since all other potential sources of variability were similar. However, we cannot rule out that the lower incubator PBmax was partly due to insufficient light compared to in situ, particularly in summer. Our results suggest that a major challenge to the harmonization of 14C in situ, and artificial light and deck incubator measurements, is to simulate spectral composition changes with depth or, alternatively, use phytoplankton action spectra or constructed action spectra that are less complicated and time-consuming to establish (Kyewalyanga et al., 1997).

Comparisons of Satellite and Modeled Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll Concentrations in the Baltic Sea with In Situ Data

Among the most frequently used satellite data are surface chlorophyll concentration (Chl) and temperature (SST). These data can be degraded in some coastal areas, for example, in the Baltic Sea. Other popular sources of data are reanalysis models. Before satellite or model data can be used effectively, they should be extensively compared with in situ measurements. Herein, we present results of such comparisons. We used SST and Chl from model reanalysis and satellites, and in situ data measured at eight open Baltic Sea stations. The data cover time interval from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2019, but some satellite data were not always available. Both the model and the satellite SST data had good agreement with in situ measurements. In contrast, satellite and model estimates of Chl concentrations presented large errors. Modeled Chl presented the lowest bias and the best correlation with in situ data from all Chl data sets evaluated. Chl estimates from a regionally tuned algorithm (SatBaltic) had smaller errors in comparison with other satellite data sets and good agreement with in situ data in summer. Statistics were not as good for the full data set. High uncertainties found in chlorophyll satellite algorithms for the Baltic Sea highlight the importance of continuous regional validation of such algorithms with in situ data.

Diazotrophic cyanobacteria in planktonic food webs

Blooms of cyanobacteria are recurrent phenomena in coastal estuaries. Their maximum abundance coincides with the productive period of zooplankton and pelagic fish. Experimental studies indicate that diazotrophic, i.e. dinitrogen (N2)-fixing cyanobacterial (taxonomic order Nostocales) blooms affect zooplankton, as well as other phytoplankton. We used multidecadal monitoring data from one archipelago station (1992–2013) and ten open sea stations (1979–2013) in the Baltic Sea to explore the potential bottom-up connections between diazotrophic and non-diazotrophic cyanobacteria and phyto- and zooplankton in natural plankton communities. Random forest regression, combined with linear regression analysis showed that the biomass of cyanobacteria (both diazotrophic and non-diazotrophic) was barely connected to any of the phytoplankton and zooplankton variables examined. Instead, physico-chemical variables (salinity, temperature, total phosphorus), as well as spatial and temporal variability seemed to have more significant connections to both phytoplankton and zooplankton variables. Zooplankton variables were also connected to the biomass of phytoplankton groups other than cyanobacteria (such as chrysophytes, cryptophytes and prymnesiophytes), and phytoplankton variables had connections with the biomass of different zooplankton groups, especially copepods. Overall, negative relationships between cyanobacteria and other plankton taxa were scarcer than expected based on previous experimental studies.

Spatial and taxonomic variation of mercury concentration in low trophic level fauna from the Mediterranean Sea.

Studies of mercury (Hg) in the Mediterranean Sea have focused on pollution sources, air-sea mercury exchange, abiotic mercury cycling, and seafood. Much less is known about methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in the lower food web. Zooplankton and small fish were sampled from the neuston layer at both coastal and open sea stations in the Mediterranean Sea during three cruise campaigns undertaken in the fall of 2011 and the summers of 2012 and 2013. Zooplankton and small fish were sorted by morphospecies, and the most abundant taxa (e.g. euphausiids, isopods, hyperiid amphipods) analyzed for methylmercury (MeHg) concentration. Unfiltered water samples were taken during the 2011 and 2012 cruises and analyzed for MeHg concentration. Multiple taxa suggested elevated MeHg concentrations in the Tyrrhenian and Balearic Seas in comparison with more eastern and western stations in the Mediterranean Sea. Spatial variation in zooplankton MeHg concentration is positively correlated with single time point whole water MeHg concentration for euphausiids and mysids and negatively correlated with maximum chlorophyll a concentration for euphausiids, mysids, and "smelt" fish. Taxonomic variation in MeHg concentration appears driven by taxonomic grouping and feeding mode. Euphausiids, due to their abundance, relative larger size, importance as a food source for other fauna, and observed relationship with surface water MeHg are a good candidate biotic group to evaluate for use in monitoring the bioavailability of MeHg for trophic transfer in the Mediterranean and potentially globally.

