Oceanologia No. 68 (3) / 26


Original Research Articles

Short communications


Original Research Articles



The effect of freshwater discharge on the microbial-induced precipitation of minerals in a Baltic Sea bottom pockmark
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68301, 25 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/NDCH3019

Grzegorz Rzepa1,*, Andrzej Borkowski1, Maciej Manecki1, Aleksandra Brodecka-Goluch2, Katarzyna Łukawska-Matuszewska2, Jarosław Kania1, Artur Błachowski1, Paweł Działak1, Izabela De Mey-Śnieżyńska3
1Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30–059 Kraków, Poland;
e-mail: rzepa@agh.edu.pl (G. Rzepa)
2Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, al. Marszałka Piłsudskiego 46, 81–378 Gdynia, Poland
3Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02–089 Warsaw, Poland
*corresponding author

Keywords: Marine sediments; Methane; Iron speciation; Authigenic minerals; Microbiology

Received: 5 May 2025; revised: 12 March 2026; accepted: 17 March 2026

Highlights

Abstract

Seabed pockmarks are circular or elongated depressions usually formed by the outflow of methane and groundwater. The accumulation of organic matter and disruption of sediments by the seepage result in specific biogeochemical conditions affecting both porewater and sediment composition. In this study, we have shown how freshwater intrusions and the presence of methane affect the biogeochemistry and mineralogy of the pockmark environment within continental shelf sea sediments. Porewater and sediment samples collected during an active freshwater seepage were compared with samples taken from the same location between seeps and from a nearby reference station. Porewater chemistry and the mineralogy of the sediments were combined with thermodynamic modeling. The bacterial and archaeal taxa were also identified via metagenomic analysis. It was found that freshwater seepage modifies the composition of pore water and affects both the degree of supersaturation of solutions relative to sediment minerals and the composition of the microbial system. A conceptual model has been proposed indicating that changes in sediment mineral composition due to freshwater discharge reflect the response of the microbial community to changes in pore water composition.

  References   ref

Aitchison, J., 1982. The Statistical Analysis of Compositional Data. J. R. Stat. Soc. Ser. B Method. 44, 139–177. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2345821

Akam, S.A., Coffin, R.B., Abdulla, H.A.N., Lyons, T.W., 2020. Dissolved organic carbon pump in methane-charged shallow marine sediments: state of the art and new model perspectives. Front. Mar. Sci. 7, 206. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00206

Babicki, S., Arndt, D., Marcu, A., Liang, Y., Grant, J.R., Maciejewski, A., Wishart, D.S., 2016. Heatmapper: web- enabled heat mapping for all. Nucleic Acids Res. 44, W147–W153. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw419

Baker, P.A., Kastner, M., 1981. Constraints on the formation of sedimentary dolomite. Science 213, 214–216. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.213.4504.21

Baldermann, A., Deditius, A.P., Dietzel, M., Fichtner, V., Fischer, C., Hippler, D., Leis, A., Baldermann, C., Mavromatis, V., Stickler, C.P., Strauss, H., 2015. The role of bacterial sulfate reduction during dolomite precipitation: Implications from Upper Jurassic platform carbonates. Chem. Geol. 412, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.07.020

Beal, E.J., House, C.H., Orphan, V.J., 2009. Manganese- and iron-dependent marine methane oxidation. Science 325, 184–187. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.11699

Błachowski, A., Ruebenbauer, K., Żukrowski, J., Górnicki, R., 2008. Early design stage of the MsAa-4 Mössbauer spectrometer. Acta Phys. Pol. A 114, 1707–1713. https://doi.org/10.12693/APhysPolA.114.1707

Boogaart, K.G. van den, Tolosana-Delgado, R., Bren, M., 2023. Compositions: Compositional Data Analysis.

Breuker, A., Stadler, S., Schippers, A., 2013. Microbial community analysis of deeply buried marine sediments of the New Jersey shallow shelf (IODP Expedition 313). FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 85, 578–592. https://doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12146

Brodecka-Goluch, A., Idczak, J., Gorska, N., Bolałek, J., 2020. Geophysical and geochemical characteristics of four different pockmark sites located in the Gdańsk Basin. 3rd Baltic Earth Conference Earth System Changes and Baltic Sea Coasts, 89–90.

Brodecka-Goluch, A., Łukawska-Matuszewska, K., 2018. Porewater dissolved organic and inorganic carbon in relation to methane occurrence in sediments of the Gdańsk Basin (southern Baltic Sea). Cont. Shelf Res. 168, 11–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2018.08.008

Brodecka-Goluch, A., Łukawska-Matuszewska, K., Kotarba, M.J., Borkowski, A., Idczak, J., Bolałek, J., 2022. Biogeochemistry of three different shallow gas systems in continental shelf sediments of the South-Eastern Baltic Sea (Gulf of Gdańsk): carbon cycling, origin of methane and microbial community composition. Chem. Geol. 597, 120799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2022.120799

Burton, E.A., 1993. Controls on marine carbonate cement mineralogy: Review and reassessment. Chem. Geol. 105, 163–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2541(93)90124-2

Byrne, J.M., Kappler, A., 2019. Mössbauer spectroscopy. [In:] Kenney, J.P.L., Veeraramani, H., Alessi, D.S., (Eds.), Ana- lytical Geomicrobiology. A Handbook of Instrumental Techniques, Cambridge Univ. Press, 314–337.

Chen, S., Zhou, Y., Chen, Y., Gu, J., 2018. fastp: an ultrafast all-in-one FASTQ preprocessor. Bioinformatics 34, i884–i890. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bty560

Cole, D., Stewart, S.A., Cartwright, J.A., 2000. Giant irregular pockmark craters in the Palaeogene of the outer Moray

Firth basin, UK North Sea.
Mar. Pet. Geol. 17, 563–577. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8172(00)00013-1

Dowgiałło, J., Kozerski, B., 1975. Wody wgłębne podłoża Bałtyku. Stud. Mat. Oceanol. 11, 55–66 (in Polish).

Dyar, M.D., Agresti, D.G., Schaefer, M.W., Grant, C.A., Sklute, E.C., 2006. Mössbauer spectroscopy of Earth and plan- etary materials. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 34, 83–125. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.34.031405.125049

Egger, M., Rasigraf, O., Sapart, C.J., Jilbert, T., Jetten, M.S.M., Röckmann, T., van der Veen, C., Bândă, N., Kartal, B., Ettwig, K.F., Slomp, C.P., 2015. Iron-mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane in brackish coastal sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 49, 277–283. https://doi.org/10.1021/es503663z

Ehlert von Ahn, C.M., Dellwig, O., Szymczycha, B., Kotwicki, L., Rooze, J., Endler, R., Escher, P., Schmiedinger, I., Sültenfuß, J., Diak, M., Gehre, M., Struck, U., Vogler, S., Böttcher, M.E., 2024. Submarine groundwater discharge into a semi-enclosed coastal bay of the southern Baltic Sea: A multi-method approach. Oceanologia 66(1), 111–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2024.01.001

Falkowska, L., Piekarek-Jankowska, H., 1999. Submarine seepage of fresh groundwater: disturbance in hydrological and chemical structure of the water column in the Gdańsk Basin. J. Mar. Sci. 56, 153–160.

Frankel, R.B., Bazylinski, D., 2003. Biologically Induced Mineralization by Bacteria. Rev. Mineral. Geochemi. 54, 95–114.

Froelich, P.N., Klinkhammer, G.P., Bender, M.L., Luedtke, N.A., Heath, G.R., Cullen, D., Dauphin, P., Hammond, D., Hartman, B., Maynard, V., 1979. Early oxidation of organic matter in pelagic sediments of the eastern equatorial Atlantic: suboxic diagenesis. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 43, 1075–1090. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(79)90095-4

Garcı́a-Ruiz, J.M., 2023. Afluctuatingsolutiontothedolomite problem. Science 382, 883–884. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adl1734

Giovanelli, D., D’Errico, G., Fiorentino, F., Fattorini, D., Regoli, F., Angeletti, L., Bakran-Petricioli, T., Vetriani, C., Yücel, M., Taviani, M., Manini, E., 2016. Diversity and distribution of procaryotes within a shallow-water pockmark field. Front. Microbiol. 7, 941. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00941

Greinert, J., Bohrmann, G., Suess, E., 2001. Gas hydrateassociated carbonates and methane venting at Hydrate Ridge: Classification, distribution and origin of authigenic lithologies. [In:] Paull, C., Dillon, W. (Eds.), Nat- ural Gas Hydrates: Occurrence, Distribution, and Detection, Am. Geophys. Union. Wash. Monogr. 124, 99–113.

Grasshoff, K., Kremling, K., Ehrhardt, M., 1999. Methods of Seawater Analysis, 3rd edn., Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 600 pp.

Gregg, J.M., Bish, D.L., Kaczmarek, S.E., Machel, H.G., 2015. Mineralogy, nucleation and growth of dolomite in the laboratory and sedimentary environment: A review. Sedimentology 62, 1749–1769. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12202

Haverkamp, T.H.A., Hammer, Ø., Jakobsen, K.S., 2014. Linking geology and microbiology: Inactive pockmarks affect sediment microbial community structure. PLOS One 9 (1), e85990. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085990

Hoffmann, J., Schneider von Deimling, J., Schröder, J., Schmidt, M., Held, P., Crutchley, G., Scholten, J., Gorman, A., 2020. Complex Eyed Pockmarks and Subma- rine Groundwater Discharge Revealed by Acoustic Data and Sediment Cores in Eckernförde Bay, SW Baltic Sea. Geochem. Geophy. Geosy. 21, e2019GC008825. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GC008825

Hovland, M., Judd, A.G., 1988. Seabed Pockmarks and Seep- ages. Graham and Trotman Inc. Sterling House, London, 293 pp.

Hung, C-W., Huang, K-H., Shih, Y-Y., Lin, Y-S., Chen, H-H., Wang, C-C., Ho, C-Y., Hung, C-C., Burdige, D.J., 2016. Benthic fluxes of dissolved organic carbon from gas hydrate sediments in the northern South China Sea. Sci. Rep. 6, 29597. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep29597

Idczak, J., Brodecka-Goluch, A., Łukawska-Matuszewska, K., Graca, B., Gorska, N., Klusek, Z., Pezacki, P., Bolałek, J., 2020. A geophysical, geochemical and microbiological study of a newly discovered pockmark with active gas seepage and submarine groundwater discharge (MET1BH, central Gulf of Gdańsk, southern Baltic Sea). Sci. Tot. Environ. 742, 140306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140306

Iasakov, T.R., Kanapatskiy, T.A., Toshchakov, S.V., Korzhenkov, A.A., Ulyanova, M.O., Pimenov, N.V., 2021. The Baltic Sea methane pockmark microbiome: The new insights into the patterns of relative abundance and ANME niche separation. Mar. Environ. Res. 173, 105533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105533

IHO S-44, 2020. International Hydrographic Organization Standards for Hydrographic Surveys S-44, Edition 6.1.0, available online. https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-44/S-44_Edition_6.1.0.pdf;access17/11/2025

Jakobsen, R., Postma, D., 1989. Formation and solid solution behavior of Ca-rhodochrosites in marine muds of the Baltic deeps. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 53, 2639–2648. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(89)90135-X

Jakobsson, M., O’Regan, M., Gyllencreutz, R., Flodén, T., 2016. Seafloor terraces and semi-circular depressions related to fluid discharge in Stockholm Archipelago, Baltic Sea. [In:] Dowdeswell, J.A., Canals, M., Jakobsson, M., Todd, B.J., Dowdeswell, E.K., Hogan, K.A. (Eds.), Atlas of Submarine Glacial Landforms: Modern, Quaternary and Ancient. Geological Society, London, Memoirs Vol. 46, 305–306.

Jaśniewicz, D., Klusek, Z., Brodecka-Goluch, A., Bolałek, J., 2019. Acoustic investigations of shallow gas in the southern Baltic Sea (Polish exclusive Economic Zone): A review. Geo-Mar. Lett. 39, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-018-0555-5

Jørgensen, B.B., 1982. Mineralization of organic matter in the sea bed – the role of sulphate reduction. Nature 296, 643–645. https://doi.org/10.1038/296643a0

Jørgensen, B.B., Findlay, A.J., Pellerin, A., 2019. The biogeochemical sulfur cycle of marine sediments. Front. Microbiol. 10, 849. https://doi.org/3389/fmicb.2019.00849

Jørgensen, B.B., Parkes, R.J., 2010. Role of sulfate reduction and methane production by organic carbon degra- dation in eutrophic fjord sediments (Limfjorden, Denmark). Limnol. Oceanogr. 55, 1338–1352. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2010.55.3.1338

Jørgensen, B.B., Weber, A., Zopfi, J., 2001. Sulfate reduction and anaerobic oxidation in Black Sea sediments. DeepSea Res. Pt. I 48, 2097–2120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0637(01)00007-3

Judd, A., Hovland, M., 2007. Seabed Fluid Flow: The Impact on Geology, Biology, and the Marine Environment. Cambridge University Press, 492 pp.

Justice, N.B., Sczesnak, A., Hazen, T.C., Arkin, A.P., 2017. Environmental selection, dispersal, and organism interactions shape community assembly in high-throughput enrichment culturing. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 83, e01253-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01253-17

Kastner, M., 1984. Control of dolomite formation. Nature 311, 410–411. https://doi.org/10.1038/311410b0

Kelts, K., McKenzie, J.A., 1982. Diagenetic dolomite formation in Quaternary anoxic diatomaceous muds of deep sea drilling project Leg 64, Gulf of California. [In:] Curray, J.R., Moore, D.G., et al. (Eds.), Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 64, 553–569. https://doi.org/10.2973/dsdp.proc.64.110.1982

Kim, J., Kimura, Y., Puchala, B., Yamazaki, T., Becker, U., Sun, W., 2023. Dissolution enables dolomite crystal growth near ambient conditions. Science 382, 915–920. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi3690

King, L.H., MacLean, B., 1970. Pockmarks on the Scotian Shelf. GSA Bull. 81, 3141–3148. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3141:POTSS]2.0.CO;2

Knittel, K., Boetius, A., Lemke, A., Eilers, H., Lochte, K., Pfannkuche, O., Linke, P., Amann, R., 2003. Activity, distribution, and diversity of sulfate reducers and other bacteria in sediments above gas hydrate (Cascadia Margin, Oregon). Geomicrobiol. J. 20, 269–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490450303896

Kozerski, B., Macioszczyk, A., Pazdro, Z., Sadurski, A., 1987. Fluoride in groundwaters of the Gdańsk region. Ann. Soc. Geol. Pol. 57, 349–374 (in Polish).

Kulik, D.A., Kersten, M., Heiser, U., Neumann, T., 2000. Application of Gibbs energy minimization to model early- diagenetic solid-solution aqueous-solution equilibria involving authigenic rhodochrosites in anoxic Baltic Sea sediments. Aq. Geochem. 6, 147–199. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009694703207

Kurowski, S., Łukawska-Matuszewska, K., Čović, A., Jozić, D., Brodecka-Gołuch, A., 2024. Effects of pockmark activity on iron cycling and mineral composition in continental shelf sediments (southern Baltic Sea). Biogeochemistry 167, 135–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-024-01127-1

Land, L.S. 1998. Failure to precipitate dolomite at 25°C from dilute solution despite 1000-fold oversaturation after 32 years. Aquat. Geochem. 4, 361–368. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009688315854

Loncke, L., Mascle, J., 2004. Mud volcanoes, gas chimneys, pockmarks and mounds in the Nile deep-sea fan (eastern Mediterranean): geophysical evidence. Mar. Pet. Geol. 21, 669–689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2004.02.004

Louca, S., Parfrey, L.W., Doebeli, M., 2016. Decoupling function and taxonomy in the global ocean microbiome. Sci- ence 353, 1272–1277. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf4507

Lu, J., Breitwieser, F.P., Thielen, P., Salzberg, S.L., 2017. Bracken: estimatingspeciesabundanceinmetagenomicsdata. Peer J. Comput. Sci. 3, e104. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.104

Lu, J., Rincon, N., Wood, D.E., Breitwieser, F.P., Pockrandt, C., Langmead, B., Salzberg, S.L., Steinegger, M., 2022. Metagenome analysis using the Kraken software suite. Nat. Protoc. 17, 2815–2839. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-022-00738-y

Lumsden, D.N., 1988. Characteristicsofdeepmarinedolomite. J. Sediment. Petrol. 58, 1023–1031. https://doi.org/10.1306/212F8EEF-2B24-11D7-8648000102C1865D

Łukawska-Matuszewska, K., 2016. Contribution of noncarbonate inorganic and organic alkalinity to total measured alkalinity in pore waters in marine sediments (Gulf of Gdansk, S-E Baltic Sea). Mar. Chem. 186, 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2016.10.002

Łukawska-Matuszewska, K., Brocławik, O., Brodecka-Goluch, A., Rzepa, G., Manecki, M., Bolałek, J., 2022. Biogeochemical and mineralogical effects of Fe-P-S dynamics in sediments of continental shelf sea: Impact of salinity, oxygen conditions, and catchment area characteristics. Sci. Total Environ. 807, 151035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151035

Magalhães, V.H., Pinheiro, L.M., Ivanov, M.K., Kozlova, E., Blinova, V., Kolganova, J., Vasconcelos, C., McKenzie, J.A., Bernasconi, S.M., Kopf, A.J., Dı́az-del-Rı́o, V., González, F.J., Somoza, L., 2012. Formation processes of methanederived authigenic carbonates from the Gulf of Cadiz. Sediment. Geol. 243–244, 155–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2011.10.013

McKenzie, J.A., 1991. The dolomite problem: an outstanding controversy. [In:] Muller, D.W., Weisser, H., McKenzie, J.A. (Eds.). Controversies in Modern Geology. Academic Press, New York, 490 pp.

