Description: Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is changing the structure and the function of coastal ecosystems. These coastal zones are transitions between freshwater and marine systems where multiple biogeochemical processes remove, produce and transform organic matter. The extent to which the coastal zone is merely a conduit for terrestrial (allochthonous) organic matter, versus a distinct source of autochthonous organic matter fueled by eutrophication, is unclear. To address this issue, we characterized the freshwater and marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) pools in an eutrophic estuary with a long water residence time (Roskilde Fjord, Denmark) over an annual cycle. We combined elemental, optical (absorbance and fluorescence) and isotopic analyses to obtain insight about the bulk properties of the DOM pool during this period. We also used sediment traps to analyze the changes related to the exchange of organic matter between the particulate (POM) and dissolved (DOM) fractions. The results showed that labile autochthonous DOM from in situ primary production was rapidly transformed to more recalcitrant DOM that accumulated in the estuary despite continuous exchange with the open sea. Also, parts of the POM pool were degraded rapidly (within 24h) and transformed into the DOM pool. Accumulated DOM was characterized by relatively low molecular size and stable carbon isotopic value, and by high protein-like fluorescence. These results indicate that autotrophic material can be a major source of specific recalcitrant DOM in eutrophic coastal waters, contributing significantly to the flux of organic carbon to the ocean.

Description: Terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) undergoes significant changes during the estuarine transport from river mouths to the open sea. These include transformations and degradation by biological and chemical processes, but also the production of fresh organic matter. Since many of these processes occur simultaneously, properties of the DOM pool represent the net changes during the passage along the hydrological path. We examined changes in multiple DOM characteristics across three Finnish estuarine gradients during spring, summer and autumn: Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, coloured DOM absorbance and fluorescence, stable carbon isotope signal of DOC and molecular size distribution. Changes in these DOM characteristics with salinity were analysed in relation to residence time (i.e. freshwater transit time), since increased residence time is likely to enhance DOM degradation while stimulating autochthonous DOM production at the same time. Our results show that the investigated DOM characteristics are highly correlated, indicating common physico-chemical transformations along the salinity continuum. Residence time did not explain variations in the DOM characteristics any better than salinity. Due to large variations in DOM characteristics at the river end-member, conservative mixing models do not seem to be able to accurately describe the occurrence and extent of deviations in DOM properties in the estuaries we investigated.

Description: This compilation gives an overview of the datasets gathered from DOM (DOC, DON, DOP) surveys in the Baltic Sea for the period 2014-2017 discussed in the paper Voss et. al. 2020 (doi:10.1007/s10533-020-00703-5). Sampling took place in the Roskilde Fjord, Vistula and Öre estuaries and Curonian Lagoon during a series of field campaigns by different research groups around the Baltic Sea and subsequently were analysed with comparable internationally standardized methods. Most DOC and DON were measured at the Technical University of Denmark, except samples from the Curonian Lagoon were measured at Klaipeda University, and DON samples from Vistula and Öre estuaries at the IOW. The pre-filtration was in most cases done with 0.2µm filters but sometimes GF/F filters with a nominal pore size of 0.7µm were used. Near bottom samples in Vistula and Öre estuaries were collected from clear water overlying the sediments but often showed elevated particulate matter concentrations. These data sets were treated separately as bottom boundary layer (BBL) data. The data collected during the surveys allows a cross-system comparison, exemplarily for the Baltic Sea, under a wide range of hydrological and environmental situations to test the hypothesis that rivers act as characteristic DOM source – depending on land use in the catchment - which is modified along a salinity gradient from the river offshore.

Description: Coastal global oceans are expected to undergo drastic changes driven by climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressures in coming decades. Predicting specific future conditions and assessing the best management strategies to maintain ecosystem integrity and sustainable resource use are difficult, because of multiple interacting pressures, uncertain projections, and a lack of test cases for management. We argue that the Baltic Sea can serve as a time machine to study consequences and mitigation of future coastal perturbations, due to its unique combination of an early history of multistressor disturbance and ecosystem deterioration and early implementation of cross-border environmental management to address these problems. The Baltic Sea also stands out in providing a strong scientific foundation and accessibility to long-term data series that provide a unique opportunity to assess the efficacy of management actions to address the breakdown of ecosystem functions. Trend reversals such as the return of top predators, recovering fish stocks, and reduced input of nutrient and harmful substances could be achieved only by implementing an international, cooperative governance structure transcending its complex multistate policy setting, with integrated management of watershed and sea. The Baltic Sea also demonstrates how rapidly progressing global pressures, particularly warming of Baltic waters and the surrounding catchment area, can offset the efficacy of current management approaches. This situation calls for management that is (i) conservative to provide a buffer against regionally unmanageable global perturbations, (ii) adaptive to react to new management challenges, and, ultimately, (iii) multisectorial and integrative to address conflicts associated with economic trade-offs.

