scholarly journals Baltic Earth Assessment Report on the biogeochemistry of the Baltic Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karol Kuliński ◽  
Gregor Rehder ◽  
Eero Asmala ◽  
Alena Bartosova ◽  
Jacob Carstensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Oxygen Availability ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Organic Matter Production ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract. Location, specific topography and hydrographic setting together with climate change and strong anthropogenic pressure are the main factors shaping the biogeochemical functioning and thus also the ecological status of the Baltic Sea. The recent decades have brought significant changes in the Baltic Sea. First, the rising nutrient loads from land in the second half of the 20th century led to eutrophication and spreading of hypoxic and anoxic areas, for which permanent stratification of the water column and limited ventilation of deep water layers made favourable conditions. Since the 1980s the nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea have been continuously decreasing. This, however, has so far not resulted in significant improvements in oxygen availability in the deep regions, which has revealed a slow response time of the system to the reduction of the land-derived nutrient loads. Responsible for that is the low burial efficiency of phosphorus at anoxic conditions and its remobilization from sediments when conditions change from oxic to anoxic. This results in a stoichiometric excess of phosphorus available for organic matter production, which promotes the growth of N2-fixing cyanobacteria and in turn supports eutrophication. This assessment reviews the available and published knowledge on the biogeochemical functioning of the Baltic Sea. In its content, the paper covers the aspects related to changes in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (C, N and P) external loads, their transformations in the coastal zone, changes in organic matter production (eutrophication) and remineralization (oxygen availability), and the role of sediments in burial and turnover of C, N and P. In addition to that, this paper focuses also on changes in the marine CO2 system, structure and functioning of the microbial community and the role of contaminants for biogeochemical processes. This comprehensive assessment allowed also for identifying knowledge gaps and future research needs in the field of marine biogeochemistry in the Baltic Sea.

microplastics, numerical modelling, the Baltic Sea, anthropogenic pollution

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Bagaev ◽  
Andrei Bagaev ◽  
Irina Chubarenko ◽  
Irina Chubarenko
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modelling ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Anthropogenic Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Semi Empirical ◽  
The Given

An overview of modern approaches to the problem of parametrisation of sources of marine waters microplastics pollution from the coastline is conducted. The estimates of Europe’s plastic production along with mismanaged plastic waste percentage that might be the source of microplastics particles input to marine environment are presented. A semi-empirical for-mulation for the particles source intensity is suggested. It considers the main factors of local anthropogenic pressure for the coastal spot location for the given coordinates. Both ad-vantages and disadvantages of such an approach along with possible ways for improvement are discussed.

microplastics, numerical modelling, the Baltic Sea, anthropogenic pollution

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Bagaev ◽  
Andrei Bagaev ◽  
Irina Chubarenko ◽  
Irina Chubarenko
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modelling ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Anthropogenic Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Marine Waters ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Semi Empirical ◽  
The Given

An overview of modern approaches to the problem of parametrisation of sources of marine waters microplastics pollution from the coastline is conducted. The estimates of Europe’s plastic production along with mismanaged plastic waste percentage that might be the source of microplastics particles input to marine environment are presented. A semi-empirical for-mulation for the particles source intensity is suggested. It considers the main factors of local anthropogenic pressure for the coastal spot location for the given coordinates. Both ad-vantages and disadvantages of such an approach along with possible ways for improvement are discussed.

scholarly journals Remediating Agricultural Legacy Nutrient Loads in the Baltic Sea Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3872
Author(s):  
Julia Tanzer ◽  
Ralf Hermann ◽  
Ludwig Hermann
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Nutrient Emissions ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Agricultural Legacy