Mackenzie, F.T., Lerman, A., 2006. Weathering and Consumption of CO2. [In:] Carbon in the Geobiosphere – Earth’s Outer Shell. Topics in Geobiology Vol. 25, Springer, Dordrecht, 225–254.

Maclean, L.C.W., Tyliszczak, T., Gilbert, P.U.P.A., Zhou, D., Pray, T.J., Ostott, T.C., Southam, G., 2008. A high-resolution chemical and structural study of framboidal pyrite formedwithinalow-temperaturebacterialbiofilm. Geobiology 6, 471–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4669.2008.00174.x

Majewski, A., 1990. Morphometry and hydrography of the catchment area. [In:] Majewski, A. (Ed.), The Gulf of Gdańsk. Geol. Publ., Warsaw, 7–19 (in Polish).

Majewski, P., Klusek, Z., 2014. Parameters of echo signals originated from a gas seepage site in the southern Baltic Sea. Hydroacoustics 17, 143–150.

Matciak, M., Misiewicz, M.M., Szymczycha, B., Idczak, J., Tęgowski, J., Diak, M., 2024. Pockmarks and associated fresh submarine groundwater discharge in the seafloor of Puck Bay, southern Baltic Sea. Sci. Total Environ. 942, 173617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173617

Mavromatis, V., Botz, R., Schmidt, M., Liebetrau, V., Hensen, C., 2012. Formation of carbonate concretions in surface sediments of two mud mounds offshore Costa Rica: a stable isotope study. Int. J. Earth Sci. 103, 1831–1844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-012-0843-7

Moore, D.M., Reynolds, Jr. R.C., 1997. X-ray Diffraction and the Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals. 2nd Edn., Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 378 pp.

Morse, J.W., Berner, R.A., 1995. What determines sedimen- tary C/S ratios?. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 1073–1077. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(95)00024-T

Morse, J.W., Cornwell, J.C., Arakaki, T., Lin, S., Huerta-Diaz, M.A., 1992. Iron sulfide and carbonate mineral diagenesis in Baffin Bay, Texas. J. Sed. Res. 62, 671–680. https://doi.org/10.1306/D4267983-2B26-11D7-8648000102C1865D

Neubauer, S.C., Piehler, M.F., Smyth, A.R., Franklin, R.B., 2019. Saltwater intrusion modifies microbial community structure and decreases denitrification in tidal freshwater marshes. Ecosystems 22, 912–928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0312-7

O’Reilly, S.S., Jordan, S.F., Monteys, X., Simpson, A.J., Allen, C.C.R., Szpak, M.T., Murphy, B.T., McCarron, S.G., Soong, R., Wu, B., Jenne, A., Grey, A., Kelleher, B.P., 2021. Production of methane and gaseous compounds by surface microbial activity in small pockmark field, Dunmanus Bay, Ireland. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 255, 107340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107340

Orcutt, B., Boetius, A., Elvert, M., Samarkin, V., Joye, S.B., 2005. Molecular biogeochemistry of sulfate reduction, methanogenesis and the anaerobic oxidation of methane at Gulf of Mexico cold seeps. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 69, 4267–4281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2005.04.012

Palarea-Albaladejo, J., Martı́n-Fernández, J.A., 2015. zCompositions – R package for multivariate imputation of left- censored data under a compositional approach. Chemom. Intell. Lab. Syst. 143, 85–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemolab.2015.02.019

Parkhust, D.L., Appelo, C.A.J., 2013. Description of Input and Examples for PHREEQC Version 3 – A Computer Program for Speciation, Batch-Reaction, One-Dimensional Transport, and Inverse Geochemical Calculations. US Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, Book 6, Chapter A43, 497 pp. http://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/06/a43

Peckmann, J., Reimer, A., Luth, U., Luth, C., Hansen, B.T., Heinicke, C., Hoefs, J., Reitner, J., 2001. Methane-derived carbonates and authigenic pyrite from the northwestern Black Sea. Mar. Geol. 177, 129–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-3227(01)00128-1

Picard, A., Gatman, A., Girguis, P.R., 2016. What do we really know about the role of microorganisms in iron sulfide mineral formation. Front. Earth Sci. 4, 68. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00068

Piekarek-Jankowska, H., 1994. Zatoka Pucka jako obszar drenażu wód podziemnych. Rozpr. Monogr. UG,Gdańsk, 103 pp. (in Polish).

Pimenov, N.V., Ulyanova, M.O., Kanapatsky, T.A., Veslopolova, E.F., Sigalevich, P.A., Sivkov, V.V., 2010. Microbially mediated methane and sulfur cycling in pockmark sedi- ments of the Gdansk Basin, Baltic Sea. Geo-Mar. Lett. 30, 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-010-0200-4

Pizzetti, I., Lupini, G., Bernardi Aubry, F., Acri, F., Fuchs, B.M., Fazi, S., 2016. Influence of the Po River runoff on the bacterioplankton community along trophic and salinity gradients in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Mar. Ecol. 37, 1386–1397. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12355

Poulton, S., Canfield, D., 2005. Development of a sequential extraction procedure for iron: Implications for iron partitioning in continentally derived particulates. Chem. Geol. 214, 209–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2004.09.003

Purkamo, L., Ehlert von Ahn, C.M., Jilbert, T., Muniruzzaman, M., Bange, H.W., Jenner, A.-K., Böttcher, M.E., Virtasalo, J.J, 2022. Impact of submarine groundwater discharge on biogeochemistry and microbial communities in pockmarks. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 334, 14–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2022.06.040

Quast, C., Pruesse, E., Yilmaz, P., Gerken, J., Schweer, T., Yarza, P., Peplies, J., Glöckner, F.O., 2013. The SILVA ribosomal RNA gene database project: improved data processing and web-based tools. Nucleic Acids Res. 41, D590–D596. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gks1219

Quinn, T.P., Erb, I., Gloor, G., Notredame, C., Richardson, M.F., Crowley, T.M., 2019. A field guide for the compositional analysis of any-omics data. GigaScience 8, giz107. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz107

R Core Team, 2022. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.

Riedinger, N., Formolo, M.J., Lyons, T.W., Henkel, S., Beck, A., Kasten, S., 2014. An inorganic geochemical argument for coupled anaerobic oxidation of methane and iron reduction in marine sediments. Geobiology 12 (2), 172–181. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12077

Raiswell, R., Canfield, D.E., 2012. The iron biogeochemical cycle past and present. Geochem. Perspect. 1, 1–220. https://doi.org/10.7185/geochempersp.1.1

Rozan, T.F., Taillefert, M., Trouwborst, R.E., Glazer, B.T., Ma, S., Herszage, J., Valdes, L.M., Price, K.S., Luther, G.W. III, 2002. Iron-sulfur-phosphorus cycling in the sediments of a shallow coastal bay: implications for sediment nutrient release and benthic macroalgal blooms. Limnol. Oceanogr. 47, 1346–1354. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2002.47.5.1346

Ruff, S.E., Biddle, J.F., Teske, A.P., Knittel, K., Boetius, A., Ramette, A., 2015. Global dispersion and local diversification of the methane seep microbiome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112, 4015–4020. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.14218651

Runge, E., Mansor, M., Chiu, T.H., Shuster, J., Fischer, S., Kappler, A., Duda, J.P., 2024. Hydrothermal sulfidation of biogenic magnetite produces framboid-like pyrite. Commun. Earth Environ. 5, 252. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01400-z

Sánchez-Román, M., McKenzie, J.A., Wagener, A.L.R., Rivadeneyra, M.A., Vasconcelos, C., 2009. Presence of sulfate does not inhibit low-temperature dolomite precipitation. Earth Planet. Sci. Let. 285, 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.06.003

Scanlon, K.M., Knebel, H.J., 1989. Pockmarks in the floor of Penobscot Bay, Maine. Geo-Mar. Lett. 9, 53–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02262818

Schrum, H.N., Murray, R.W., Gribsholt, B., 2012. Comparison of Rhizon sampling and whole round squeezing for marine sediment porewater. Sci. Dril. 13, 47–50. https://doi.org/10.2204/iodp.sd.13.08.2011

Sivan, O., Adler, M., Pearson, A., Gelman, F., Bar-Or, I., John, S.G., Eckert, W., 2011. Geochemical evidence for ironmediated anaerobic oxidation of methane. Limnol. Oceanogr. 56, 1536–1544. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2011.56.4.1536

Söderberg, P., Flodén, T., 1997. Stratabound submarine terraces and pockmarks – indicators of spring sapping in glacial clay, Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden. [In:] Cato, I., Klingberg, F. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth Marine Geological Conference – The Baltic, Uppsala, pp. 1995.

Suess, E., 1979. Mineral phases formed in anoxic sediments bymicrobialdecompositionoforganicmatter. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 43, 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(79)90199-6

Sundby, B., Anderson, L.G., Hall, P.O.J., Iverfeldt, A., Rutgers van der Loeff, M., Westerlund, S., 1986. The effect of oxygen on release and uptake of cobalt, manganese, iron and phosphate at the sediment-water interface. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 1281–1288. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(86)90411-4

Szymczycha, B., Böttcher, M.E., Ehlert von Ahn, C.M., Diak, M., Koziorowska-Makuch, K., Kuliński, K., Makuch, P., Winogradow, A., 2023. The benthic-pelagic coupling affects the surface water carbonate system above groundwater-charged coastal sediments. Front. Mar. Sci. 10, 1218245. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1218245

Teichert, B.M.A., Bohrmann, G., Suess, E., 2005. Chemoherms on Hydrate Ridge – Unique microbially-mediated carbonate build-ups growing into the water column. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 227, 67–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.04.029

Thang, N.M., Bruchert, V., Formolo, M., Wegener, G., Ginters, L., Jørgensen, B.B., Ferdelman, T.G., 2013. The impact of sediment and carbon fluxes on the biogeochemistry of methane and sulfur in littoral Baltic Sea sediments (Himmerfjärden, Sweden). Estuar. Coast. 36, 98–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-012-9557-0

Thiel, J., Byrne, J.A., Kappler, A., Schink, B., Pester, M., 2019. Pyrite formation from FeS and H2S is mediated through microbial redox activity. PNAS 116, 6897–6902. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1814412116

Uścinowicz, S., Kramarska, R., Miotk-Szpiganowicz, G., 2011. Geological setting and bottom sediments in the Baltic Sea. [In:] Uścinowicz, S. (Ed.), Geochemistry of Baltic Sea Surface Sediments. Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute, Warsaw, 66–82.

Virtasalo, J.J., Schröder, J.F., Luoma, S., Majaniemi, J., Mursu, J., Scholten, J., 2019. Submarine groundwater discharge site in the First Salpausselkä ice-marginal formation, south Finland. Solid Earth 10, 405–423. https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-405-2019

Vasconcelos, C., McKenzie, J.A., Warthmann, R., Bernasconi, S.M., 2005. Calibration of the 𝜎18O paleothermometer for dolomite precipitated in microbial cultures and natural environments. Geology 33, 317–32

full, complete article - PDF


Comparison of freezing and pasteurization as long-term preservation methods for nutrient samples collected from inshore coastal waters
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68302, 20 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/FANY1431

Stefano Cozzi1,*, E. Malcolm S. Woodward2
1CNR – Marine Science Institute, Area Science Park, Statale 14, 34149 Trieste, Italy;
e-mail: stefano.cozzi@cnr.it (S. Cozzi)
2Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, Devon PL1 3DH, United Kingdom
*corresponding author

Keywords: Dissolved inorganic nutrients; Filtration; Pasteurization; Storage; Determination; Best practicesy

Received: 5 December 2025; revised: 14 March 2026; accepted: 28 April 2026

Highlights

Abstract

Within the framework of the EuroGO-SHIP Project, an experiment on the long-term preservation of nutrients in seawater samples was conducted in May 2023 using high-salinity, low-nutrient continental shelf waters from the Gulf of Trieste. Sample comparison included filtered and non-filtered samples, preserved by both freezing and pasteurization techniques. The results indicated that neither of these methods is individually ideal for the long-term (6- and 12-month) preservation of seawater samples, although freezing is less affected by experimental biases than pasteurization. Syringe filtration (0.22 µm pore size MCE filters) can cause the breakage of plankton cells and the release of nitrogen into the samples, whereas pasteurization can cause the remineralization of dissolved organic phosphorus and the release of phosphorus and silicate from marine particulate matter. Experimental results indicated that the best preservation method should be chosen depending on the biogeochemical characteristics of the marine system studied.

  References   ref

Aminot, A., Kérouel, R., 1997a. Assessment of heat treatment for nutrient preservation in seawater samples. Anal. Chim. Acta 351(1–3), 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-2670(97)00366-8

Aminot, A., Kérouel, R., 1997b. Reference material for nutrients for the QUASIMEME laboratory performance studies 1993–1996. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 35, 78–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(97)00125-2

Aminot, A., Kérouel, R., 1998. Pasteurization as an alternative method for preservation of nitrate and nitrite in seawater samples. Mar. Chem. 61, 203–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4203(98)00021-8

Aoyama, M., Becker, S., Dai, M., Daimon, H., Gordon, L. I., Kasai, H., Kérouel, R., Kress, N., Masten, D., Murata, A., Nagai, N., Ogawa, H., Ota, H., Saito, H., Saito, K., Shimizu, T., Takano, H., Tsuda, A., Yokouchi, K., Youenou, A., 2007. Recent Comparability of Oceanographic Nutrients Data: Results of a 2003 Intercomparison Exercise Using Reference Materials. Anal. Sci. 23, 1151–1154. https://doi.org/10.2116/analsci.23.1151

Becker, S., Aoyama, M., Woodward, E.M.S., Bakker, K., Coverly, S., Mahaffey, C., Tanhua, T., 2020. GO-SHIP Repeat Hydrography Nutrient Manual: The Precise and Accurate Determination of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients in Seawater, Using Continuous Flow Analysis Methods. Front. Mar. Sci. 7, 581790. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.581790

Burton, J.D., Leatherland, T.M., Liss, P.S., 1970. The reactivity of dissolved silicon in some natural waters. Limnol. Oceanogr. 15, 472–476

Chapman, P., Mostert, S.A., 1990. Does freezing of nutrient samples cause analytical errors? S. Afr. J. Marine Sci. 9, 239–247. https://doi.org/10.2989/025776190784378763

Clementson, L.A., Wayte, S.E., 1992. The effect of frozen storage of open-ocean seawater samples on the concentration of dissolved phosphate and nitrate. Water Res. 26, 1171–1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(92)90177-6

Cozzi, S., Cabrini, M., Kralj, M., De Vittor, C., Celio, M., Giani, M., 2020. Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on environmental conditions and phytoplankton community in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea). Water 12, 2652. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092652

Cozzi, S., Giani, M., 2011. River water and nutrient discharges in the Northern Adriatic Sea: current importance and long term changes. Cont. Shelf Res. 31, 1881–1893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2011.08.010

Cozzi, S., Mistaro, A., Sparnocchia, S., Colugnati, L., Bajt, O., Toniatti, L., 2014. Anthropogenic loads and biogeochemical role of urea in the Gulf of Trieste. Sci. Total Environ. 493, 271–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.148

Crompton, T.R., 2006. Analysis of seawater: a guide for the analytical and environmental chemist. Springer- Verlag, Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co., ISBN-103-540-26762-X.