Long-Term Trends, Variability and Extremes of In Situ Sea Surface Temperature Measured Along the Eastern Adriatic Coast and its Relationship to Hemispheric Processes

This paper examines long-term series of in situ sea surface temperature (SST) data measured at nine coastal and one open sea stations along the eastern Adriatic Sea for the period 1959–2015. Monthly and yearly averages were used to document SST trends and variability, while clustering and connections to hemispheric indices were achieved by applying the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) method. Both PCA and SOM revealed the dominance of temporal changes with respect to the effects of spatial differences in SST anomalies, indicating the prevalence of hemispheric processes over local dynamics, such as bora wind spatial inhomogeneity. SST extremes were connected with blocking atmospheric patterns. A substantial warming between 1979 and 2015, in total exceeding 1 °C, was preceded by a period with a negative SST trend, implying strong multidecadal variability in the Adriatic. The strongest connection was found between yearly SST and the East Atlantic (EA) pattern, while North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and East Atlantic/West Russia (EAWR) patterns were found to also affect February SST values. Quantification of the Adriatic SST and their connection to hemispheric indices allow for more precise projections of future SST, considered to be rather important for Adriatic thermohaline circulation, biogeochemistry and fisheries, and sensitive to ongoing climate change.

Viral dynamics in two trophically different areas in the Central Adriatic Sea

To understand the activity of marine viruses, experiments on viral production, viral decay and the percentage of lytic and lysogenic bacterial cells among the total number of bacterial cells were carried out seasonally at two stations in the Adriatic Sea with different trophic conditions. Additionally, we are providing an insight on the enrichment with dissolved and particulate organic matter by viral lysis in the studied area. Viral production was higher at the coastal station than at the open-sea station. Viral decay rates were also higher at the coastal sea station than at the open-sea station, and accounted for approximately 40% of viral production at both investigated stations. The percentage of lysogenic infection was lower than that of lytical infection, which indicates the prevalence of the lytic cycle at both stations. Viruses had a significant influence on bacterial mortality through high daily removal of the bacterial standing stock at the coastal and open-sea station. The viruses contributed to the restoration of dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the microbial loop by lysing the bacterial cells at the studied stations. All the above suggest that viruses are important in the microbial food web and an important factor in the control of bacterial populations within the study area.

2014년 가을철 이어도 종합과학기지에서의 난류 플럭스의 관측 및 분석

Abstract This study investigates the characteristics of turbulent fluxes observed at IeodoOcean Research Station (IORS) in autumn 2014. The 10 Hz IORS data is quality controlledand calculated to be the 30 minutes turbulent fluxes. The quality control consists of five steps:a weather check, Vickers and Mahrt (VM) sequential check, VM parallel check, flag check,and direction check. Since the IORS is an open-sea station with no orographic influence, thereare no significant diurnal variations for the turbulent fluxes and 10 m wind speed. According tostabilities, the unstable and semi-unstable states appear more than 28% and 70% in autumn,respectively and they have strong winds of over 10 m s −1 . In addition, the turbulent fluxesincrease with increasing wind speed. In particular, the latent heat flux and its deviations areclearly shown because the latent heat flux is influenced by the change of both the sea surfaceroughness and wave height induced by the wind. To demonstrate the changes of the turbulentfluxes before and after typhoon, Vongpong (1419), which is the most intense typhoon affectingthe Korean Peninsula in 2014, is considered. The turbulent flux fluctuates in accordance withthe location of Vongpong. The turbulent fluxes have a large (small) variation when Vongpongapproaches (retreats) at the IORS. The overall results represent that the IORS data helps usunderstand physical processes related to air-sea interaction by providing the valuable and reli-able observed data. Key words: Ieodo Ocean Research Station, Ieodo, turbulent fluxes, typhoon, Vongpong (1419)