Description: The estimation of biomass from body lengths to carbon regressions is a common approach in plankton research. Several different chemicals for sample preservation are in use, and conversion factors to account for shrinkage effects exist, but to our knowledge the consequences of using potassium-iodide and iodine (Lugol solution) as preservative on body sizes of different mesozooplankton groups have not been investigated. We tested the effect of 2% acidified Lugol solution on body sizes over time on two major marine mesozooplankton groups, namely larvaceans and copepods, which are representatives of gelatinous and chitineous plankton, respectively. For both, we observed a significant shrinkage effect over time (P 〈 0.0001). Larvaceans showed a reduction in body size by 20% within the first 2 min, which stabilized after 36 h at 22%, whereas copepods shrank by 17%. These differences were significant (P = 0.0324), with no further shrinkage observed over an additional 3 months. Failure to adequately account for shrinkage effects could result in significant biomass underestimation if length�weight relationships are generated from live material.

Description: Highlights: • The epoch of the Anthropocene, a period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment, has witnessed a decline in oxygen concentrations and an expansion of oxygen-depleted environments in both coastal and open ocean systems since the middle of the 20th century. • This review paper provides a synthesis of system-specific drivers of low oxygen in a range of case studies representing marine systems in the open ocean, on continental shelves, in enclosed seas and in the coastal environment. • Identification of similar and contrasting responses within and across system types and corresponding oxygen regimes is shown to be informative both in understanding and isolating key controlling processes and provides a sound basis for predicting change under anticipated future conditions. • Case studies were selected to achieve a balance in system diversity and global coverage. • Each case study describes system attributes, including the present-day oxygen environment and known trends in oxygen concentrations over time. • Central to each case study is the identification of the physical and biogeochemical processes that determine oxygen concentrations through the tradeoff between ventilation and respiration. • Spatial distributions of oxygen and time series of oxygen data provide the opportunity to identify trends in oxygen availability and have allowed various drivers of low oxygen to be distinguished through correlative and causative relationships. • Deoxygenation results from a complex interplay of hydrographic and biogeochemical processes and the superposition of these processes, some additive and others subtractive, makes attribution to any particular driver challenging. • System-specific models are therefore required to achieve a quantitative understanding of these processes and of the feedbacks between processes at varying scales. Abstract: The epoch of the Anthropocene, a period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment, has witnessed a decline in oxygen concentrations and an expansion of oxygen-depleted environments in both coastal and open ocean systems since the middle of the 20th century. This paper provides a review of system-specific drivers of low oxygen in a range of case studies representing marine systems in the open ocean, on continental shelves, in enclosed seas and in the coastal environment. Identification of similar and contrasting responses within and across system types and corresponding oxygen regimes is shown to be informative both in understanding and isolating key controlling processes and provides a sound basis for predicting change under anticipated future conditions. Case studies were selected to achieve a balance in system diversity and global coverage. Each case study describes system attributes, including the present-day oxygen environment and known trends in oxygen concentrations over time. Central to each case study is the identification of the physical and biogeochemical processes that determine oxygen concentrations through the tradeoff between ventilation and respiration. Spatial distributions of oxygen and time series of oxygen data provide the opportunity to identify trends in oxygen availability and have allowed various drivers of low oxygen to be distinguished through correlative and causative relationships. Deoxygenation results from a complex interplay of hydrographic and biogeochemical processes and the superposition of these processes, some additive and others subtractive, makes attribution to any particular driver challenging. System-specific models are therefore required to achieve a quantitative understanding of these processes and of the feedbacks between processes at varying scales.

Description: In this paper, we outline the need for a coordinated international effort toward the building of an open-access Global Ocean Oxygen Database and ATlas (GO2DAT) complying with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). GO2DAT will combine data from the coastal and open ocean, as measured by the chemical Winkler titration method or by sensors (e.g., optodes, electrodes) from Eulerian and Lagrangian platforms (e.g., ships, moorings, profiling floats, gliders, ships of opportunities, marine mammals, cabled observatories). GO2DAT will further adopt a community-agreed, fully documented metadata format and a consistent quality control (QC) procedure and quality flagging (QF) system. GO2DAT will serve to support the development of advanced data analysis and biogeochemical models for improving our mapping, understanding and forecasting capabilities for ocean O2 changes and deoxygenation trends. It will offer the opportunity to develop quality-controlled data synthesis products with unprecedented spatial (vertical and horizontal) and temporal (sub-seasonal to multi-decadal) resolution. These products will support model assessment, improvement and evaluation as well as the development of climate and ocean health indicators. They will further support the decision-making processes associated with the emerging blue economy, the conservation of marine resources and their associated ecosystem services and the development of management tools required by a diverse community of users (e.g., environmental agencies, aquaculture, and fishing sectors). A better knowledge base of the spatial and temporal variations of marine O2 will improve our understanding of the ocean O2 budget, and allow better quantification of the Earth’s carbon and heat budgets. With the ever-increasing need to protect and sustainably manage ocean services, GO2DAT will allow scientists to fully harness the increasing volumes of O2 data already delivered by the expanding global ocean observing system and enable smooth incorporation of much higher quantities of data from autonomous platforms in the open ocean and coastal areas into comprehensive data products in the years to come. This paper aims at engaging the community (e.g., scientists, data managers, policy makers, service users) toward the development of GO2DAT within the framework of the UN Global Ocean Oxygen Decade (GOOD) program recently endorsed by IOC-UNESCO. A roadmap toward GO2DAT is proposed highlighting the efforts needed (e.g., in terms of human resources).