Daniel, A., Kérouel, R., Aminot, A., 2012. Pasteurization: A reliable method for preservation of nutrient in seawater samples for inter-laboratory and field applications. Mar. Chem. 128-129, 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2011.10.002

Diaz, J.M., Holland, A., Sanders, J.G., Bulski, K., Mollett, D., Chou, C.-W., Phillips, D., Tang, Y., Duhamel S., 2018. Dissolved Organic Phosphorus utilization by phytoplankton reveals preferential degradation of Polyphosphates over Phosphomonoesters. Front. Mar. Sci. 5, 380. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00380

Dore, J.E., Houlihan, T., Hebel, D.V., Tien, G., Tupas, L., Karl, D.M., 1996. Freezing as a method of sample preservation for the analysis of dissolved inorganic nutrients in seawater. Mar. Chem. 53, 173–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(96)00004-7

Felgentreu, L., Nausch, G., Bitschofsky, F., Nausch, M., Schulz-Bull, D., 2018. Colorimetric chemical differentiation and detection of phosphorus in eutrophic and high particulate waters: advantages of a new monitoring approach. Front. Mar. Sci. 5, 212. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00212

Garcia, H.E., Bouchard, C., Cross, S.L., Paver, C.R., Wang, Z., Reagan, J.R., Boyer, T.P., Locarnini, R.A., Mishonov, A.V., Baranova, O., Seidov, D., Dukhovskoy, D., 2024. World Ocean Atlas 2023, Volume 4: Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, silicate). A. Mishonov (Tech. Ed). NOAA Atlas NESDIS 92. https://doi.org/10.25923/39qw-7j08

Gardolinski, P.C.F.C, Hanrahan, G., Achterberg, E.P., Gledhill, M., Tappin, A.D., House, W.A., Worsfold, P.J., 2001. Comparison of sample storage protocols for the determination of nutrients in natural waters. Water Res. 35,

3670–3678. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(01)00088-4

Grasshoff, K., Kremling, K., Ehrhardt, M., 1999. Methods of seawater analysis. 3rd edn. (completely revised and extended edition), Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim. https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527613984

Grilli, F., Accoroni, S., Acri, F., Bernardi Aubry, F., Bergami, C., Cabrini, M., Campanelli, A., Giani, M., Guicciardi, S., Marini, M., Neri, F., Penna, A., Penna, P., Pugnetti, A., Ravaioli, M., Riminucci, F., Ricci, F., Totti, C., Viaroli, P., Cozzi, S., 2020. Seasonal and interannual trends of oceanographic parameters over 40 years in the northern Adriatic Sea in relation to nutrient loadings from EMODnet Chemistry data portal. Water 12, 2280. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082280

Hydes, D.J., Aoyama, M., Aminot, A., Bakker, K., Becker, S., Coverly, S., Daniel, A., Dickson, A.G., Grosso, O., Kérouel, R., van Ooijen, J., Sato, K., Tanhua, T., Woodward, E.M.S., Zhang, J.Z., 2010. Determination of dissolved nutrients (N, P, Si) in seawater with high precision and inter- comparability using gas-segmented continuous flow analysers. GO-SHIP Repeat Hydrography Manual: A collection of expert reports and guidelines. IOCCP rep. no. 14, ICPO publ. ser. no. 134, Ver. 1.

Ivančić, I., Kraus, R., Najdek, M., Cozzi, S., 2021. Ecological importance of alkaline phosphatase activity in changing marine environmental conditions. Water 13, 2750. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192750

Kattner, G., 1999. Storage of dissolved inorganic nutrients in seawater: poisoning with mercuric chloride. Mar. Chem. 67, 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4203(99)00049-3

Kérouel, R., Aminot, A., 1997. Fluorometric determination of ammonia in sea and estuarine waters by direct segmented flow analysis. Mar. Chem. 57, 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4203(97)00040-6

Kirkwood, D.S., 1992. Stability of solutions of nutrient salts during storage. Mar. Chem. 38, 151–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(92)90032-6

Kim, M.S., Choi, M.S., Rhee, T.S., 2025. Comparative assess- ment of preservation methods for major nutrients in polar seawater. Mar. Chem. 272, 104546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2025.104546

Kotlash, A.R., Chessman, B.C., 1998. Effects of water sample preservation and storage on nitrogen and phosphorus determinations: implications for the use of automated sampling equipment. Water Res. 32, 3731–3737. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(98)00145-6

Lee, S., Kang, Y.-C., Fuhrman, J.A., 1995. Imperfect retention of natural bacterioplankton cells by glass fiber filters. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 119, 285–290. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps119285

Liang, Z., Letscher, R.T., Knapp, A.N., 2023. Global patterns of surface ocean dissolved organic matter stoichiometry. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 37, e2023GB007788. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GB007788

Lipizer, M., De Vittor, C., Falconi, C., Comici, C., Tamberlich, F., Giani, M., 2012. Effects of intense physical and bio- logical forcing factors on CNP pools in coastal waters (Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea). Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 115, 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2012.03.024

Macdonald, R.W., McLaughlin, F.A., 1982. The effect of storage by freezing on dissolved inorganic phosphate, nitrate, and reactive silicate for samples from coastal and estuarine waters. Water Res. 16, 95–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(82)90058-6

Macdonald, R.W., McLaughlin, F.A., Wong, C.S., 1986. The storage of reactive silicate samples by freezing. Limnol. Oceanogr. 31, 1139–1142. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1986.31.5.1139

Redfield, A.C., Ketchum, B., Richards, F.A., 1963. The influence of organisms on the composition of seawater. In: Hill, M. (Ed.), The Sea. Interscience, New York, 26–77.

Rho, T., Son, P., Choi, S.-H., Kang, D.-J., 2022. Cryogenic freezing: A reliable preservation method of samples for seawater nutrient analysis. Limnol. Oceanogr.: Methods 20, 543–552. https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10503

Richards, F.A., 1958. Dissolved silicate and related properties of some western North Atlantic and Caribbean waters. J. Mar. Res. 17, 449–465.

Sakamoto, C.M., Friederich, G.E., Codispoti, L.A., 1990. MBARI procedures for automated nutrient analyses using a modified Alpkem Series 300 Rapid Flow Analyzer. Monter. Bay Aquar. Res. Inst. Tech. Rep. 9:84.

Segura-Noguera, M., Cruzado, A., Blasco, D., 2011. Nutrient preservation, analysis precision and quality control of an oceanographic database of inorganic nutrients, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a from the NW Mediterranean Sea. Sci. Mar. 75, 321–339. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2011.75n2321

Salvi, C., Melis, R., Celio, M., Faganeli, J., 1998. Suspended matter in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea) during the occurrence of macroaggregates in 1991. Boll. Geofis. Teor. Appl. 39, 219–241.

Shrivastava, A., Gupta, V., 2011. Methods for the determination of limit of detection and limit of quantitation of the analytical methods. Chronicles Young Sci. 2, 1. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-5186.79345

Solidoro, C., Bastianini, M., Bandelj, V., Codermatz, R., Cossarini, G., Melaku Canu, D., Ravagnan, E., Salon, S., Trevisani, S., 2009. Current state, scales of variability, and trends of biogeochemical properties in the northern Adriatic Sea. J. Geophys. Res. 114, C07S91. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JC004838

Strickland, J.D.H., Parsons, T.R., 1972. A Practical Handbook of Seawater Analysis. Fish. Res. Board Canada Bull., Ottawa, 167 pp.

Van Cappellen, P., Dixit, S., van Beusekom, J., 2012. Biogenic silica dissolution in the oceans: Reconciling experimental and field-based dissolution rates. Glob. Biogeochem. Cy. 16(4), 1075. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GB001431

Viaroli, P., Soana, E., Pecora, S., Laini, A., Naldi, M., Fano, E.A., Nizzoli, D., 2018. Space and time variations of watershed N and P budgets and their relationships with reactive N and P loadings in a heavily impacted river basin (Po River, Northern Italy). Sci. Total Environ. 639, 1574–1587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.233

Wong, G.T.F., Li-Tzu Hou, L., Li, K.-Y., 2017. Preservation of seawater samples for soluble reactive phosphate, nitrite, and nitrate plus nitrite analyses by the addition of sodium hydroxide. Limnol. Oceanogr.: Methods 15, 320–327. https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10160

full, complete article - PDF


Spatial and temporal variability of aerosol optical depth over the Baltic Sea based on MERRA-2 and CAMSRA reanalyses
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68303, 21 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/PKCT9576

Anna Rozwadowska*, Piotr Markuszewski
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81–712 Sopot, Poland;
e-mail: ania@iopan.pl (A. Rozwadowska)
*corresponding author

Keywords: Aerosol optical thickness; Aerosol optical depth; Baltic Sea; MERRA-2; CAMSRA; Trend; Seasonal cycle; Spatial variability; NAO index; Fires

Received: 3 November 2025; revised: 4 March 2026; accepted: 28 April 2026

Highlights

Abstract

The spatial and temporal variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the Baltic Sea was analysed using two atmospheric reanalyses: MERRA-2 (1980–2023) and CAMSRA (2003–2023). The study examined total and speciated AOD at 550 nm – sulphate, organic, black carbon, sea salt, and dust – focusing on spatial patterns, long-term trends, seasonal cycles, and relationships with fire activity and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Both reanalyses show a south-to-north decrease in total AOD, with basin-mean values of 0.221 (1980–1999, MERRA-2), 0.135 (2003–2023, MERRA-2), and 0.116 (2003–2023, CAMSRA). The long-term trends are negative (−0.073 [62% confidence intervals: −0.111; −0.045] per decade, significant at a 90% confidence level, −0.006 [−0.009; −0.002] per decade, insignificant, and −0.016 [−0.021; −0.009] per decade, significant at a 90% confidence level, respectively), being strongest over the southern Baltic Sea and weaker in the north. The seasonal AOD cycle changed from a single spring maximum in the late 20th century to a dominant summer maximum after 2012. Fire activity shows its strongest correlation with total and black carbon AOD in spring, while the NAO index correlates positively with sea-salt AOD in winter and negatively in July. The greatest agreement between AOD characteristics derived from MERRA-2 and CAMSRA was found for total AOD and sea salt AOD.

  References   ref

Amarillo, A.C., Curci, G., De Santis, D., et al., 2024. Validation of aerosol chemical composition and optical properties provided by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) using ground-based global data. Atmos. Environ. 334, 120683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120683

Ansmann, A., Bösenberg, J., Chaikovsky, A., et al., 2003. Long-range transport of Saharan dust to northern Europe: The 11–16 October 2001 outbreak observed with EARLINET. J. Geophys. Res. 108(D24), 4783. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003757

Barnston, A.G., Livezey, R.E., 1987. Classification, seasonality and persistence of low-frequency atmospheric circulation patterns. Mon. Weather Rev. 115, 6, 1083–1126. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1987)115<1083:CSAPOL>2.0.CO;2

Bladé, I., Liebmann, B., Fortuny, D., van Oldenborgh, G.J., 2012. Observed and simulated impacts of the summer NAO in Europe: implications for projected drying in the Mediterranean region. Clim. Dynam. 39, 709–727. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-011-1195-x

Bressi, M., Cavalli, F., Putaud, J.P., et al., 2021. A European aerosol phenomenology – 7: High-time resolution chemical characteristics of submicron particulate matter across Europe. Atmos. Environ.: X, 10, 100108, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2021.100108

CAMS, 2020a. CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) monthly averaged fields. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Atmosphere Data Store, (Accessed on 20.10.2024). https://doi.org/10.24381/fd75fff2

CAMS, 2020b. CAMS global reanalysis (EAC4) subdaily fields. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) Atmosphere Data Store, (Appendix), (Accessed on 20.10.2024). https://doi.org/10.24381/d58bbf47

Chin, M., Ginoux, P., Kinne, S., et al., 2002. Tropospheric aerosol optical thickness from the GOCART model and comparisons with satellite and sun photometer measurements. J. Atmos. Sci. 59, 461–483. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<0461:TAOTFT>2.0.CO;2

Christoudias, T., Pozzer, A., Lelieveld, J., 2012. Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on air pollution transport. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 12, 869–877. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-869-2012

Colarco, P., da Silva, A., Chin, M., Diehl, T., 2010. Online simulations of global aerosol distributions in the NASA GEOS4 model and comparisons to satellite and ground-based aerosol optical depth. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D14207. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012820

Collaud Coen, M., Andrews, E., Bigi, A., Romanens, G., Martucci, G., Vuilleumier, L., 2020. Effects of the prewhiten- ingmethod, the time granularity and the time segmentation on the Mann–Kendall trend detection and the associated Sen’s slope, Atmos. Meas. Tech. 13, 6945–6964. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6945-2020

Darmenov, A.S., da Silva, A., 2015. The Quick Fire Emissions Dataset (QFED): Documentation of Versions 2.1, 2.2 and 2.4. Tech. Rep. Ser. Global Modeling and Data Assimilation, Vol. 38, Koster, R.D. (ed.) Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt, MD, 201 pp., (Appendix). https://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/pubs/docs/Darmenov796.pdf

de Meij, A., Pozzer, A., Lelieveld, J., 2012. Trend analysis in aerosol optical depths and pollutant emission estimates between 2000 and 2009. Atmos. Environ. 51, 75–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.01.059

Di Antonio, L., Di Biagio, C., Foret, G., et al., 2023. Aerosol optical depth climatology from the high-resolution MAIAC product over Europe: differences between major European cities and their surrounding environments. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 23, 12455–12475. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12455-2023

Diehl, T., Heil, A., Chin, M., et al., 2012. Anthropogenic, biomass burning, and volcanic emissions of black carbon, organic carbon, and SO2 from 1980 to 2010 for hindcast model experiments. Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discus. 12 (9), 24895–24954, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-12-24895-2012

Dong, B., Sutton, R.T., Woollings, T., Hodges, K., 2013. Variability of the North Atlantic summer storm track: mechanisms and impacts on European climate. Environ. Res. Lett. 8, 034037. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034037

Duncan, B.N., Martin, R.V., Staudt, A.C., et al., 2003. Interannual and seasonal variability of biomass burning emissions constrained by satellite observations. J. Geophys. Res. 108 (D2), 4100, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002378

Eck, T.F., Holben, B.N., Reid, J.S., et al., 1999. Wavelength dependence of the optical depth of biomass burning, urban, and desert dust aerosols, J. Geophys. Res. 104 (D24), 31333–31350, (Appendix). European Commission, 2010. European Commission/Joint Research Centre (JRC)/Netherlands Environmental Assessment agency (PBL): Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), release ver. 4.1, (Appendix). https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu

European Comission, 2011. European Commission/Joint Research Centre (JRC)/Netherlands Environmental Assessment agency (PBL): Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), release ver. 4.2, (Appendix). https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Filonchyk, M., Hurynovich, V., Yan, H., Zhou, L., Gusev, A., 2020. Climatology of aerosol optical depth over Eastern Europe based on 19 years (2000–2018) MODIS TERRA data. Int. J. Climatol. 40, 3531–3549. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6412

Folland, C.K., Knight, J., Linderholm, H.W., et al., 2009. The summer North Atlantic Oscillation: past, present, and future. J. Clim. 22, 1082–103. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JCLI2459.1

Friman, M., Aurela, A., Saarnio, K., et al., 2023. Long-term characterization of organic and elemental carbon at three different background areas in northern Europe. Atmos. Environ. 310, 119953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.119953

Giles, D.M., Sinyuk, A., Sorokin, M.G., et al., 2019. Advancements in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 database – automated near-realtime quality control algorithm with improved cloud screening for Sun photometer aerosol optical depth (AOD)measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech. 12, 169–209, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-169-2019

Ginoux, P., Chin, M., Tegen, I., et al., 2001. Sources and distributions of dust aerosols simulated with the GOCART model. J. Geophys. Res. 106 (D17), 20255–20273, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD000053

Glantz, P., Fawole, O.G., Ström, J., et al., 2022. Unmasking the effects of aerosols on greenhouse warming over Europe. J. Geophys. Res.: Atmospheres 127, e2021JD035889. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035889

Glantz, P., Freud, E., Johansson, C., et al., 2019. Trends in MODIS and AERONET derived aerosol optical thickness over Northern Europe. Tellus B 71(1), 1554414. https://doi.org/10.1080/16000889.2018.1554414

GMAO, 2015a. MERRA-2 tavgM_2d_aer_Nx: 2d, Monthly mean, Time-averaged, Single-Level, Assimilation, Aerosol DiagnosticsV5.12.4, Greenbelt, MD, USA, Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GESDISC), (Accessed on 10-09-2024). http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/FH9A0MLJPC7N

GMAO, 2015b. MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly, Time-averaged, Single-Level, Assimilation, Aerosol Diagnostics V5.12.4, Greenbelt, MD, USA, Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GESDISC), (Appendix; Accessed on 10.09.2024). https://doi.org/10.5067/KLICLTZ8EM9D

GMAO,2015c. MERRA-2tavgM_2d_slv_Nx: 2d,Monthlymean, Time-Averaged, Single-Level, Assimilation, Single-Level Diagnostics V5.12.4, Greenbelt, MD, USA, Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GESDISC), (Accessed on 8.03.2024). https://doi.org/10.5067/AP1B0BA5PD2K

Gong, S.L., 2003. A parameterization of sea-salt aerosol source function for sub- and supermicron particles. Global Biogeochem. Cy. 17(4), 1097, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GB002079

Granier, C., Bessagnet, B., Bond, T., et al., 2011. Evolution of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of air pollutants at global and regional scales during the 1980–2010 period. Climate Change 109, 163–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0154-1

Guenther, A., Hewitt, C.N., Erickson, D., et al., 1995. A global model of natural volatile organic compound emissions. J. Geophys. Res. 100 (D5), 8873–8892, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1029/94JD02950