Multivariate statistical approach to identify significant sources influencing the physico-chemical variables in Aerial Bay, North Andaman, India

Aerial Bay is one of the harbor towns of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the union territory of India. Nevertheless, it is least studied marine environment, particularly for physico-chemical assessment. Therefore, to evaluate the annual spatiotemporal variations of physico-chemical parameters, seawater samples collected from 20 sampling stations covering three seasons were analyzed. Multivariate statistics is applied to the investigated data in an attempt to understand the causes of variation in physico-chemical parameters. Cluster analysis distinguished mangrove and open sea stations from other areas by considering distinctive physico-chemical characteristics. Factor analysis revealed 79.5% of total variance in physico-chemical parameters. Strong loading included transparency, TSS, DO, BOD, salinity, nitrate, nitrite, inorganic phosphate, total phosphorus and silicate. In addition, box-whisker plots and Geographical Information System based land use data further facilitated and supported multivariate results.

Dynamics of picoplankton community from coastal waters to the open sea in the Central Adriatic

Flow cytometry was used to describe seasonal cycles of Prochlorococcus (Prochl), Synechococcus (Syn), picoeukaryotes and heterotrophic bacteria in the central Adriatic Sea along the trophic gradient from January to December 2010. All picoplankton parameters decreased from eutrophic to oligotrophic areas, while the biomass ratio of bacterial to autotrophic picoplankton showed an increase along the trophic gradient. Bacterial biomass ranged from 5.28 to 21.20 μg C l-1. Increased values were present during warmer seasons with the domination of low nucleic acid (LNA) group of bacteria. The high nucleic acid (HNA) bacterial group dominated during the winter and the spring. Bacterial production ranged from 0.09 -0.45 × 104 cells ml-1 h-1 .At coastal stations increased production was present during the winter and the spring and was more or less uniform at open sea stations. Biomasses of Syn and Prochl ranged from 0.16 to 11.47 µg C-1 l-1 and from 0.01 to 3.08 µg C l-1, respectively. They were elevated during the summer and the autumn at coastal stations and during the late winter at the open sea. Syn biomass always dominated over Prochl participating with 61.6-97.2% in biomass of cyanobacteria. Biomass of picoeukaryotes ranged from 1.21 to 21.85 µg C l-1 and was the highest during the winter. Their biomass notably prevailed in autotrophic picoplankton (APP) biomass over that of picocyanobacteria during the whole year. Autotrophic components (Prochl, Syn and picoeukaryotes) made greater contribution to the picoplankton biomass in mesotrophic and eutrophic areas, while heterotrophic bacteria became more important under oligotrophic conditions.

Impact of the inflow of Vistula river waters on the pelagic zone in the Gulf of Gdańsk

The biomass, production, composition of autotrophic phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria were studied along with environmental and biological parameters. Samples were taken from Vistula river water (at Kiezmark) and from the river plume to the outer stations in the Gulf of Gdańsk (Baltic Sea) in June 2005. The phytoplankton biomass gradient appeared to be simply the result of dilution of the river water in the sea water, whereas the bacterial abundance and biomass dropped between the river station and the first sea water stations, a decrease that cannot be explained by the dilution effect. The Vistula water stimulated the production mainly of bacterioplankton but also of phytoplankton in the river plume as compared to rates measured in Vistula waters and at the open sea stations. However, this stimulation did not result in a measurable increase in biomasses, probably because of the short retention time of water in the river plume. Phytoplankton production was correlated with phytoplankton biomass (Chl a), while bacterial production was correlated with phytoplankton production and phytoplankton biomass (Chl a).