The Baltic Sea is considered the marine water body most severely affected by eutrophication within Europe. Due to its limited water exchange nutrients have a particularly long residence time in the sea. While several studies have analysed the costs of reducing current nutrient emissions, the costs for remediating legacy nutrient loads of past emissions remain unknown. Although the Baltic Sea is a comparatively well-monitored region, current data and knowledge is insufficient to provide a sound quantification of legacy nutrient loads and much less their abatement costs. A first rough estimation of agricultural legacy nutrient loads yields an accumulation of 0.5–4.0 Mt N and 0.3–1.2 Mt P in the Baltic Sea and 0.4–0.5 Mt P in agricultural soils within the catchment. The costs for removing or immobilising this amount of nutrients via deep water oxygenation, mussel farming and soil gypsum amendment are in the range of few tens to over 100 billion €. These preliminary results are meant as a basis for future studies and show that while requiring serious commitment to funding and implementation, remediating agricultural legacy loads is not infeasible and may even provide economic benefits to local communities in the long run.

scholarly journals Cell-free extracellular enzymatic activity is linked to seasonal temperature changes: a case study in the Baltic Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2815-2821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Baltar ◽  
Catherine Legrand ◽  
Jarone Pinhassi
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Extracellular Enzymes ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Hydrolytic Activity ◽  
Seasonal Temperature ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Abstract. Extracellular enzymatic activities (EEAs) are a crucial step in the degradation of organic matter. Dissolved (cell-free) extracellular enzymes in seawater can make up a significant contribution of the bulk EEA. However, the factors controlling the proportion of dissolved EEA in the marine environment remain unknown. Here we studied the seasonal changes in the proportion of dissolved relative to total EEA (of alkaline phosphatase (APase), β-glucosidase (BGase), and leucine aminopeptidase (LAPase)), in the Baltic Sea for 18 months. The proportion of dissolved EEA ranged between 37 and 100, 0 and 100, and 34 and 100 % for APase, BGase, and LAPase, respectively. A consistent seasonal pattern in the proportion of dissolved EEA was found among all the studied enzymes, with values up to 100 % during winter and  <  40 % during summer. A significant negative relation was found between the proportion of dissolved EEA and temperature, indicating that temperature might be a critical factor controlling the proportion of dissolved relative to total EEA in marine environments. Our results suggest a strong decoupling of hydrolysis rates from microbial dynamics in cold waters. This implies that under cold conditions, cell-free enzymes can contribute to substrate availability at large distances from the producing cell, increasing the dissociation between the hydrolysis of organic compounds and the actual microbes producing the enzymes. This might also suggest a potential effect of global warming on the hydrolysis of organic matter via a reduction of the contribution of cell-free enzymes to the bulk hydrolytic activity.

scholarly journals Pectenotoxin-2 and dinophysistoxin-1 in suspended and sedimenting organic matter in the Baltic Sea

2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 2300-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pirjo Kuuppo ◽  
Pauliina Uronen ◽  
Anika Petermann ◽  
Timo Tamminen ◽  
Edna Granéli
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Pectenotoxin 2

The influence of dissolved organic matter on the acid–base system of the Baltic Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 106-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karol Kuliński ◽  
Bernd Schneider ◽  
Karoline Hammer ◽  
Ulrike Machulik ◽  
Detlef Schulz-Bull
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Base System ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
The Baltic

scholarly journals Study on organic matter fractions in the surface micro layer in the Baltic Sea by spectrophotometric and spectrofluorometric methods

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violetta Drozdowska ◽  
Iwona Wróbel ◽  
Piotr Markuszewski ◽  
Przemyslaw Makuch ◽  
Anna Raczkowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Subsurface Layer ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Surface Microlayer ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
Organic Matter Fractions ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract. The fluorescence and absorption measurements of the samples collected from a surface microlayer (SML) and a subsurface layer (SS), a depth of 1 m were studied during three research cruises in the Baltic Sea along with hydrophysical studies and meteorological observations. Several absorption (E2 : E3, S, SR) and fluorescence (fluorescence intensities at peaks: A, C, M, T, the ratio (M + T) / (A + C), HIX) indices of colored and fluorescent organic matter (CDOM and FDOM) helped to describe the changes in molecular size and weight as well as in composition of organic matter. The investigation allow to assess a decrease in the contribution of two terrestrial components (A and C) with increasing salinity (~ 1.64 % and ~ 1.89 % in SML and ~ 0.78 % and ~ 0.71 % in SS, respectively) and an increase of in-situ produced components (M and T) with salinity (~ 0.52 % and ~ 2.83 % in SML and ~ 0.98 % and ~ 1.87 % in SS, respectively). Hence, a component T reveals the biggest relative changes along the transect from the Vistula River outlet to Gdansk Deep, both in SML and SS, however an increase was higher in SML than in SS (~ 18.5 % and ~ 12.3 %, respectively). The ratio E2 : E3