Gueymard, C.A., Yang D., 2020. Worldwide validation of CAMS and MERRA-2 reanalysis aerosol optical depth products using 15 years of AERONET observations. Atmos. Environ. 225, 117216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.117216

Han, K.M., Jung, C.H., Song, C.H., et al., 2025. Trends and classification of aerosol observed from MODIS sensor over Northern Europe and the Arctic. Atmos. Pollut. Res. 16, 102329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2024.102329

Holben, B.N., Eck, T.F., Slutsker, I., et al., 1998. AERONET – a federated instrument network and data archive for aerosol characterization. Remote Sens. Environ. 66 (1), 1–16, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(98)00031-5

Inness, A., Ades, M., Agustı́-Panareda, A., et al., 2019. The CAMS reanalysis of atmospheric composition. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 19, 3515–3556. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3515-2019 Kaiser, J.W., Heil, A., Andreae, M.O., et al., 2012. Biomass burning emissions estimated with a global fire assimilation system based on observed fire radiative power. Biogeosciences 9, 527–554, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-527-2012

Karl, M., Jonson, J.E., Uppstu, A., et al., 2019. Effects of ship emissions on air quality in the Baltic Sea region simulated with three different chemistry transport models. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 19, 7019–7053. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7019-2019

Kecorius, S., Kivekäs, N., Kristensson, A., et al., 2016. Significant increase of aerosol number concentrations in air masses crossing a densely trafficked sea area. Oceanologia 58 (1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2015.08.001

Lana, A., Bell, T.G., Simó, R., et al., 2011. An updated climatology of surface dimethlysulfide concentrations and emission fluxes in the global ocean. Global Biogeochem. Cy. 25 (1), GB1004, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GB003850

Lehmann, A., Getzlaff, K., Harlaß, J., 2011. Detailed assessment of climate variability in the Baltic Sea area for the period 1958 to 2009. Clim Res. 46, 185–196. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00876

Lewandowska, A.U., Śliwinska-Wilczewska, S., Woźniczka, D., 2017. Identification of cyanobacteria and microalgae in aerosols of various sizes in the air over the Southern Baltic Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 125 (1–2), 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.07.064 Lynch, P., Reid, J.S., Westphal, D.L., et al., 2016. An 11-year global gridded aerosol optical thickness reanalysis (v1.0) for atmospheric and climate sciences. Geosci. Model Dev. 9, 1489–1522. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-1489-2016

Maciszewska, A.E., Markowicz, K.M., Witek, M.L., 2010. Multiyear analysis of aerosol optical thickness over Europe and Central Poland using NAAPS model simulation. Acta Geophys. 58 (6), 1147–1163. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-010-0034-5

Mancinelli, E., Passerini, G., Virgili, S., Rizza, U., 2024. Multidecadal trends in aerosol optical depth of the main aerosol species based on MERRA-2 reanalysis: A case study in the Baltic Sea Basin. Remote Sens. 16, 2421. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16132421

Markowicz, K.M., Chilinski, M.T., Lisok, J., et al., 2016. Study of aerosol optical properties during long-range transport of biomass burning from Canada to central Europe in July 2013. J. Aerosol Sci. 101, 156–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2016.08.006

Markowicz, K. M., Okrasa, I., Chilinski, M.T., et al., 2024. Long term variability of the MERRA 2 radiation budget over Poland in Central Europe. Acta Geophys. 72, 2907–2924. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-023-01256-5

Markowicz, K.M., Zawadzka-Manko, O., Posyniak, M., 2022. A large reduction of direct aerosol cooling over Poland in the last decades. Int. J. Climatol. 42(7), 4129–4146. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7488

Markuszewski, P, Kosecki, S, Petelski, T., 2017. Sea spray aerosol fluxes in the Baltic Sea region: Comparison of the WAM model with measurements. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 195, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.10.007

McCarty, J.L., Krylov, A.M., Prishchepov, A., et al., 2016. Agricultural fires in European Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania and their impact on air quality, 2002–2012. [in:] Gutman, G., Radeloff, V. (eds), Land-Cover and Land- Use Changes in Eastern Europe after the Collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Springer Nature, 247 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42638-9

Meier, H.E.M., Barghorn, L., Börgel, F., et al., 2023. Multidecadal climate variability dominated past trends in the water balance of the Baltic Sea watershed. npj Clim. Atmos. Sci. 6, 58. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00380-9

Meier M.H.E., Kniebusch, M., Dieterich, C., et al., 2022. Climate change in the Baltic Sea region: a summary. Earth Syst. Dynam. 13, 457–593. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-457-2022

Monahan, E.C., Spiel, D.E., Davidson, K.L., 1986. A model of marine aerosol generation via whitecaps and wave disruption. [In:] Monahan, E.C., Niocaill, G.M. (eds.), Oceanic Whitecaps and Their Role in Air-Sea Exchange Processes. Springer, Dordrecht, 167–174, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4668-2_16

Morcrette, J.-J., Boucher, O., Jones, L., et al., 2009. Aerosol analysis and forecast in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Integrated Forecast System: Forward modeling. J. Geophys. Res. 114, D06206. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011235

O’Neill, N.T., Eck, T.F., Holben, B.N., et al., 2001. Bimodal size distribution influence on the variation of Angstrom derivatives in spectral and optical depth space. J. Geophys. Res. 106 (D9), 9787–9806, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900245

Petelski, T., Markuszewski, P., Makuch, P., et al., 2014. Studies of vertical coarse aerosol fluxes in the boundary layer over the Baltic Sea. Oceanologia 56(4), 697–710. https://doi.org/10.5697/oc.56-4.697

Randerson, J.T., Liu, H., Flanner, M.G., et al., 2006. The impact of boreal forest fire on climate warming. Science 314 (5802), 1130–1132, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1132075

Randles, C.A., da Silva, A.M., Buchard, V., et al., 2017. The MERRA-2 aerosol reanalysis, 1980 onward. Part I: System description and data assimilation evaluation. J. Cli- mate 30, 6823–6850. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0609.1

Rutgersson, A., Jaagus, J., Schenk, F., Stendel, M., 2014. Observed changes and variability of atmospheric parameters in the Baltic Sea region during the last 200 years. Clim Res. 61, 177–190. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01244

Shang, X., Mielonen, T., Lipponen, A., et al., 2021. Mass concentration estimates of long-range-transported Canadian biomass burning aerosols from a multiwavelength Raman polarization lidar and a ceilometer in Finland. Atmos. Meas. Tech. 14, 6159–6179. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6159-2021

Sindelarova, K., Granier, C., Bouarar, I., et al., 2014. Global data set of biogenic VOC emissions calculated by the MEGAN model over the last 30 years. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 14, 9317–9341, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9317-2014

Sinyuk, A., Holben, B.N., Eck, T.F., et al., 2020. The AERONET Version 3 aerosol retrieval algorithm, associated uncertainties and comparisons to Version 2. Atmos. Meas. Tech. 13, 3375–3411, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3375-2020

Stein, O., Schultz, M.G., Bouarar, I., etal., 2014. On the wintertime low bias of Northern Hemisphere carbon monoxide found in global model simulations. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 14, 9295–9316, (Appendix). https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9295-2014

Thakur, R.C., Dada, L., Beck, L.J., et al., 2022. An evaluation of new particleformation events in Helsinki during a Baltic Sea cyanobacterial summer bloom. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 22 (9), 6365–6391. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6365-2022

Witthuhn, J., Hünerbein, A., Filipitsch, F., 2021. Aerosol properties and aerosol–radiation interactions in clearsky conditions over Germany. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 21, 14591–14630. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14591-2021

Xian, P., Reid, J.R., Ades, M., et al., 2024. Intercomparison of aerosol optical depths from four reanalyses and their multi-reanalysis consensus. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 24, 6385–6411. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6385-2024

Yang, Y., Lou, S., Wang, H., et al., 2020. Trends and source apportionment of aerosols in Europe during 1980–2018. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 20, 2579–2590. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2579-2020

Yumimoto, K., Tanaka, T.Y., Oshima, N., Maki, T., 2024. JRAero: the Japanese Reanalysis for Aerosol v1.0. Geosci. Model Dev. 10, 3225–3253. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3225-2017

Zdun, A., Rozwadowska, A., Kratzer, S., 2011. Seasonal variability in the optical properties of Baltic aerosols. Oceanologia 53(1), 7–34. https://doi.org/10.5697/oc.53-1.007

Zdun, A., Rozwadowska, A., Kratzer, S., 2016. The impact of air mass advection on aerosol optical properties over Gotland (Baltic Sea). Atmos. Res. 182, 142–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.07.022

full, complete article - PDF


Deciphering coastal shoreline dynamics in the Mesopotamian Delta: Integrating 48-year Landsat time series (1976–2024), decision matrix analysis and future projections for Ras al Bisha, Iraqi coast
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68304, 20 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/DOXI2142

Bassim Mohammed Hashim1,*, Nadheer A. Fazaa2, Maitham A. Sultan1, Basim A. Hussain1, Esam Abd Alraheem1
1Scientific Research Commission, Baghdad, Iraq;
e-mail: bassim_hashim@src.edu.iq (B.M. Hashim)
2Ministry of Environment, Baghdad, Iraq
*corresponding author

Keywords: Iraqi coastline; Ras al Bisha; Landsat images; DSAS; Decision matrix; CVI

Received: 13 November 2025; revised: 31 March 2026; accepted: 4 May 2026

Highlights

Abstract

The Iraqi coast, particularly the Ras al Bisha region at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, is among the most sensitive regions to coastal changes due to the complex interplay between natural factors and human activities. This study analyzed spatial and temporal changes in the Ras al Bisha coastline over a 48-year period (1976, 1990, 2000, 2013, and 2024) using Landsat and the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). Statistical indicators (NSM, SCE, LRR, and EPR) were calculated, spatial changes analyzed, and a decision matrix developed to assess the intensity of erosion-accretion, with projections for 2035 and 2045. Quantitative results revealed that coastal erosion dominated 75% of the sections, particularly in the central and western areas, with maximum erosion rates of −16.7 m/year (average: −5.56 m/year). Net accretion reached 1.84 km2 in the eastern region, while erosion reached 1.44 km2 in the western and central regions (1976–2024). Results revealed a clear temporal alternation between erosion-dominated periods (1976–1990 and 2000–2013) and accretion dominated periods (1990–2000 and 2013–2024). LULC classification achieved 92.5% accuracy (Kappa = 0.91). Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) analysis identified zones F, B, and D as high risk areas (CVI = 12.91–14.43) requiring urgent coastal management interventions. Future projections to 2045 indicated a baseline shoreline advance of +32.55 m, with continued eastward expansion of Ras al Bisha. The study’s novelty lies in integrating advanced DSAS analysis with comprehensive spatial analysis frameworks, decision matrix, and future projections, providing a dynamic and holistic assessment of coastal dynamics at Ras al Bisha. Unbalanced spatial distribution of erosion and accretion reflects complex interactions between natural factors (Shamal winds, ocean currents) and human activities (new Faw port, dredging). This study recommends adopting of an integrated coastal management system for Iraq, incorporating continuous remote sensing monitoring, advanced predictive modeling, and targeted engineering and environmental interventions to mitigate erosion risks and safeguard coastal infrastructure.

  References   ref

Abd-Elhamid, H., Zeleňáková, M., Barańczuk, J., Gergelova, M., Mahdy, M., 2023. Historical Trend Analysis and Forecasting of Shoreline Change at the Nile Delta Using RS Data and GIS with the DSAS Tool. Remote Sens. 15(7), 1737. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15071737

Aditya, F., Gusmayanti, E., Sudrajat, J., 2021. Rainfall trend analysis using Mann-Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator test in West Kalimantan. IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 893 (1), 012006. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/893/1/012006

Al-Aesawi, Q., Al-Nasrawi, A., Jones, B., 2020. Short-term Geoinformatics Evaluation in the Shatt Al-Arab Delta (Northwestern Arabian/Persian Gulf). J Coastal. Res. 36 (3), 498–505. https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-19-00110.1

Al-Asadi, S., Muttashar, W., 2022. Impact of the environmental degradation of rivers on the reappraisal of international agreements related to the transboundary watercourse, Shatt Al-Arab River (Southern Iraq): a case study. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 8 (3), 84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00669-2

Aldawish, I., Ibrahim, R., 2025. Fractional-Order Modeling of Sediment Transport and Coastal Erosion Mitigation in Shorelines Under Extreme Climate Conditions: A Case Study in Iraq. Computation, 13 (5), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/computation13050104

Al-Fartusi, A., Malik, M., Abduljabbar, H., 2023. Spatial- temporal of Iraqi coastline changes utilizing remote sensing. AIP Conf. Proc. 3018 (1), 020062. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0172293

Alhumaidan, Z., Al-Jaberi, M., Al-Mosawi, W., 2023. Assessment the Subbottom Sedimentary Situation for Khor Abdullah, NW Arabian Gulf Using Sedimentary Coring Analysis and Sub-Bottom Profile Technique. Iraqi Geol. J. 56 (2D), 150–166. https://doi.org/10.46717/igj.56.2D.12ms-2023-10-18

Al-Mosawi, W., Al-Manssory, F., 2021. The Delta of Shatt Al-Arab River, Framework and Evolution. Mesopotamian J. Mar. Sci. 34 (1), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.58629/mjms.v34i1.43

Al-Taei, S., Abdulla, S., Lafta, A., 2014. Longitudinal intrusion pattern of salinity in Shatt Al Arab estuary and reasons. J. King Abdulaziz Univ.-Mar. Sci. 25 (2). https://doi.org/10.4197/Mar.25-2.10

Baig, M., Ahmad, I., Shahfahad, Tayyab, M., Rahman, A., 2020. Analysis of shoreline changes in Vishakhapatnam coastal tract of Andhra Pradesh, India: an application of digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS). Ann. Gis. 26 (4), 361–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2020.1815839

Ba-Khamis, A., Bilal, H., Al-Ansari, T., 2025. Assessing Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise in Qatar: An Index-Based Approach Using Analytic Hierarchy Process. Climate, 13 (11), 236. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli13110236

Barillà, G., Barbaro, G., Foti, G., Mauro, G., 2025. A New Methodology for Coastal Erosion Risk Assessment – Case Study: Calabria Region. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 13 (12), 2381. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13122381

Chrisben Sam, S., Gurugnanam, B., 2023. End point rate analysis and estimation along the southwest coast of Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, using geospatial techniques. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20 (7), 7463–7476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04374-7

Colak, A., 2024. Geospatial analysis of shoreline changes in the Oman coastal region (2000–2022) using GIS and remote sensing techniques. Front. Mar. Sci. 11, 1305283. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1305283

Darwish, K., Smith, S., 2023. Landsat-Based Assessment of Morphological Changes along the Sinai Mediterranean Coast between 1990 and 2020. Remote Sens.-Basel. 15(5), 1392. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051392

El Kafrawy, S.B., Ahmed, M.H., 2020. Monitoring and Protection of Egyptian Northern Lakes Using Remote Sensing Technology. [In:] Elbeih, S., Negm, A., Kostianoy, A. (Eds.), EnvironmentalRemoteSensinginEgypt. Springer, Cham, 231–284. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39593-3_9

El-Masry, E., 2022. Beach responses to coastal structures and their impacts on tourism investment, Sidi Abd El-Rahman coastal zone – Mediterranean Sea, Egypt. Arab. J. Geosci. 15 (23), 1708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-11008-2

Esmail, M., Mahmod, W., Fath, H., 2019. Assessment and prediction of shoreline change using multi-temporal satellite images and statistics: Case study of Damietta coast, Egypt. Appl. Ocean. Res. 82, 274–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apor.2018.11.009

Farris, A., Long, J., Himmelstoss, E.A., 2023. Accuracy of shoreline forecasting using sparse data. Ocean. Coast. Manage. 239, 106621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106621

Fernández-Hernández, M., Calvo, A., Iglesias, L., Castedo, R., Ortega, J., Diaz-Honrubia, A., Mora, P., Costamagna, E., 2023. Anthropic Action on Historical Shoreline Changes and Future Estimates using GIS: Guadarmar Del Segura (Spain). Appl. Sci. 13 (17), 9792. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179792

Gümüş, M., 2025. Performance Analysis of Water Extraction Indices with Geospatial and Statistical Techniques Using Google Earth Engine Platform: A Case Study of Ramsar Wetlands in Türkiye. J. Indian. Soc. Remote. Sens. 53(8), 2697–2721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-025-02180-5

Gümüs, M., Durduran, S.S., Gümüs, K., 2022. Investigation of shoreline change rates using the digital shoreline analysis system in Lake Beyşehı̇r Turkey. Bull. Geopysh. Oceanograph. 63 (1), 119–142. https://doi.org/10.4430/bgo00369

Hashim, B., Alnaemi, A., Hussain, B., Abduljabbar, S., Doost, Z., Yaseen, Z., 2024. Statistical downscaling of future temperature and precipitation projections in Iraq under climate change scenarios. Phys. Chem. Earth. 135, 103647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2024.103647

Hashim, B., Alnaemi, A., Sultan, M., Abd Alraheem, E., Abduljabbar, S., Halder, B., Shahid, S., Yaseen, Z., 2025. Im- pact of climate change on land use and relationship with land surface temperature: representative case study in Iraq. Acta Geophys. 73, 3025–3043. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-024-01514-0

Himmelstoss, E., Henderson, R., Kratzmann, M., Farris, A., 2021. Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). Version 5.1 User Guide Open-File Report 2021-1091.