Sedimentation of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea

Sediment trap material was collected during May–December in the period 1996–2008 in three coastal areas and four open sea stations in the Finnish territory of the Baltic Sea. The highest sedimentation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) with a typical source-related congener profile from chlorophenol production dominated by highly chlorinated dibenzofurans was found close to a historical source in the Kymijoki estuary. This was an order of magnitude higher than in other river estuaries and two orders of magnitude higher than in the open sea stations. The sedimentation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was also higher in river estuaries than in other areas. No significant decrease over a 12year period of monitoring was found in concentration or in sedimentation in the Kymijoki estuary. In the western Gulf of Finland, the Archipelago Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, the dominating congeners, calculated as toxic equivalent (TEQ) in sedimentation were 1, 2, 3, 7, 8-PeCDD and 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-PeCDF, often reported as the main congeners in deposition.

Comparison of Larval Fish Density Between Seagrass Beds and Outside Seagrass Beds of the Southwestern Johor, Peninsular Malaysia

Temporal variation of fish larval density and composition between seagrass and outside seagrass beds of the southwestern Johor, Malaysia were investigated between October 2007 and September 2008. Fish larvae were sampled monthly by using a bongo net with 500 μm mesh size and 30 min sub-surface tow. In situ environmental variables were also recorded during the sampling works. The fish larval assemblage comprised of 20 families from the seagrass beds and 16 families recorded from the outside seagrass beds station. In total, 3738 larvae (2,801 from seagrass and 937 from non-seagrass area) were collected. Total larva density was at 79 individuals per 100 m3 and 34 individuals per 100 m3 for seagrass beds and outside seagrass station respectively. Larval abundance varied significantly within monsoon and inter-monsoon seasons, with peaks in February-March and May-July. Top five families were Blenniidae, Clupeidae, Gobiidae, Sillaginidae and Terapontidae and they occurred consistently throughout the year. Larvae belonging to family Clupeidae (47.94% in seagrass and 42.03% in outside seagrass) and Terapontidae (17% in seagrass and 24% in outside seagrass) were the most abundant family in the study areas. The highest density of total larval fishes was recorded at the seagrass ecosystem. The spatial variations in larval density were not significantly (p>0.05) different between the seagrass beds and open sea station.

Improvement of MERIS level 2 products in Baltic Sea coastal areas by applying the Improved Contrast between Ocean and Land processor (ICOL) - data analysis and validation

In this paper we compare the following MERIS processors against sea-truthing data: the standard MERIS processor (MEGS 7.4.1), the Case 2 Regional processor (C2R) of the German Institute for Coastal Research (GKSS), and the Case 2 Water Properties processor developed at the Freie Universitat Berlin (FUB). Furthermore, the Improved Contrast between Ocean and Land processor (ICOL), a prototype processor for the correction of adjacency effects from land, was tested on all three processors, and the retrieval of level 2 data was evaluated against sea-truthing data, before and after ICOL processing. The results show that by using ICOL the retrieval of spectral reflectance in the open sea was improved for all processors. After ICOL processing, the FUB showed rather small errors in the blue, but underestimated in the red -34% Mean Normalised Bias (MNB) and 37% Root Mean Square (R,MS). For MEGS the reflectance in the red was underestimated by about -20% MNB and 23% RMS, whereas the reflectance in the other channels was well predicted, even without any ICOL processing. The C2R, underestimated the red with about -27% MNB and 29% RMS and at 412 nm it overestimated the reflectance with about 23% MNB and 29% RMS. At the outer open sea stations ICOL processing did not have a strong effect: the effect of the processor diminishes progressively up to 30 km from land. At the open sea stations the ICOL processor improved chlorophyll retrieval using MEGS from -74% to about 34% MU; and TSM retrieval from -63% to about 22% MNB. Using FUB in combination with ICOL gave even better results for both chlorophyll (25% MNB and 45% RMS) and TSM (-4% MNB and 36% EMS) in the open Baltic Sea. All three processors predicted TSM rather well, but the standard processor gave the best results (-12% MNB and 17% RMS). The C2R had a very low MNB for TSM (1%), but a rather high RMS (54%). The FUB was intermediate with -16% MNB and 31% RMS. In coastal waters, the spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient K-d (490) was well predicted using PUB or MEGS in combination with ICOL (MNB about 12% for FUB and 0.4% for MEGS). Chlorophyll was rather well predicted in the open Baltic Sea using FUB with ICOL (MNB 25%) and even without ICOL processing (MNB about 15%). ICOL-processed MEGS data also gave rather good retrieval of chlorophyll in the coastal areas (MNB of 19% and RMS of 28%). In the open Baltic Sea chlorophyll retrieval gave a MNB of 34% and RMS of 70%, which may be due to the considerable patchiness caused by cyanobacterial blooms. The results presented here indicate that with the MERIS mission, ESA and co-workers are in the process of solving some of the main issues regarding the remote sensing of coastal waters: spatial resolution; land-water adjacency effects; improved level 2 product retrieval in the Baltic Sea, i.e. the retrieval of spectral reflectance and of the water quality products TSM and chlorophyll.