scholarly journals An integrated simulation model to evaluate national measures for the abatement of agricultural nutrients in the Baltic Sea

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 440-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. HYYTIÄINEN ◽  
H. AHTIAINEN ◽  
J. HEIKKILÄ
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Simulation Model ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Gulf Of Finland ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Bothnian Bay ◽  
The Gulf Of Finland

This study introduces a prototype model for evaluating measures to abate agricultural nutrients in the Baltic Sea from a Finnish national perspective. The stochastic simulation model integrates nutrient dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorus in the sea basins adjoining the Finnish coast, nutrient loads from land and other sources, benefits from nutrient abatement (in the form of recreation and other ecosystem services) and the costs of agricultural abatement activities. The aim of the study is to present the overall structure of the model and to demonstrate its potential using preliminary parameters. The model is made flexible for further improvements in all of its ecological and economic components. The results of a sensitivity analysis suggest that investments in reducing the nutrient load from arable land in Finland would become profitable only if the neighboring countries in the northern Baltic committed themselves to similar reductions. Environmental investments for improving water quality yield the highest returns for the Bothnian Bay and the Gulf of Finland, with smaller returns for the Bothnian Sea. Somewhat surprisingly, in the Bothnian Bay the abatement activities become profitable from the national viewpoint, because the riverine loads from Finland represent a high proportion of the total nutrient loads. In the Gulf of Finland, this proportion is low, but the size of the coastal population benefiting from improved water quality is high.;

scholarly journals Parameterization of the light absorption properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in the Baltic Sea and Pomeranian lakes

Ocean Science ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1013-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Meler ◽  
Piotr Kowalczuk ◽  
Mirosława Ostrowska ◽  
Dariusz Ficek ◽  
Monika Zabłocka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Absorption Coefficient ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Absorption Properties ◽  
Chlorophyll A Concentration ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract. This study presents three alternative models for estimating the absorption properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter aCDOM(λ). For this analysis we used a database containing 556 absorption spectra measured in 2006–2009 in different regions of the Baltic Sea (open and coastal waters, the Gulf of Gdańsk and the Pomeranian Bay), at river mouths, in the Szczecin Lagoon and also in three lakes in Pomerania (Poland) – Obłęskie, Łebsko and Chotkowskie. The variability range of the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficient at 400 nm, aCDOM(400), lay within 0.15–8.85 m−1. The variability in aCDOM(λ) was parameterized with respect to the variability over 3 orders of magnitude in the chlorophyll a concentration Chl a (0.7–119 mg m−3). The chlorophyll a concentration and aCDOM(400) were correlated, and a statistically significant, nonlinear empirical relationship between these parameters was derived (R2 =  0.83). On the basis of the covariance between these parameters, we derived two empirical mathematical models that enabled us to design the CDOM absorption coefficient dynamics in natural waters and reconstruct the complete CDOM absorption spectrum in the UV and visible spectral domains. The input variable in the first model was the chlorophyll a concentration, and in the second one it was aCDOM(400). Both models were fitted to a power function, and a second-order polynomial function was used as the exponent. Regression coefficients for these formulas were determined for wavelengths from 240 to 700 nm at 5 nm intervals. Both approximations reflected the real shape of the absorption spectra with a low level of uncertainty. Comparison of these approximations with other models of light absorption by CDOM demonstrated that our parameterizations were superior (bias from −1.45 to 62 %, RSME from 22 to 220 %) for estimating CDOM absorption in the optically complex waters of the Baltic Sea and Pomeranian lakes.

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