Khalifa, U., 2019. Hydrodynamic of the Sediments Movement in the Southern Part of the Shatt al-Arab and North- Western of the Gulf. Basrah. J. Sci. 37 (2), 237–251. https://doi.org/10.29072/basjs.20190207

Lafta, A., 2021. Influence of atmospheric forces on seasurface fluctuations in Iraq marine water, northwest of Arabian Gulf. Arab. J. Geosci. 14 (16), 1639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07874-x

Lafta, A., 2023. General characteristics of tidal currents in the entrance of Khor Abdullah, northwest of Arabian Gulf. Oceanologia, 65 (3), 494–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2023.03.002

Le Cozannet, G., Bulteau, T., Castelle, B., Ranasinghe, R., Wöppelmann, G., Rohmer, J., Bernon, N., Idier, D., Louisor, J., Salas-y-Mélia, D., 2019. Quantifying uncertainties of sandy shoreline change projections as sea level rises. Sci. Rep. 9 (1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37017-4

Long, J., Plant, N., 2012. Extended Kalman Filter framework for forecasting shoreline evolution. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39 (13). https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052180

Luijendijk, A., Hagenaars, G., Ranasinghe, R., Baart, F., Donchyts, G., Aarninkhof, S., 2018. TheStateoftheWorld’sBeaches. Sci. Rep. 8 (1), 6641. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24630-6

Mahdi, H., Mahmood, R., Muttashar, W., 2025. Iraqi shoreline stability: a review of recent geological and engineering research. Arab. J. Geosci. 18 (6). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-025-12273-7

Mahdi, H., Muttashar, W., Mahmood, R., 2026. Geohazards and coastal dynamic: a geo-engineering assessment of the southern Iraqi shore (Ras al-Bisha zone). Oceanologia, 68 (1), 68107. https://doi.org/10.5697/ZZIM7445

Mishra, M., Chand, P., Beja, S., Santos, C., Silva, R., Ahmed, I., Kamal, A., 2023. Quantitative assessment of present and the future potential threat of coastal erosion along the Odisha coast using geospatial tools and statistical techniques. Sci. Total Environ. 875, 162488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162488

Mishra, M., Bhattacharyya, D., Mondal, B., Paul, S., Silva, R., Santos, C., Guria, R., 2025. Forecasting shoreline dy- namics and land use/land cover changes in Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary (India) using geospatial techniques and machine learning. Sci. Total Environ. 975, 179207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179207

Mishra, M., Pati, S., Paul, S., Gonçalves, R., Acharyya, T., Tripathy, B., Silva, R., Guria, R., Santos, C., 2024. Dynamic shoreline alterations and their impacts on Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) nesting sites in Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha (India). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 202, 116321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116321

Mussa, A., Aboobacker, V., Abdulla, C., Hasna, V., Al-Ansari, E., Vethamony, P., 2024. A climatological overview of surface currents in the Arabian Gulf with special reference to the Exclusive Economic Zone of Qatar. Int. J. Climatol. 44 (13), 4677–4693. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8603

Muttashar, W., Al-Aesawi, Q., Al-Nasrawi, A., Almayahi, D., Jones, B., 2024. Coastline instability evaluation: multi- temporal bathymetric mapping and sediment characteristics. Environ. Earth Sci. 83 (1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-023-11375-3

Nassar, K., Mahmod, W., Fath, H., Masria, A., Nadaoka, K., Negm, A., 2019. Shoreline change detection using DSAS technique: Case of North Sinai coast, Egypt. Mar. Georesour. Geotechnol. 37 (1), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2018.1448912

Natesan, U., Parthasarathy, A., Vishnunath, R., Kumar, G., Ferrer, V., 2015. Monitoring Longterm Shoreline Changes along Tamil Nadu, India Using Geospatial Techniques. Aquat. Proc. 4, 325–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqpro.2015.02.044

Ozturk, D., Sesli, F., 2015. Shoreline change analysis of the Kizilirmak Lagoon Series. Ocean Coast. Manage. 118, 290–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.03.009

Palomar-Vázquez, J., Pardo-Pascual, J., Almonacid-Caballer, J., Cabezas-Rabadán, C., 2023. Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool (SAET): A New Tool for the Automatic Extraction of Satellite-Derived Shorelines with Subpixel Accuracy. Remote Sens. 15 (12), 3198. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15123198

Pardo-Pascual, J., Sánchez-Garcı́a, E., Almonacid-Caballer, J., Palomar-Vázquez, J., PriegodelosSantos, E., Fernández- Sarrı́a, A., Balaguer-Beser, Á ., 2018. Assessing the Accuracy of Automatically Extracted Shorelines on Microtidal Beaches from Landsat 7, Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 Imagery. Remote Sens. 10 (2), 326. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10020326

Paul, S., Mishra, M., Guria, R., Pati, S., Baraj, B., Silva, R. da, Santos, C., 2024a. A multi-temporal analysis of shoreline dynamics influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors: Erosion and accretion along the Digha Coast, West Bengal, India. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 200, 116089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116089

Paul, S., Mishra, M., Pati, S., Acharyya, T., Santos, C., Silva, R. da, Guria, R., Laksono, F., 2024b. Evaluation of overwash vulnerability and shoreline dynamics in cyclone prone Sagar Island, Sundarbans (India). Sci. Total Environ. 907, 167933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167933

Quang, D., Ngan, V., Tam, H., Viet, N., Tinh, N., Tanaka, H., 2021. Long-Term Shoreline Evolution Using DSAS Technique: A Case Study of Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 9 (10), 1124. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9101124

Queiroz, H., Gonçalves, R., Mishra, M., 2022. Characterizing global satellite-based indicators for coastal vulnerability to erosion management as exemplified by a regional level analysis from Northeast Brazil. Sci. Total Environ. 817, 152849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152849 Roukounis, C., Tsihrintzis, V., 2022. Indices of Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Review. Environ. Process. 9 (2), 29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-022-00577-9

Saad, R., Gerard, J., Gerard, P., 2021. Detection of the Shoreline Changes Using DSAS Technique and Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Tyre Southern Lebanon. J. Oceanogr. Mar. Res. 9 (11), 1000004. Santos, C., do Nascimento, G., Freitas, L., Batista, L., Zerouali, B., Mishra, M., Silva, R., 2024. Coastal evolution and future projections in Conde County, Brazil: A multidecadal assessment via remote sensing and sea-level rise scenarios. Sci. Total Environ. 915, 169829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169829

Santos, C., Nascimento, T. do, Mishra, M., Silva, R., 2021. Analysis of long- and short-term shoreline change dynamics: A study case of João Pessoa city in Brazil. Sci. Total Environ. 769, 144889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144889

Spinu, A., Mihailov, M., Marin, D., Cindescu, A., Nenita, R., 2025. Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Hydro-Geo- Morphological Factors and Anthropogenic Pressures: A Case Study of the Romanian Black Sea Coast Using a Tailored Coastal Vulnerability Index. Earth 6 (4), 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/earth6040158

Theocharidis, C., Doukanari, M., Kalogirou, E., Christofi, D., Mettas, C., Kontoes, C., Hadjimitsis, D., Argyriou, A.V., Eliades, M., 2024. Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) Assessment: Evaluating Risks Associated with Human- Made Activities along the Limassol Coastline, Cyprus. Remote Sens. 16 (19), 3688. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16193688

Thieler, R., Hammar-Klose, E., 2000. National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise: Preliminary Results for the U.S. Pacific Coast. USGS, 2025. Earth Explorer (https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/).

Vitousek, S., Buscombe, D., Vos, K., Barnard, P., Ritchie, A., Warrick, J.A., 2023. The future of coastal monitoring through satellite remote sensing. Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures, 1, e10. https://doi.org/10.1017/cft.2022.4

Vos, K., Splinter, K., Harley, M., Simmons, J., Turner, I., 2019. CoastSat: A Google Earth Engine-enabled Python toolkit to extract shorelines from publicly available satellite imagery. Environ. Modell. Softw. 122, 104528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.104528

Xu, N., 2018. Detecting Coastline Change with All Available Landsat Data over 1986–2015: A Case Study for the State of Texas. USA Atmos. 9 (107). http://doi:10.3390/atmos9030107

Yasir, M., Liu, S., Mingming, X., Wan, J., Pirasteh, S., Dang, K., 2024. Ship Geo Net: SAR Image-Based Geometric Feature Extraction of Ships Using Convolutional Neural Networks. IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 62, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2024.3352150

Zakaria, S., Al-Ansari, N., Knutsson, S., 2013. Historical and Future Climatic Change Scenarios for Temperature and Rainfall for Iraq. J. Civ. Eng. Archit. 7 (12). https://doi.org/10.17265/1934-7359/2013.12.012

Zhang, Z., Wang, Z., Liang, B., Leng, X., Yang, B., Shi, L., 2024. Shoreline change analysis in the estuarine area of Rizhao based on remote sensing images and numerical simulation. Front. Mar. Sci. 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1488577

full, complete article - PDF


No longer a mysterious invader: first insights into the population biology of the tanaid Sinelobus vanhaareni from the southern Baltic Sea
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68305, 16 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/EZRJ4110

Monika Normant-Saremba1, Joanna Hegele-Drywa1,*, Radosław Brzana1, Marta Gellert2, Michalina Ścibik-Murawska1, Anna Stępień2, Magdalena Błażewicz2
1University of Gdańsk, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, Department of Marine Ecology, Piłsudskiego 46, 81–378 Gdynia, Poland;
e-mail: joanna.hegele-drywa@ug.edu.pl (J. Hegele-Drywa)
2University of Łódź, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, Banacha 12/16, 90–237 Łódź, Poland
*corresponding author

Keywords: Non-indigenous species; Peracarida; Gulf of Gdańsk; Biofouling; Life traits

Received: 10 February 2026; revised: 28 April 2026; accepted: 15 May 2026

Highlights

Abstract

Temporal changes in the abundance and population biology were studied in the non-indigenous tanaid Sinelobus vanhaareni colonising artificial substrates (PVC plates) submerged in the shallow coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic Sea). Individuals were collected three times, in July (early summer), August (midsummer) and October (early autumn) 2019, with the number of samples analysed (PVC plates) ranging from 10 to 12 per season. S. vanhaareni occurred with 100% frequency in all three sampling periods, with the lowest and highest densities of 667 ind. m−2 and 9.689 ind. m−2, respectively. The most common density (in 74% of all samples) did not exceed 4,000 ind. m−2. Furthermore, no temporal changes in this parameter were observed (p > 0.05). The study population (n = 2.216) consisted of juveniles, females (non-reproductive, pre-ovigerous and ovigerous) and males, ranging in size from 0.84 mm to 4.07 mm. Females of S. vanhaareni were longer than males and outnumbered them sixfold. The female-biased sex ratio increased over time. The presence of ovigerous females and juveniles in the population indicates that this species reproduces at least from June to October. The number of embryos per female ranged from 8 to 54 (mean 23 ± 10, n = 58) and increased significantly (p < 0.05) with female body length. These findings show that S. vanhaareni is characterised by several life traits that favour the rapid establishment of a stable and abundant population in non-native regions.

  References   ref

Alves, R.V.A, Lucena Frédou, F., Craveiro, N., Nolé Eduardo, L., Rosa Filho, J.S., 2023. Life history and population dynamics of the enigmatic tanaid Chondrochelia dubia (Tanaidacea: Leptocheliidae) in a tropical seaweed bed. Sci. Mar. 87 (1), e059, 11 pp. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.05322.059

Ambrosio, E.S., Ferreira, A.C., Rodrigues Capı́tulo, A., 2014. The potential use of Sinelobus stanfordi (Richardson, 1901) (Crustacea, Tanaidacea) as a biological indicator of water quality in a temperate estuary of South America. Limnetica 33, 139–152. https://doi.org/10.23818/limn.33.11

AquaNIS, 2025. Information system on aquatic non-indigenous and cryptogenic species. World Wide Web electronic publ., (Accessed 2025.12.01). https://aquanisresearch.com

Ardura, A., Planes, S., 2017. Rapid assessment of non-indigenous species in the era of the eDNA barcoding: a Mediterranean case study. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 188, 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2017.02.004

Ashelby, C.W., 2022. Tanaid in the Thames: Sinelobus van haareni Bamber, 2014 (Crustacea: Tanaididae) arrives in Britain. Cah. Biol. Mar. 63 (4), 377–383. https://doi.org/10.21411/CBM.A.FC8CA4E6

Bamber, R.N., 2008. Tanaidaceans (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea)from Moreton Bay, Queensland. [In:] Davie, P.J.F., Phillips, J.A. (Eds.), The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay, Queensland. Proc. Thirteenth Int. Marine Biol. Workshop, Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 54 (1), 143–217.

Bamber, R.N., 2014. Two new species of Sinelobus Sieg, 1980 (Crustacea: Tanaidacea: Tanaididae), and a correction to the higher taxonomic nomenclature. J. Nat. Hist. 48 (33–36), 2049–2068. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2014.897767

Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, M., 2001. Remarks on the population structure of two Antarctic peracarid crustaceans: Eudorella splendida Zimmer, 1902 (Cumacea) and Nototanais antarcticus(Hodgson, 1902)(Tanaidacea). Pol. Polar Res. 22, 35–44.

Borowsky, B., 1983. Reproductive behavior of three tube-buiding peracarid crustaceans: the amphipods Jassa falcata and Ampithoevalida and the tanaid Tanais cavolinii. Mar. Biol. 77, 257–263. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395814

Borrell, Y.J., Miralles, L., Do Huu, H., Mohammed-Geba, K., Garcia-Vazquez, E., 2017. DNA in a bottle – Rapid metabarcoding survey for early alerts of invasive species in ports. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0183347. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183347

Brzana, R., Janas, U., 2025. Natural hard substrate and 70-year-old artificial offshore structures as habitats for non-indigenous species in the brackish environment of the Baltic Sea. Mar. Environ. Res. 209, 107222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107222

Brzana, R., Marszewska, L., Normant-Saremba, M., Błażewicz, M., 2019. Non-indigenous tanaid Sinelobus van- haareni Bamber, 2014 in the Polish coastal waters – an example of successful invader. Oceanol. Hydrobiol. Stud. 48 (1), 76–84. https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2019-0008

Bückle Ramirez, L.F., 1965. Untersuchungen über die Biologie von Heterotanais oerstedi Kröyer (Crustacea, Tanaidacea). Z. Morph. Okol. Tiere 55, 714–782. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406235

César, I.I., Becerra, R.V., 2019. Biologic and Ecologic Aspects of Sinelobus stanfordi (Richardson, 1901) (Crustacea, Tanaidacea) in the Martín García Island Natural Reserve, Río De La Plata, Argentina. Annu. Res. Rev. Biol. 31 (3), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.9734/arrb/2019/v31i330048

COMPLETE.2018. Biofouling assessment protocol for leisure boats and marinas, (accessed 2025.12.31). https://balticcomplete.com/attachments/article/298/Complete%20WP%202.2%20protocol%20final.pdf

Dauvin, J-C., Pezy, J-P., Baffreau, A., Bachelet, Q., Baux, N., Méar, Y., Murat, A., Poizot, E., 2020. Effects of a salmon fish farm on benthic habitats in a high-energy hydrodynamic system: The case of the Rade de Cherbourg (English Channel). Aquaculture 518, 734832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2019.734832

Dauvin, J-C., Foveau, A., Jean, M., 2023. First results on the life cycle and population dynamics of the tanaid Zeuxo holdichi Bamber, 1990 colonizing concrete blocks deployed on oyster table (Bay of Seine, eastern part of the English Channel). La Mer 61, 245–257. https://doi.org/10.32211/lamer.61.3-4_245

Edgar, G.J., 2008. Shallow water Tanaidae (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) of Australia. Zootaxa 836, 1–92. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1836.1.1

Ferreira, A.C., Ambrosio, E.S., Rodrigues Capı́tulo, A., 2015. Population ecology of Sinelobus stanfordi (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) in a temperate southern microtidal estuary. N. Z. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 49 (4), 462–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2015.1089914

Fonseca, V.G., Davison, P.I., Creach, V., Stone, D., Bass, D., Tidbury, H.J., 2023. The application of eDNA for monitoring aquatic non-indigenous species: practical and policy considerations. Diversity 15, 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15050631

Gagnon, K., Herlevi, H., Wikström, J., Nordström, M.C., Salo, T., Salovius-Laurén, S., Rinne, H., 2022. Distribution and ecology of the recently introduced tanaidacean crustacean Sinelobus vanhaareni Bamber, 2014 in the northern Baltic Sea. Aquat. Invasions 17 (1), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2022.17.1.04

Gardiner, L.F., 1975. A fresh- and brackish-water tanaidacean, Tanais stanfordi Richardson, 1901, from a hypersaline lake in the Galapagos Archipielago, with a report on West Indian specimens. Crustaceana 29, 127–140.