Variability in the bottom-up and top-down controls of bacteria on trophic and temporal scales in the middle Adriatic Sea

Variability in the bottom-up (BU) and top-down (TD) regulation of bacteria was analysed on trophic and temporal (seasonal and inter-annual) scales in the middle Adriatic Sea dur- ing 1997-2006 using 3 empirical models. The analyses showed the tendency for bacteria to be TD controlled in oligotrophic open sea stations, and BU controlled in more eutrophic coastal stations. However, temporal variability in BU and TD controls was much stronger, with periods of both strong BU and strong TD controls being observed at all studied stations, independently of their trophic sta- tus. Decomposition of the time series was performed to identify seasonal and inter-annual changes in the relative importance of the BU and TD controls of bacteria. At all stations, BU control dominated during colder periods of the year, whereas TD control dominated during warmer periods. Non- seasonal fluctuations in the relative importance of BU and TD controls of bacteria pointed to a few periods when one or the other type of control was very strong. These periods coincided with some specific meteorological and hydrographic conditions—the strong influence of North Adriatic Dense Water in 1997, the strong Levantine Intermediate Water ingression in 2004, and the extremely warm winter and the Po River runoff in 2000-2001.

Seasonal variations of phosphorus species in sediment from the middle Adriatic Sea

Phosphorus (P) species concentrations in 0–2 cm surface sediment layer were investigated monthly from November 2001 to December 2002 at the bay, channel and open sea stations in the middle Adriatic. Modified SEDEX method was used for inorganic phosphorus species determination [P in biogenic (P-FD), authigenic (P-AUT), detrital apatite (P-DET) and P adsorbed on to iron oxides and hydroxides (P–Fe)], and organic phosphorus (P-ORG). P-FD, P-AUT and P-DET concentration ranges (1.5–5.4, 0–2.7 and 0.4–3.4 μmol g−1, respectively) were similar at all stations, and showed no obvious common trend of seasonal changes. P–Fe ranged from 1.9 to 11.9 μmol g−1 with the highest values at bay station and higher seasonal oscillations than other inorganic P forms. P-ORG ranged from 0.3 to 18.7 μmol g−1 with higher concentrations at stations of fine-sized sediments and showed increased concentrations in warm part of the year at all stations. Correlation between concentrations of P–Fe in the surface sediment layer and orthophosphate sediment-water interface concentration gradients at bay and channel stations indicated to P–Fe importance in the orthophosphate benthic flux. For the bay station, linkage between sediment P-ORG and chlorophyll a concentrations, primary production and microzooplankton abundance was established, indicating a 1 month delay of sediment response to production fluctuations in the water column.