The role of heat wave events on the occurrence and persistence of thermal stratification in the southern North Sea

Extremes in temperatures not only directly affect the marine environment and ecosystems but also have indirect impacts on hydrodynamics and marine life. The role of heat wave events responsible for the occurrence and persistence of thermal stratification was analysed using a fully coupled hydrodynamic and wave model within the framework of the Geesthacht Coupled cOAstal model SysTem (GCOAST) for the North Sea. The model results were assessed against satellite reprocessed data and in situ observations from field campaigns and fixed MARNET stations. To quantify the degree of stratification, a potential energy anomaly over the water column was calculated. A linear correlation existed between the air temperatures and the potential energy anomaly in the North Sea excluding the Norwegian Trench and the area south of 54° N latitude. Contrary to the northern part of the North Sea, where the water column is stratified in the warming season each year, the southern North Sea is seasonally stratified in years when a heatwave occurs. The influences of heatwaves on the occurrence of summer stratifications in the southern North Sea are mainly in the form of two aspects, i.e., a rapid rise in sea surface temperature at the early stage of the heatwave period and a relatively higher water temperature during summer than the multiyear mean. Another factor that enhances the thermal stratification in summer is the memory of the water column to cold spells earlier in the year. Differences between the seasonally stratified northern North Sea and the heatwave-induced stratified southern North Sea were attributed to changes in water depth.

Optical Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Belgian Coastal Zone: A Cautionary Tale of Chlorophyll c3

Phaeocystis globosa is a nuisance haptophyte species that forms annual blooms in the southern North Sea and other coastal waters. At high biomass concentration, these are considered harmful algal blooms due to their deleterious impact on the local ecosystems and economy, and are considered an indicator for eutrophication. In the last two decades, methods have been developed for the optical detection and quantification of these blooms, with potential applications for autonomous in situ or remote observations. However, recent experimental evidence suggests that the interpretation of the optical signal and its exclusive association with P. globosa may not be accurate. In the North Sea, blooms of P. globosa are synchronous with those of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima, another harmful bloom-forming species with similar pigmentation and optical signature. Here we combine new and published measurements of pigmentation composition and inherent optical properties from pure cultures of several algal and cyanobacterial groups, together with environmental spectroscopy data, to identify the pigments generating the optical signals captured by two established algorithms. We further evaluate the association of those pigments and optical signals with P. globosa. We found that the interpretation of the pigment(s) generating the optical signals were incorrect and that previous methods are not specific to P. globosa, even in the context of the phytoplankton assemblage of the southern North Sea. Additionally, we found that the optical and pigment signatures of Phaeocystis species are part of a broad pigmentation trend across unrelated taxonomic groups related to chlorophyll c3 presence, with important consequences for the interpretation of pigment and optical data. We then develop and evaluate an algorithm to detect this pigmentation pattern with minimal influence of co-occurring species and elaborate general recommendations for the future development of algorithms.

Evidence of the Storegga Tsunami 8200 BP? An Archaeological Review of Impact After a Large-Scale Marine Event in Mesolithic Northern Europe

Around 8,200 years ago, the Storegga tsunami hit the coasts of the Norwegian and North Seas. This event is well known from wide ranging geological and palaeobotanical work undertaken over the last 30 years. Outside of attempts at palaeodemographic models, however, exploration of the social impact of the wave on Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies living on the coasts of west Norway, the north and east British Isles, and around the southern North Sea basin have been less common. It has been widely assumed that the tsunami was a disaster–but what constituted a disaster for the Mesolithic peoples who lived through this event? What can we learn about life after natural hazards by considering the archaeological material from regions with distinct Mesolithic histories? This paper presents a review of evidence of the Storegga tsunami at Mesolithic sites from western Norway, the Northeast UK, and elsewhere around the southern North Sea basin. We consider the ways in which the social impact of the Storegga tsunami has been studied up till now and suggest an alternative way forward.

Storm surge development in the Southern North Sea and the Elbe river in Europe during the last century and its practical application

ABSTRACT. The development of storm surges during the last century in the European North Sea and the Elbe River is presented. The results show an increase in the number of the storm tides and the storm surge curves, but no increase in the level. The reason for the increase of the storm surge curves - especially those with more than one storm tide crest - must be an increase of the wind duration. With the analyses of the storm surge curve and the storm surge peak, it is possible to calculate the design dike level.

Sclerochronological evidence of pronounced seasonality from the late Pliocene of the southern North Sea Basin, and its implications

Oxygen isotope (δ18O) sclerochronology of benthic marine molluscs provides a means of reconstructing the seasonal range in seafloor temperature, subject to use of an appropriate equation relating shell δ18O to temperature and water δ18O, reasonably accurate estimation of water δ18O, and due consideration of growth-rate effects. Taking these factors into account, δ18O data from late Pliocene bivalves of the southern North Sea Basin (Belgium and the Netherlands) indicate a seasonal seafloor range at times larger than now in the area. Microgrowth-increment data from Aequipecten opercularis, together with the species-composition of the bivalve assemblage and aspects of preservation, suggest a setting below the summer thermocline for all but the latest material investigated. This implies a higher summer temperature at the surface than on the seafloor and consequently a greater seasonal range. A conservative (3 °C) estimate of the difference between maximum seafloor and surface temperature under circumstances of summer stratification points to seasonal surface ranges in excess of the present value (12.4 °C nearby). Using model-constrained estimates of water δ18O, summer surface temperature was initially in the cool temperate range (< 20 °C) and then (during the Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period; MPWP) increased into the warm temperate range (> 20 °C) before reverting to cool temperate values (in conjunction with shallowing and a loss of summer stratification). This pattern is in agreement with biotic-assemblage evidence. Winter temperature was firmly in the cool temperate range (< 10 °C) throughout, contrary to previous interpretations. Averaging of summer and winter surface temperatures for the MPWP provides a figure for mean annual sea-surface temperature that is 2–3 °C higher than the present value (10.9 °C nearby) and in close agreement with a figure obtained by averaging alkenone- and TEX86-temperatures for the MPWP from the Netherlands. These proxies, however, respectively underestimate summer temperature and overestimate winter temperature, giving an incomplete picture of seasonality. A higher mean annual temperature than now is consistent with the notion of global warmth in the MPWP, but a low winter temperature in the southern North Sea Basin suggests regional reduction in oceanic heat supply, contrasting with other interpretations of North Atlantic oceanography during the interval. Carbonate clumped isotope (Δ47) and biomineral unit thermometry offer means of checking the δ18O-based temperatures.