Geburzi, J.C., McCarthy, M.L., 2018. How do they do it? – Understanding the success of marine invasive species. [In:] Jungblut, S., Liebich, V., Bode, M. (Eds.), YOUMARES 8 – Oceans Across Boundaries: Learning from each other. Proc. 2017 conf. YOUng MARine RESearchers, Kiel, Germany, Springer, 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93284-2_8

Guerra-Garcı́a, J.M., Revanales, T., Saenz-Arias, P., Navarro-Barranco, C., Ruiz-Velasco, S., PastorMontero, M., Sempere Valverde, J., Chebaane, S., VélezRuiz, A., Martı́nez-Laiz, G., Santos-Simón, M., Ferrario, J., Marchini, A., Nour Ola, M., Gouillieux, B., Hosie, A.M., Gerovasileiou, V., Carvalho, S., Balistreri, P.S.B., Ruvolo, V., Mancini, E.B.A., Tempesti, J., Tiralongo, F., Ignoto, S., Fernandez-Gonzalez, V., Vázquez-Luis, M., Cabezas, M.D.P., Ros, M., 2023. Quick spreading of the exotic amphipod Laticorophium baconi (Shoemaker, 1934): another small stowaway overlooked? Mediterr. Mar. Sci. 24 (3), 644–55. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.35817

Gouillieux, B., Daffe, G., Daramy F., Esquete, P., 2026. First record of Sinelobus vanhaareni (Crustacea: Peracarida) in the Bay of Biscay, French Atlantic coast. Cah. Biol. Mar. 67, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.21411/CBM.A.62308D8C

Hamers, C., Franke, C., Høisæter, T., 2000. The postmarsupial development of Tanais dulongii (Audouin, 1826) (Crustacea, Tanaidacea) in laboratory culture. Sarsia 85 (5–6), 403–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/00364827.2000.10414591

Jażdżewski, K., 1969. Biology of two hermaphroditic Crustacea, Cyathura carinata (Kröyer) (Isopoda) and Heterotanais oerstedi (Kröyer) (Tanaidacea) in waters of the Polish Baltic Sea. Zool. Pol. 19, 5–25.

Johnson, S.B., Attramadal, Y.G., 1982. Reproductive behaviour and larval development of Tanais cavolinii (Crustacea: Tanaidacea). Mar. Biol. 71, 11–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396987

Johnson, W.S., Stevens, M., Watling, L., 2001. Reproduction and development of marine Peracaridans. Adv. Marine Biol. 39, 105–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2881(01)39009-0 Kneib, R.T., 1992. Population dynamics of the tanaid Hargeria rapax (Crustacea: Peracarida) in a tidal marsh. Mar. Biol. 113, 437–445. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349169

Lackschzewitz, D., Reise, K., Buschbaum, C., Karez R., 2014. Neobiota indeutschen Küstengewässern. Eingeschleppte und kryptogene Tier- und Pflanzenarten an der deutschen Nord- und Ostseeküste. Broschüre des Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, ISBN: 978-3-937937-73-1.

Leite, F.P., Turra, A., Souza, E.C., 2003. Population biology and distribution of the tanaid Kalliapseudes schubarti Mañé-Garzon, 1949, in an intertidal flat in southeastern Brazil. Braz. J. .Biol. 63 (3), 469–79. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1519-69842003000300013

Martı́nez-Laiz, G., Ulman, A., Ros, M., Marchini, A., 2019. Is recreational boating a potential vector for non- indigenous peracarid crustaceans in the Mediterranean Sea? A combined biological and social approach. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 140, 403–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.050

Masunari, S., 1983. Postmarsupial development and population dynamics of Leptochelia savignyi (Krøyer, 1842) (Tanaidacea). Crustaceana 44, 151–162. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854083x00776

Messing, C.G., 1983. Post marsupial development and growth of Pagurapseudes largoensis McSweeny (Crustacea, Tanaidacea). J. Crust. Biol. 3, 380–408. https://doi.org/10.1163/193724083X00058

Outinen, O., Puntila-Dodd, R., Barda, I., Brzana, R., Hegele-Drywa, J., Kalnina, M., Kostanda, M., Lindqvist, A., Minchin, D., Normant-Saremba, M., Ścibik, M., Strake, S., Vuolamo, J., Lehtiniemi, M., 2021. The role of marinas in the establishment and spread of non-indigenous species in Baltic Sea fouling communities. Biofouling, 37 (9–10), 984–997. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2021.1996564

Pennafirme, S., Soares-Gomes, A., 2009, Population Biology and Reproduction of Kalliapseudes Schubartii Mañé-Garzón, 1949 (Peracarida, Tanaidacea) in a Tropical Coastal Lagoon, Itaipu, Southeastern Brazil. Crustceana 82 (12), 1509–1526. https://doi.org/10.1163/001121609X12487811051589

Rilov, G., Crocks, J.A., 2009. Marine Bioinvasions: Conservation Hazards and Vehicles for Ecological Understanding. [In:] Rilov, G., Crooks, J.A., (Eds.), Biological Invasionsin Marine Ecosystems. Ecol. Studies 204, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79236-9_1

Rishworth, G.M., Perissinotto, R., Błażewicz, M., 2019. Sinelobus stromatoliticus sp. nov. (Peracarida: Tanaidacea) found within extant peritidal stromatolites. Mar. Biodiv. 49, 783–794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-018-0851-3

Ros, M., Ashton, G.V., Cabezas, M.P., Cacabelos, E., Canning-Clode, J., Carlton, J. T., Ferrario, J., Garcı́a-de-Lomas, J., Gestoso, I., Marchini, A., Martı́nez-Laiz, G., Ruiz, G.M., 2023. Chapter 4 – Marine bioinvasions in the Anthropocene: Challenges and opportunities, [In:] Espinosa, F., (Ed.), Coastal Habitat Conservation. Acade. Press, 81–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85613-3.00006-2

Ros, M., Navarro-Barranco, C., González-Sánchez, M., Ostalé-Valriberas, E., Cervera-Currado, L., Guerra-Garcı́a, J. M., 2020. Starting the stowaway pathway: the role of dispersal behavior in the invasion success of low-mobile marine species. Biol. Invasions 22, 2797–2812. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02285-7

Rumbold, C.E, Obenat, S.M., Spivak, E. D., 2012. Life history of Tanais dulongii (Tanaidacea: Tanaidae) in an intertidal flat in the southwestern Atlantic. J. Crust. Biol. 32(6), 891–898. https://doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002094

Rumbold, C.E., Obenat, S.M., Spivak, E.D., 2014. Morphometry and relative growth of populations of Tanais du- longii (Audoin, 1826) (Tanaidacea: Tanaidae) in Pristine and impacted marine environments of the south- western Atlantic. J. Crust. Biol. 34 (5), 581–592. https://doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002265

Rumbold, C.E., Obenat, S.M., Spivak, E.D., 2015. Comparison of life history traits of Tanais dulongii (Tanaidacea: Tanaididae) in natural and artificial marine environments of the south-western Atlantic. Helgol. Mar. Res. 69, 231–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10152-015-0432-9

Sieg, J., 1980. Taxonomische Monographie der Tanaidae Dana 1849 (Crustacea: Tanaidacea). Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Natur forschenden Gesellschaft 537, 1–272.

Svedholm, J., 2021. Kräftdjuret Sinelobus vanhaareniny främmande art i Sverige. Fauna och flora 2, 28. Sokołowski, A., Ziółkowska, M., Balazy, P., et al., 2017. Seasonal and multi-annual patterns of colonisation and growth of sessile benthic fauna on artificial substrates in the brackish low-diversity system of the Baltic Sea. Hydrobiologia 790, 183–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-3043-9

Stępień, A., Jażdżewska, A.M., Ribeiro, R.S., Santos, R., Ros, M.C., 2023. The Tanaidacea challenge to invasion science: taxonomic ambiguities and small size result in another potential overlooked introduction to the Iberian coast and nearby areas. Aquat. Invasions 18, 487–506. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2023.18.4.113092

Stępień, A., Jażdżewska, A.M., 2025. A call for global integration of data from multiple sources to improve the monitoring of non-native species: an example of small, low mobile and often neglected Crustacea (Tanaidacea: Tanaididae). Hydrobiologia 852, 4119–4135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-025-05853-x

Toniollo, V., Masunari, S., 2007. Postmarsupial development of Sinelobus stanfordi (Richardson, 1901) (Tanaidacea: Tanaidae). Nauplius 15(1), 15–41.

Turbelin, A., Malamud, B.D., Francis, R.A., 2017. Mapping the global state of invasive alien species: patterns of invasion and policy responses. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 26, 78–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12517

van Haaren, T., Soors, J., 2009. Sinelobus stanfordi (Richardson, 1901): a new crustacean invader in Europe. Aquat. Invasions 4(4), 703–711. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2009.4.4.20

WoRMS Editorial Board, 2025. World Register of Marine Species. VLIZ, available at https://www.marinespecie s.org (accessed 29 December 2025). https://doi.org/10.14284/170

full, complete article - PDF


Marine microplastics in the Baltic Sea under stormy conditions: the case of Dudley, Eunice and Franklin storms in February 2022
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68306, 19 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/RLBL8633

Ilaria Guardamagna1, Piotr Markuszewski2,3,4,5,*, Mikolaj Mazurkiewicz3, Przemysław Makuch3, Sergio Andò6, Niccolò Losi2, Ezio Bolzacchini2, Piotr Okoczuk7, Leszek Wicikowski7, Kinga Stawiarz8, Małgorzata Śmiszek8, Mateusz Zawadzki8, Luca Ferrero2
1Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, National Research Council, 98122 Messina, Italy
2GEMMA and POLARIS Centre, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
3Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 81–712 Sopot, Poland;
e-mail: pmarkusz@iopan.pl (P. Markuszewski)
4Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
5Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
6Laboratory for Provenance Studies, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
7Institute of Nanotechnology and Materials Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, 80–233 Gdańsk, Poland
8Department of Physics of Electronic Phenomena, Institute of Physics and Applied Computer Science, Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Gdańsk University of Technology, 80–233 Gdańsk, Poland
*corresponding author

Keywords: Microplastics; Baltic Sea; Polymer composition; Marine pollution; Raman spectroscopy

Received: 7 October 2025; revised: 28 April 2026; accepted: 15 May 2026

Highlights

Abstract

This study investigates the distribution, characteristics, and composition of marine microplastics (MPs) in the Baltic Sea during winter, under the meteorological conditions associated with the Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin storms of 2022. Sampling was conducted aboard r/v Oceania in February 2022 at 16 stations and along 13 transects under both calm and stormy conditions, using a dedicated microplastic net, a stainless-steel pump, and Niskin bottles. The mean MPs concentration was 273.8 ± 181.1 MPs m3, with markedly higher concentrations in deeper waters, particularly in the Bothnian Sea (up to 1083.3 MPs m3). Fibres dominated the MPs pool (70.1%), followed by fragments (29.8%) and beads (0.1%). Black (38.5%), blue (24.3%), and transparent (15.6%) particles were the most common. Raman spectroscopy analysis identified polyester (other than PET, 28.6%), polyethylene (12.5%), polypropylene (7.4%), polyurethane (6.1%), PET (3.3%), rubber (1.9%), and polyamide (1.2%), while 39.1% of MPs were classified as aged and unidentifiable. Significant differences in polymer composition were found between surface and deep-water samples. MPs density strongly influenced vertical distribution in the Gulf of Gdańsk and the Bothnian Sea, whereas vertical patterns were less distinct in the storm-exposed central Baltic (Gotland Basin). The accumulation of MPs in both surface and deep waters indicates potential ecological and human-health risks.

  References   ref

Allen, S., Allen, D., Karbalaei, S., Maselli, V., Walker, T.R., 2022. Micro(nano)plastics sources, fate, and effects: What we know after ten years of research. J. Hazard. Mater. Adv. 6, 100057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100057

Ambrosini, R., Azzoni, R.S., Pittino, F., Diolaiuti, G., Franzetti, A., Parolini, M., 2019. First evidence of microplastic contamination in the supraglacial debris of an alpine glacier. Environ. Pollut. 253, 297–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.005

Andrady, A.L., 2011. Microplastics in the marine environment. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 62 (8), 1596–1605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.030

Andrejev, O., Soomere, T., Sokolov, A., Myrberg, K., 2011. The role of the spatial resolution of a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for marine transport risk assessment. Oceanologia 53 (1), 309–334. https://doi.org/10.5697/oc.53-1-TI.309

Arthur, C., Baker, J.E., Bamford, H.A., 2009. Proceedings of the International Research Workshop on the Occurrence, Effects, and Fate of Microplastic Marine Debris, September 9–11, 2008, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA. https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/2509

Bagaev, A., Khatmullina, L., Chubarenko, I., 2018. Anthropogenic microlitter in the Baltic Sea water column. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 129 (2), 918–923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.10.049

Bergmann, M., 2015. MarineAnthropogenicLitter. Springer. Bergmann, M., Collard, F., Fabres, J., Gabrielsen, G.W., Provencher, J.F., Rochman, C.M., van Sebille, E., Tekman, M.B., 2022. Plastic pollution in the Arctic. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 3 (5), 323–337. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00279-8

Boucher, J., Friot, D., 2017. Primary Microplastics in the Oceans: a Global Evaluation of Sources Carney Almroth, B., Eggert, H., 2019. Marine plastic pollution: Sources, impacts, and policy issues. Rev. Env. Econ. Policy 13 (2), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rez012

Collins, S.F., Norton, A., 2024. Prevailing wind patterns influence the distribution of plastics in small urban lakes. Sci. Rep. 14, 17741. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-68516-2

dos Santos, S.N., de Oliveira, M.A., Júnior, S.A., Rosa Filho, J.S., 2025. Does the feeding mechanism determine the accumulation of microplastics in marine benthic organisms? A systematic review. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 105, e93. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315425100532

Dris, R., Gasperi, J., Saad, M., Mirande, C., Tassin, B., 2016. Synthetic fibres in atmospheric fallout: a source of microplastics in the environment? Mar. Pollut. Bull. 104(1–2), 290–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.01.006

Efimova, I., Bagaeva, M., Bagaev, A., Kileso, A., Chubarenko, I.P., 2018. Secondary microplastics generation in the sea swash zone with coarse bottom sediments: Laboratory experiments. Front. Mar, Sci. 5 (SEP). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00313 Erni-Cassola, G., Zadjelovic, V., Gibson, M.I., Christie-Oleza, J.A., 2019. Distribution of plastic polymer types in the marine environment; A meta-analysis. J. Hazard. Mater. 369, 691–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.02.067

Feistel, R., Nausch, G., Wasmund, N., 2008. State and Evolution of the Baltic Sea, 1952–2005. Whiley Interscience, Hoboken, 703 pp. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470283134

Ferrero, L., Scibetta, L., Markuszewski, P., Mazurkiewicz, M., Drozdowska, V., Makuch, P., Jutrzenka-Trzebiatowska, P., Zaleska-Medynska, A., Andò, S., Saliu, F., Nilsson, E.D., Bolzacchini, E., 2022. Airborne and marine microplastics from an oceanographic survey at the Baltic Sea: An emerging role of air-sea interaction? Sci. Total Environ. 824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153709

Frossard, J., Renaud, O., 2021. Permutation Tests for Regression, ANOVA, and Comparison of Signals: The permuco Package. J. Stat. Softw. 99 (15), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v099.i15

Garrido Gamarro, E., Ryder, J., Elvevoll, E.O., Olsen, R.L., 2020. Microplastics in fish and shellfish – a threat to seafood safety? J. Aquat. Food Prod. Technol. 29, 417–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/10498850.2020.1739793

Gasperi, J., Wright, S.L., Dris, R., Collard, F., Mandin, C., Guerrouache, M., Langlois, V., Kelly, F.J., Tassin, B., 2018. Microplastics in air: Are we breathing it in? Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Health, 1, 1–5. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2017.10.002

González-Pleiter, M., Edo, C., Aguilera, Á ., Viúdez-Moreiras, D., Pulido-Reyes, G., González-Toril, E., Osuna, S., de Diego-Castilla, G., Leganés, F., Fernández-Piñas, F., Rosal, R., 2021. Occurrence and transport of microplastics sampled within and above the planetary boundary layer. Sci. Total Environ. 761, 143213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143213

Hitchcock, J.N., 2020. Storm events as key moments of microplastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems. Sci. Total Environ. 734, 139436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139436

Ikenoue, T., Nakajima, R., Fujiwara, A., Onodera, J., Itoh, M., Toyoshima, J., Watanabe, E., Murata, A., Nishino, S., Kikuchi, T., 2023a. Horizontal distribution of surface microplastic concentrations and water-column microplastic inventories in the Chukchi Sea, western Arctic Ocean. Sci. Total Environ. 855, 159564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159564

Ikenoue, T., Nakajima, R., Mishra, P., Ramasamy, E.V., Fujiwara, A., Nishino, S., Murata, A., Watanabe, E., Itoh, M. 2023b. Floating microplastic inventories in the southern Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci. 10, 1288301. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1288301 Ikenoue, T., Nakajima, R., Osafune, S., Siswanto, E., Honda, M.C., 2024. Vertical flux of microplastics in the deep subtropical Pacific Ocean: moored sediment-trap observations within the Kuroshio Extension recirculation gyre. Environ. Sci. Technol. 58 (36), 16121–16130. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c02212

IUCN, 2021. IUCN website IUCN issues briefs, (last access 30.04.2025). https://iucn.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/marine_plastic_pollution_issues_brief_nov21.pdf

Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R., Law, K.L., 2015. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347(6223), 768–771. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352

Law, K.L., 2015. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347 (6223), 768–771. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352

Kahane-Rapport, S.R., Czapanskiy, M.F., Fahlbusch, J.A., Friedlaender, A.S., Calambokidis, J., Hazen, E.L., Savoca, M.S., 2022. Field measurements reveal exposure risk to microplastic ingestion by filter-feeding megafauna. Nat. Commun. 13, 6327. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33334-5

Kautsky, L., Kautsky, N., 2000. The Baltic Sea, Including Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay. [In:] Charles, R.C. (ed.), Seas at the millennium: An environmental evaluation. Lewis, E., 1980. The practical salinity scale 1978 and its antecedents. IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. 5 (1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.1980.1145448

Liu, K., Wang, X., Fang, T., Xu, P., Zhu, L., Li, D., 2019. Source and potential risk assessment of suspended atmospheric microplastics in Shanghai. Sci. Total Environ. 675, 462–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.110

Łabuz, T.A., 2023. Influence of Meteorological Conditions in Autumn/Winter 2021–2022 on the Development of Storm Surges and the Dune Erosion on the Polish Baltic Coast As a Result of Climate Changes. Stud. Quater. 40, 93–114. https://doi.org/10.24425/sq.2023.148035

Markuszewski, P., Klusek, Z., Nilsson, E.D., Petelski, T., 2020. Observationsonrelationsbetweenmarineaerosolfluxes and surface-generated noise in the southern Baltic Sea. Oceanologia 62 (4), 413–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2020.05.001

Markuszewski, P., Kosecki, S., Petelski, T., 2017. Sea spray aerosol fluxes in the Baltic Sea region: comparison of the WAM model with measurements. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 195, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2016.10.007

Markuszewski, P., Nilsson, E.D., Zinke, J., Mårtensson, E.M., Salter, M., Makuch, P., Kitowska, M., Niedźwiecka-Wróbel, I., Drozdowska, V., Lis, D., Petelski, T., Ferrero, L., Piskozub, J., 2024. Multi-year gradient measurements of sea spray fluxes over the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 24, 11227–11253. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11227-2024

Martyanov, S.D., Isaev, A.V., Ryabchenko, V.A., 2023. Model estimates of microplastic potential contamination pattern of the eastern Gulf of Finland in 2018. Oceanologia, 65 (1), 86–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2021.11.006

Mazurkiewicz, M., Markuszewski, P., Ferrero, L., Okoczuk, P., Wicikowski, L., 2025. Microplastic from Baltic Sea, autumn 2019. IOPAN Geonetwork. https://doi.org/10.48457/IOPAN.2025.421

Mazurkiewicz, M., Martinez, P.S., Konwent, W., Deja, K., Kotwicki, L., Węsławski, J.M., 2022. Plastic contamination of sandy beaches along the southern Baltic – a one season field survey results. Oceanologia 64 (4), 769–780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2022.07.004

Mishra, A., Buhhalko, N., Lind, K., Lips, I., Liblik, T., Väli, G., Lips, U., 2022. Spatiotemporal variability of microplastics in the Eastern Baltic Sea. Front. Mar. Sci. 9, 875984. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.875984 Nakajima, R., Miyama, T., Kitahashi, T., et al., 2022. Plastic after an extreme storm: the typhoon-induced response of micro-and mesoplastics in coastal waters. Front. Mar. Sci. 8, 806952. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.806952

Narloch, I., Gackowska, A., Wejnerowska, G., 2022. Microplastic in the Baltic Sea: A review of distribution processes, sources, analysis methods and regulatory policies. Environ. Pollut. 315, 120453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120453

Nerland, I.L., Halsband, C., Allan, I., Thomas, K.V., 2014. Microplastics in marine environments: Occurrence, distribution and effects. Rep. SNO. 6754-2014. Ockelford, A., Cundy, A., Ebdon, J.E., 2020. Storm Response of Fluvial Sedimentary Microplastics. Sci. Rep. 10, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58765-2

Ogle, D.H., Doll, J.C., Wheeler, A.P., Dinno. A., 2026. FSA: Simple Fisheries Stock Assessment Methods. R package version 0.10.1. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=FSA

Osinski, R.D., Enders, K., Gräwe, U., Klingbeil, K., Radtke, H., 2020. Model uncertainties of a storm and their influence on microplastics and sediment transport in the Baltic Sea. Ocean Sci. 16, 1491–1507. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-1491-2020

Pal, D., Prabhakar, R., Barua, V.B., Zekker, I., Burlakovs, J., Krauklis, A., Hogland, W., Vincevica-Gaile, Z., 2025. Microplastics in aquatic systems: A comprehensive review of its distribution, environmental interactions, and health risks. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 32, 56–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35741-1

Peng, L., Fu, D., Qi, H., Lan, C.Q., Yu, H., Ge, C., 2020. Microand nano-plastics in marine environment: Source, distribution and threats – A review. Sci. Total Environ. 698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134254

Piskuła, P., Astel, A., Pawlik, M., 2025. Microplastics in seawater and fish acquired from the corresponding fishing zones of the Baltic Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 211, 117485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117485

PlasticsEurope, 2020. Plastics – the Facts. An analysis of European plastics production, demand and waste data. Porter, A., Godbold, J.A., Lewis, C.N., Savage, G., Solan, M., Galloway, T.S., 2023. Microplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces. Nat. Commun. 14, 8023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43788-w

R Core Team, 2026. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/

Rak, D., 2016. The inflow in the Baltic Proper as recorded in January–February 2015. Oceanologia 58 (3), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2016.04.001

Reckermann, M., Omstedt, A., Soomere, T., et al., 2022. Human impacts and their interactions in the Baltic Sea region. Earth Sys. Dynam. 13 (1), 1–80. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1-2022

Reineccius, J., Waniek, J.J., 2022. First long-term evidence of microplastic pollution in the deep subtropical Northeast Atlantic. Environ. Pollut. 305, 119302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119302

Rios-Fuster, B., Compa, M., Alomar, C., Fagiano, V., Ventero, A., Iglesias, M., Deudero, S., 2022. Ubiquitous vertical distribution of microfibres within the upper epipelagic layer of the western Mediterranean Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2022.107741

Rocha-Santos, T., Duarte, A.C., 2015. A critical overview of the analytical approaches to the occurrence, the fate and the behavior of microplastics in the environment. TrAC - Trend. Anal. Chem. 65, 47–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2014.10.011

Schindelin, J., Arganda-Carreras, I., Frise, E., Kaynig, V., Longair, M., Pietzsch, T., Preibisch, S., Rueden, C., Saalfeld, S., Schmid, B., Tinevez, J.-Y., White, D. J., Hartenstein, V., Eliceiri, K., Tomancak, P., Cardona, A., 2012. Fiji: An open-source platform for biological-image analysis. Nature Methods, 9 (7), 676–682. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2019

Setälä, O., Magnusson, K., Lehtiniemi, M., Norén, F., 2016. Distribution and abundance of surface water microlitter in the Baltic Sea: A comparison of two sampling methods. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 110 (1), 177–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.065

Sharma, D., Dhanker, R., Bhawna, Tomar, A., Raza, S., Sharma, A., 2024. Fishing gears and nets as a source of microplastic. Microplastic Pollut. 127–140.

Song, Y. K., Hong, S.H., Eo, S., Jang, M., Han, G.M., Isobe, A., Shim, W.J., 2018. Horizontal and Vertical Distribution of Microplastics in Korean Coastal Waters. Environ. Sci. Tech. 52 (21), 12188–12197. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b04032

Soomere, T., 2023. Numerical simulations of wave climate in the Baltic Sea: a review. Oceanologia, 65 (1), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2022.01.004

Soomere, T., Räämet, A., 2011. Spatial patterns of the wave climate in the Baltic Proper and the Gulf of Finland. Oceanologia 53 (1), 335–371. https://doi.org/10.5697/oc.53-1-TI.335

Szewc, K., Graca, B., Dołęga, A., 2021. Atmospheric deposition of microplastics in the coastal zone: Characteristics and relationship with meteorological factors. Sci. Total Environ. 761, 143272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143272

Taylor, M.L., Gwinnett, C., Robinson, L.F., Woodall, L.C., 2016. Plastic microfibre ingestion by deep-sea organisms. Sci. Rep. 6, 33997. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33997

Van Cauwenberghe, L., Devriese, L., Galgani, F., Robbens, J., Janssen, C.R., 2015. Microplastics in sediments: a review of techniques, occurrence and effects. Mar. Environ. Res. 111, 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.06.007

VanSebille, E., Wilcox, C., Lebreton, L., Maximenko, N., Hardesty, B.D., Van Franeker, J.A., Eriksen, M., Siegel, D., Galgani, F., Law, K.L., 2015. A global inventory of small floating plastic debris. Environ. Res. Lett. 10 (12). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006

Wagner, M., Lambert, S., 2018. Freshwater microplastics: emerging environmental contaminants? Springer Nature.

Waller, C.L., Griffiths, H.J., Waluda, C.M., Thorpe, S.E., Loaiza, I., Moreno, B., Pacherres, C.O., Hughes, K.A., 2017. Microplastics in the Antarctic marine system: an emerging area of research. Sci. Total Environ. 598, 220–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.283

Williams, R.S., Maycock, A.C., Charnay, V., Knight, J., Polichtchouk, I., 2025. Strong Polar Vortex Favoured Intense Northern European Storminess in February 2022. Comm. Earth Environ. 6, 1–10.
full, complete article - PDF


Phytoplankton community responses to the light spectrum gradient in the Baltic Sea
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68307, 16 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/BNFN9437

Elizabeth Sands1,2,*, Bengt Karlson3, Anders F. Andersson4, Krzysztof T. Jurdzinski4, Ulf Båmstedt1,2, Agneta Andersson1,2
1Department of Ecology, Environmental and Geoscience, 901 76 Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
2Umeå Marine Sciences Centre, Umeå University, 905 71 Hörnefors, Umeå, Sweden
3Research and Development, Oceanography, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Göteborgseskaderns plats 3, 426 71, Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg, Sweden;
e-mail: elizabeth-rachel.sands@cea.fr (E. Sands)
4KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Gene Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
*corresponding author

Keywords: Phytoplankton; Metabarcoding; Community; Baltic Sea; CDOM; Light spectra; Green algae; Trophy

Received: 18 November 2025; revised: 16 March 2026; accepted: 18 June 2026

Highlights

Abstract

Phytoplankton depend on light, and while intensity effects are well known, responses to light spectrum are less studied. The northern Baltic Sea appears increasingly brown due to CDOM, which absorbs blue light. Using incubation experiments and DNA barcoding on communities from Kattegat, the Central Baltic, and the Bothnian Bay, we show that browner, red-shifted light promotes mixotrophs and heterotrophs. Green algae from the Bothnian Bay tolerated red light, unlike those from southern regions, indicating local adaptation. These results reveal CDOM-driven spectral selection shaping northern Baltic phytoplankton communities as browning intensifies.

  References   ref

Allen, J.G., Siegel, D.A., Nelson, N.B., Halewood, S., 2020. Controls on Ocean Color Spectra Observed During the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES). Front. Mar. Sci. 7, 567007. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.567007

Andersson, A., Falk, S., Samuelsson, G., Hagström, A., 1989. Nutritional characteristics of a mixotrophic nanoflagel late,Ochromonas sp. Microb. Ecol. 17 (3), 251–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02012838

Andersson, A., Hö glander, H., Karlsson, C., Huseby, S., 2015. Key role of phosphorus and nitrogen in regulating cyanobacterial community composition in the northern Baltic Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 164, 161–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2015.07.013

Ask, J., Rowe, O., Brugel, S., Strömgren, M., Byström, P., Andersson, A., 2016. Importance of coastal primary production in the northern Baltic Sea. Ambio, 45 (6), 635–648. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0778-5

Balzano, S., Abs, E., Leterme, S.C., 2015. Protist diversity along a salinity gradient in a coastal lagoon. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 74 (3), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01740

Biggs, T.E.G., Rozema, P.D., Evans, C., Timmermans, K.R., Meredith, M.P., Pond, D.W., Brussaard, C.P.D., 2022. Control of Antarctic phytoplankton community com655 position and standing stock by light availability. Polar. Biol. 45, 1635–1653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03094-5

Bokulich, N.A., Kaehler, B.D., Rideout, J.R., Dillon, M., Bolyen, E., Knight, R., Huttley, G.A., Gregory Caporaso, J., 2018. Optimizing taxonomic classification of marker-gene amplicon sequences with QIIME 2’s q2-feature-classifier plugin. Microbiome, 6 (1), 90. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0470-z

Bolyen, E., Rideout, J.R., Dillon, M.R., et al., 2019. Reproducible, interactive, scalable and extensible microbiome data science using QIIME 2. Nat. Biotechnol. 37 (8), 852–857. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0209-9

Båmstedt, U., 2019. Comparing static and dynamic incubations in primary production measurements under different euphotic and mixing depths. Hydrobiologia, 827 (1), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3762-1

Båmstedt, U., Wikner, J., 2016. Mixing depth and allochthonous dissolved organic carbon: controlling factors of coastal trophic balance. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 561, 17–29. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11907

Cabello-Yeves, P.J., Callieri, C., Picazo, A., Schallenberg, L., Huber, P., Roda-Garcia, J.J., Bartosiewicz, M., Belykh, O.I., Tikhonova, I.V., Torcello-Requena, A., De Prado, P.M., Puxty, R.J., Millard, A.D., Camacho, A., Rodriguez- Valera, F., Scanlan, D.J., 2022. Elucidating the picocyanobacteria salinity divide through ecogenomics of new freshwater isolates. BMC Biol. 20 (1), 175. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-022-01379-z

Croce, R., van Amerongen, H., 2014. Natural strategies for photosynthetic light harvesting. Nat. Chem. Biol. 10 (7), 492–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1555

De Coster, W., Rademakers, R., 2023. NanoPack2: population-scale evaluation of long-read sequencing data. Bioinformatics, 39 (5), btad311. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btad311

Demir-Hilton, E., Sudek, S., Cuvelier, M.L., Gentemann, C.L., Zehr, J.P., Worden, A.Z., 2011. Global distribution patterns of distinct clades of the photosynthetic picoeukaryote Ostreococcus. ISME J. 5 (7), 1095–107. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2010.209

Edwards, K.F., Litchman, E., Klausmeier, C.A., 2013. Functional traits explain phytoplankton community structure and seasonal dynamics in a marine ecosystem. Ecol. Lett. 16 (1), 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12012

Figueroa, D., Rowe, O.F., Paczkowska, J., Legrand, C., Andersson, A., 2016. Allochthonous Carbon-a Major Driver of Bacterioplankton Production in the Subarctic Northern Baltic Sea. Microb. Ecol. 71 (4), 789–801. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-015-0714-4

Fortunato, A.F., Jaubert, M., Enomoto, G., Bouly, J.P., Raniello, R., Thaler, M., Malviya, S., Bernardes, J. S., Rappaport, F., Gentili, B., Huysman, M.J., Carbone, A., Bowler, C., d’Alcalà, M.R., Ikeuchi, M., Falciatore, A., 2016. Diatom Phytochromes Reveal the Existence of Far-Red-Light-Based Sensing in the Ocean. The Plant Cell, 28 (3), 616–628. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.15.00928

Guillou, L., Bachar, D., Audic, S., Bass, D., Berney, C., Bittner, L., Boutte, C., Burgaud, G., de Vargas, C., Decelle, J., del Campo, J., Dolan, J.R., Dunthorn, M., Edvardsen, B., Holzmann, M., Kooistra, W.H.C.F., Lara, E., Le Bescot, N., Logares, R., Mahé, F., Massana, R., Montresor, M., Morard, R., Not, F., Pawlowski, J., Probert, I., Sauvadet, A.-L., Siano, R., Stoeck, T., Vaulot, D., Zimmermann, P., Christen, R., 2013. The Protist Ribosomal Reference database (PR2): a catalog of unicellular eukaryote Small Sub-Unit rRNA sequences with curated taxonomy. Nucleic Acids Res. 41 (D1), D597–D604. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gks1160

Harvey, E.T., Kratzer, S., Andersson, A., 2015. Relationships between colored dissolved organic matter and dissolved organic carbon in different coastal gradients of the Baltic Sea. Ambio, 44 (Suppl. 3), 392–401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-015-0658-4

Haverkamp, T., Acinas, S.G., Doeleman, M., Stomp, M., Huisman, J., Stal, L.J., 2008. Diversity and phylogeny of Baltic Sea picocyanobacteria inferred from their ITS and phycobiliprotein operons. Environ. Microbiol. 10 (1), 174–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01442.x

Haverkamp, T.H., Schouten, D., Doeleman, M., Wollenzien, U., Huisman, J., Stal, L.J., 2009. Colorful microdiversity of Synechococcus strains (picocyanobacteria) isolated from the Baltic Sea. ISME J. 3 (4), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2008.118

Heidenreich, K.M., Richardson, T.L., 2020. Photopigment, Absorption, and Growth Responses of Marine Cryptophytes to Varying Spectral Irradiance J. Phycol. 56 (2), 507–520. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.12962

Hill, J., Enbody, E.D., Pettersson, M.E., Sprehn, C.G., Bekkevold, D., Folkvord, A., Laikre, L., Kleinau, G., Scheerer, P., Andersson, L., 2019. Recurrent convergent evolution at amino acid residue 261 in fish rhodopsin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116 (37), 18473–18478. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908332116

Hu, Y.O., Karlson, B., Charvet, S., Andersson, A.F., 2016. Diversity of Pico-to Mesoplankton along the 2000 km Salinity Gradient of the Baltic Sea. Front. Microbiol. 7, 679. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00679

Hugerth, L.W., Muller, E.E., Hu, Y.O., Lebrun, L.A., Roume, H., Lundin, D., Wilmes, P., Andersson, A.F., 2014. Systematic design of 18S rRNA gene primers for determining eukaryotic diversity in microbial consortia. PLoS One, 9 (4), e95567. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095567

Johnsen, G., Sakshaug, E., Vernet, M., 1992. Pigment composition, spectral characterization and photosynthetic parameters in Chrysochromulina polylepis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 83 (2/3), 241–249.

Kehoe, D.M., Grossman, A.R., 1994. Complementary chromatic adaptation: photoperception to gene regulation. Semin. Cell. Biol. 5 (5), 303–313. https://doi.org/10.1006/scel.1994.1037

Kratzer, S., Moore, G., 2018. Inherent Optical Properties of the Baltic Sea in Comparison to Other Seas and Oceans. Remote Sens. 10 (3), 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10030418

Kratzer, S., Tett, P., 2009. Using bio-optics to investigate the extent of coastal waters: A Swedish case study. Hydrobiologia, 629 (1), 169–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9769-x

Krehenwinkel, H., Pomerantz, A., Henderson, J.B., Kennedy, S.R., Lim, J.Y., Swamy, V., Shoobridge, J.D., Graham, N., Patel, N.H., Gillespie, R.G., Prost, S., 2019. Nanopore sequencing of long ribosomal DNA amplicons enables portable and simple biodiversity assessments with high phylogenetic resolution across broad taxonomic scale. Gigascience, 8 (5), giz006. https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giz006

Larsson, J., Celepli, N., Ininbergs, K., Dupont, C.L., Yooseph, S., Bergman, B., Ekman, M., 2014. Picocyanobacteria containing a novel pigment gene cluster dominate the brackish water Baltic Sea. ISME J. 8 (9), 1892–903. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2014.35

Latz, M.A.C., Grujcic, V., Brugel, S., Lycken, J., John, U., Karlson, B., Andersson, A., Andersson, A.F., 2022. Short- and long-read metabarcoding of the eukaryotic rRNA operon: Evaluation of primers and comparison to shotgun metagenomics sequencing. Mol. Ecol. Resour. 22 (6), 2304–2318. https://dpoi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13623

Levin, I., Darecki, M., Sagan, S., Radomyslskaya, T., 2013. Relationships between inherent optical properties in the Baltic Sea for application to the underwater imaging problem. Oceanologia, 55 (1), 11–26. https://doi.org/10.5697/oc.55-1.011

Lichtenthaler, H., 1987. Chlorophyll and carotenoids: Pigments of photosynthetic biomembranes. Methods Enzymol. 148, 331–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/0076-6879(87)48036-1

Lin, H., Peddada, S.D., 2020. Analysis of compositions of microbiomes with bias correction. Nat. Commun. 11 (1), 3514. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17041-7

Luimstra, V.M., Verspagen, J.M.H., Xu, T., Schuurmans, J.M., Huisman, J., 2020. Changes in water color shift competition between phytoplankton species with contrasting light-harvesting strategies. Ecology, 101 (3), e02951.

Lyche Solheim, A., Gundersen, H., Mischke, U., Skjelbred, B., Nejstgaard, J.C., Guislain, A.L.N., Sperfeld, E., Giling, D.P., Haande, S., Ballot, A., Moe, S.J., Stephan, S., Walles, T.J.W., Jechow, A., Minguez, L., Ganzert, L., Hornick, T., Hansson, T.H., Stratmann, C.N., Järvinen, M., Drakare, S., Carvalho, L., Grossart, H.-P., Gessner, M. O. and Berger, S.A., 2024. Lake browning counteracts cyanobacteria responses to nutrients: Evidence from phytoplankton dynamics in large enclosure experiments and comprehensive observational data. Glob.Change Biol. 30 (1), e17013. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17013

McDonald, D., Jiang, Y., Balaban, M., Cantrell, K., Zhu, Q., Gonzalez, A., Morton, J.T., Nicolaou, G., Parks, D.H., Karst, S.M., Albertsen, M., Hugenholtz, P., DeSantis, T., Song, S.J., Bartko, A., Havulinna, A.S., Jousilahti, P., Cheng, S., Inouye, M., Niiranen, T., Jain, M., Salomaa, V., Lahti, L., Mirarab, S., Knight, R., 2023. Greengenes2 unifies microbial data in a single reference tree. Nat. Biotechnol. 42, 715–718. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01845-1

Meler, J., Ostrowska, M., Stoń-Egiert, J., 2016. Seasonal and spatial variability of phytoplankton and non-algal absorption in the surface layer of the Baltic. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 180, 123–135.

Meler, J., Woźniak, S.B., Stoń-Egiert, J., Woźniak, B., 2018. Parameterization of phytoplankton spectral absorption coefficients in the Baltic Sea: general, monthly and twocomponent variants of approximation formulas. Ocean Sci. 14 (6), 1523–1545. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1523-2018

Modis, N.A., 2022. Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) AQUA Level-3 Mapped Inherent Optical Properties. Version 2022. (Accessed: 06/05/2023).

Neun, S., Hintz, N.H., Schröder, M., Striebel, M., 2022. Phytoplankton Response to Different Light Colors and Fluctuation Frequencies. Front. Mar. Sci. 9, 824624. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.824624

Ojaveer, H., Jaanus, A., MacKenzie, B.R., Martin, G., Olenin, S., Radziejewska, T., Telesh, I., Zettler, M.L., Zaiko, A., 2010. Status of Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea. PLOS One, 5 (9), e12467. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012467

Olenina, I., Hajdu, S., Edler, L., Andersson, A., Wasmund, N., Göbel, J., Huttunen, M., Jaanus, A., Ledaine, I., Huseby, S., Niemkiewicz, E., 2006. Biovolumes and size-classes of phytoplankton in the Baltic Sea. Dept. Eco. Environ. Sci., Umeå Marine Sciences Centre (UMF), available at: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/30141/1/bsep106.pdf

Olofsson, M., Suikkanen, S., Kobos, J., Wasmund, N., Karl- son, B., 2020. Basin-specific changes in filamentous cyanobacteria community composition across four decades in the Baltic Sea. Harmful Algae, 91, 101685. 10.1016/j.hal.2019.101685

Paczkowska, J., Rowe, O.F., Schlü ter, L., Legrand, C., Karlson, B., Andersson, A., 2017. Allochthonous matter: an important factor shaping the phytoplankton community in the Baltic Sea. J. Plankton Res. 39 (1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbw081

Palenik, B., 2001. Chromatic adaptation in marine Synechococcus strains. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67(2), 991–994. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.67.2.991-994.2001

Rognes, T., Flouri, T., Nichols, B., Quince, C., Mahé, F., 2016. VSEARCH: a versatile open source tool for metagenomics. Peer J. 4, e2584. https:doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2584

Roy, S., Llewellyn, C.A., Egeland, E.S., Johnsen, G., 2011. Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy and Applications in Oceanography. Cambridge University Press.

Sakshaug, E., Slagstad, D., 1991. Light and productivity of phytoplankton in polar marine ecosystems: a physiological view. Polar Res. 10 (1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v10i1.6729

Sands, E., Davies, S., Puxty, R.J., Vergé, V., Bouget, F.Y., Scanlan, D.J., Carré, I.A., 2023. Genetic and physiological responses to light quality in a deep ocean ecotype of Ostreococcus, an ecologically important photosynthetic picoeukaryote. J. Exp. Bot. 74 (21), 6773–6789. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erad347

Santos, A., van Aerle, R., Barrientos, L., Martinez-Urtaza, J., 2020. Computational methods for 16S metabarcoding studies using Nanopore sequencing data. Comput. Struct. Biotechnol. J. 18, 296–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.01.005

Senar, O.E., Creed, I.F., Trick, C.G., 2021. Lake browning may fuel phytoplankton biomass and trigger shifts in phytoplankton communities in temperate lakes. Aquatic Sci. 83 (2), 21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-021-00780-0

Simis, S.G., Ylöstalo, P., Kallio, K.Y., Spilling, K., Kutser, T., 2017. Contrasting seasonality in optical-biogeochemical properties of the Baltic Sea. PLoS One, 12 (4), e0173357. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173357

Slamovits, C.H., Okamoto, N., Burri, L., James, E.R., Keeling, P.J., 2011. A bacterial proteorhodopsin proton pump in marine eukaryotes. Nat. Commun. 2 (1), 183. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1188

SMHI, 2023. SHARK – Regional marine environmental monitoring and monitoring projects of Epibenthos in Sweden since 1994, (Accessed: 06/05/2024).

Spangler, L.C., Yu, M., Jeffrey, P.D., Scholes, G.D., 2022. Controllable Phycobilin Modification: An Alternative Photoacclimation Response in Cryptophyte Algae. ACS Cent. Sci. 8 (3), 340–350. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.1c01209

Spilling, K., Asmala, E., Haavisto, N., Haraguchi, L., Kraft, K., Lehto, A.M., Lewandowska, A.M., Norkko, J., Piiparinen, J., Seppälä, J., Vanharanta, M., Vehmaa, A., Ylöstalo, P., Tamminen, T., 2022. Brownification affects phytoplankton community composition but not primary productivity in eutrophic coastal waters: A mesocosm experiment in the Baltic Sea. Sci. Total. Environ. 841, 156510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156510

Stomp, M., Huisman, J., De Jongh, F., Veraart, A.J., Gerla, D., Rijkeboer, M., Ibelings, B.W., Wollenzien, U.I., Stal, L.J., 2004. Adaptive divergence in pigment composition promotes phytoplankton biodiversity. Nature, 432 (7013), 104–107. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03044

Stomp, M., Huisman, J., Stal, L.J., Matthijs, H.C., 2007. Colorful niches of phototrophic microorganisms shaped by vibrations of the water molecule. ISME J. 1 (4), 271–282. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2007.59

Strååt, K.D., Mörth, C.-M., Undeman, E., 2018. Future export of particulate and dissolved organic carbon from land to coastal zones of the Baltic Sea. J. Marine Syst. 177, 8–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2017.09.002

Škerlep, M., Nehzati, S., Johansson, U., Kleja, D.B., Persson, P., Kritzberg, E.S., 2022. Spruce forest afforestation leading to increased Fe mobilization from soils. Biogeochemistry, 157 (3), 273–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00874-9

Valle, K.C., Nymark, M., Aamot, I., Hancke, K., Winge, P., Andresen, K., Johnsen, G., Brembu, T., Bones, A.M., 2014. System responses to equal doses of photosynthetically usable radiation of blue, green, and red light in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. PLoS One, 9 (12), e114211. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114211

Wasmund, N., Uhlig, S., 2003. Phytoplankton trends in the Baltic Sea. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 60 (2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-3139(02)00280-1

Werdell, P.J., McKinna, L.I.W., Boss, E., Ackleson, S.G., Craig, S.E., Gregg, W.W., Lee, Z., Maritorena, S., Roesler, C.S., Rousseaux, C.S., Stramski, D., Sullivan, J.M., Twardowski, M.S., Tzortziou, M., Zhang, X., 2018. An overview of approaches and challenges for retrieving marine inherent optical properties from ocean color remote sensing. Prog. Oceanogr. 160, 186–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.01.001

Xiao, Y., Rohrlack, T., Riise, G., 2020. Unraveling long-term changes in lake color based on optical properties of lake sediment. Sci. Total. Environ. 699, 134388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134388

full, complete article - PDF

Short communications



Marine ecosystems perceived as highly impacted by microplastic pollution: insights from a public awareness survey
Oceanologia, 68 (3)/2026, 68308, 4 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5697/HSIY4680

Barbara Urban-Malinga1,*, Agnieszka Szkudlarek-Pawełczyk2, Anetta Ameryk1, Aneta Jakubowska2
1National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kołłątaja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland;
e-mail: bmalinga@mir.gdynia.pl (B. Urban-Malinga)
2National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Research Station in Świnoujście, Plac Słowiański 11, 72-600, Świnoujście, Poland
*corresponding author

Keywords: Plastic pollution; Public perception; Environmental education

Received: 27 October 2025; revised: 3 February 2026; accepted: 24 March 2026

Highlights

Abstract

Microplastics, a persistent by-product of global plastic overuse and inadequate waste management, continue to accumulate across environmental compartments. As their large-scale removal remains technically unfeasible, fostering individual responsibility may be crucial to mitigating this pollution. This study assessed public knowledge and awareness regarding microplastic contamination among 407 respondents across various age groups (< 20, 20–40, 40–60, and > 60). The results indicate high awareness of microplastic transport into marine and freshwater systems, as well as its potential harmful effects on biota. However, recognition of atmospheric pollution and domestic sources remains limited. Notably, 91% of respondents acknowledged individual responsibility for reducing plastic waste. These findings underscore the need for targeted education and awareness-raising initiatives to foster behavioural change and safeguard the oceans.

  References   ref

Ajith, N., Arumugam, S., Parthasarathy, S., Manupoori, S., Janakiraman, S., 2020. Global distribution of microplas- tics and its impact on the marine environment – a review. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 27, 25970–25986.

Andrady, A. L., 2017. The plastic in microplastics: a review. Marine Pollut. Bull. 119, 12–22

Deng, L., Cai, L., Sun, F., Li, G., Che, Y., 2020. Public attitudes towards microplastics: Perceptions, behaviours and policy implications. Res. Conserv. Recyc. 163, 105096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105096

de Ruijter, V.N., Redondo-Hasselerharm, P. E., Koelmans, A. A., 2025. A brief history of microplastics effect testing: Guidance and prospect. Environ. Pollut. 368, 125711.

Felipe-Rodriguez, M., Böhm, G., Doran, R., 2022. What does the public think about microplastics? Insights from an empirical analysis of mental models elicited through free associations. Front. Psychol. 13, 920454. https://doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.920454

Henderson, L., Green, C., 2020. Making sense of microplastics? Public understandings of plastic pollution. Marine Pollut. Bull. 152, 110908. https://doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.110908

Jaszczyszyn, K., Kiedrzyńska, E., Matuszewska, D., Xue, J., Kiedrzyński, M., 2025. Micro(nano)plastics in the total environment – A holistic review. Sci. Total Environ. 988, 179806

Khorsandi, J., Blank, L., Momchilov, K., Dagovetz, M., Batra, K., 2025. From Ocean to Table: How Public Awareness Shapes the Fight Against Microplastic Pollution. Urban Sci. 9, 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9100418

Lebreton, L. C. M., van der Zwet, J., Damsteeg, J. W., Slat, B., Andrady, A., Reisser, J., 2017. River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans. Nature Communicat. 8, 15611. https://doi:10.1038/ncomms15611

Oleksiuk, K., Krupa-Kotara, K., Wypych-Ślusarska, A., Głogowska-Ligus, J., Spychała, A., Słowiński, J., 2022. Microplastics in Food and Water: Current Knowledge and Awareness of Consumers. Nutrients 14, 4857. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14224857

full, complete article - PDF