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- Andersen, Jesper H., et al.
(author)
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Long-term temporal and spatial trends in eutrophication status of the Baltic Sea
- 2017
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In: Biological Reviews. - : Wiley. - 1464-7931 .- 1469-185X. ; 92:1, s. 135-149
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Much of the Baltic Sea is currently classified as 'affected by eutrophication'. The causes for this are twofold. First, current levels of nutrient inputs (nitrogen and phosphorus) from human activities exceed the natural processing capacity with an accumulation of nutrients in the Baltic Sea over the last 50-100 years. Secondly, the Baltic Sea is naturally susceptible to nutrient enrichment due to a combination of long retention times and stratification restricting ventilation of deep waters. Here, based on a unique data set collated from research activities and long-term monitoring programs, we report on the temporal and spatial trends of eutrophication status for the open Baltic Sea over a 112-year period using the HELCOM Eutrophication Assessment Tool (HEAT 3.0). Further, we analyse variation in the confidence of the eutrophication status assessment based on a systematic quantitative approach using coefficients of variation in the observations. The classifications in our assessment indicate that the first signs of eutrophication emerged in the mid-1950s and the central parts of the Baltic Sea changed from being unaffected by eutrophication to being affected. We document improvements in eutrophication status that are direct consequences of long-term efforts to reduce the inputs of nutrients. The reductions in both nitrogen and phosphorus loads have led to large-scale alleviation of eutrophication and to a healthier Baltic Sea. Reduced confidence in our assessment is seen more recently due to reductions in the scope of monitoring programs. Our study sets a baseline for implementation of the ecosystem-based management strategies and policies currently in place including the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directives and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.
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- Asmala, Eero, et al.
(author)
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A reply to the comment by Karlsson et al.
- 2019
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 1939-5590 .- 0024-3590. ; 64:4, s. 1832-1833
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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3. |
- Asmala, Eero, et al.
(author)
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Efficiency of the coastal filter : Nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the Baltic Sea
- 2017
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 1939-5590 .- 0024-3590. ; 62, s. 222-238
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An important function of coastal ecosystems is the reduction of the nutrient flux from land to the open sea, the coastal filter. In this study, we focused on the two most important coastal biogeochemical processes that remove nitrogen and phosphorus permanently: denitrification and phosphorus burial. We compiled removal rates from coastal systems around the Baltic Sea and analyzed their spatial variation and regulating environmental factors. These analyses were used to scale up denitrification and phosphorus burial rates for the entire Baltic Sea coastal zone. Denitrification rates ranged from non-detectable to 12 mmol N m−2 d−1, and correlated positively with both bottom water nitrate concentration and sediment organic carbon content. The rates exhibited a strong decreasing gradient from land to the open coast, which was likely driven by the availability of nitrate and labile organic carbon, but a high proportion of non-cohesive sediments in the coastal zone decreased the denitrification efficiency relative to the open sea. Phosphorus burial rates varied from 0.21 g P m−2 yr−1 in open coastal systems to 2.28 g P m−2 yr−1 in estuaries. Our analysis suggests that archipelagos are important phosphorus traps and account for 45% of the coastal P removal, while covering only 17% of the coastal areas. High burial rates could partly be sustained by phosphorus import from the open Baltic Sea. We estimate that the coastal filter in the Baltic Sea removes 16% of nitrogen and 53% of phosphorus inputs from land.
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4. |
- Asmala, Eero, et al.
(author)
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Role of Eelgrass in the Coastal Filter of Contrasting Baltic Sea Environments
- 2019
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In: Estuaries and Coasts. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1559-2723 .- 1559-2731. ; 42:7, s. 1882-1895
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coastal ecosystems act as filters of nutrients from land to the open sea. We investigated the role of eelgrass (Zostera marina) metabolism in the coastal filter transforming nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon. Field campaigns following identical methodologies were carried out at two contrasting coastal locations: the mesohaline and nutrient-rich Roskilde Fjord, Denmark, and the mesotrophic brackish Tvarminne archipelago, Finland. Over the 24-h in situ benthic incubations, we measured oxygen concentrations continuously and assessed changes in DOM characteristics and net fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Ecosystem metabolism modeled on the basis of the O-2 data showed that the systems were either net heterotrophic (Roskilde Fjord; - 1.6 and - 2.4 g O-2 m(-2) day(-1) in eelgrass meadow and bare sand, respectively) or had balanced primary production and respiration (Tvarminne; 0.0 and 0.2 g O-2 m(-2) day(-1)). Overall, initial nutrient stoichiometry was a key factor determining benthic-pelagic fluxes of nutrients, which exacerbated the deviations from Redfield ratios of N and P, indicating an efficient use of the limiting nutrient. A net diel uptake of dissolved inorganic N was observed at both locations (- 2.3 mu mol l(-1) day(-1) in Roskilde Fjord and - 0.1 mu mol l(-1) day(-1) in Tvarminne). Despite minor changes in dissolved organic carbon concentrations during the incubations, a marked increase of fluorescent DOM was observed at both locations, suggesting rapid heterotrophic processing of the DOM pool. Our results underline that the biogeochemical role of eelgrass in the coastal filter is not inherent, but strongly dependent on the environmental conditions.
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7. |
- Bernhard, Jonte, et al.
(author)
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Practical Epistemic Cognition in a Design Project - Engineering Students Developing Epistemic Fluency
- 2019
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In: IEEE Transactions on Education. - : IEEE. - 0018-9359 .- 1557-9638. ; 62:3, s. 216-225
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Contribution: This paper reports engineering students' practical epistemic cognition by studying their interactional work in situ. Studying "epistemologies in action'' the study breaks away from mainstream approaches that describe this in terms of beliefs or of stage theories.Background: In epistemology, knowledge is traditionally seen as "justified true belief'', neglecting knowledge related to action. Interest has increased in studying the epistemologies people use in situated action, and their development of epistemic fluency. How appropriate such approaches are in engineering and design education need further investigation.Research Questions: 1) How do students in the context of a design project use epistemic tools in their interactional work? and 2) What are the implications of the findings in terms of how students' cognitive and epistemological development could be conceptualized?Methodology: A collaborative group of six students were video recorded on the 14th day of a fifth-semester design project, as they were preparing for a formal critique session. The entire, almost 6 h, session was recorded by four video cameras mounted in the design studio, with an additional fifth body-mounted camera. The video data collected was analyzed using video ethnographic, conversation analysis, and embodied interaction analysis methods.Findings: The results show that the students use a wealth of bodily material resources as an integral and seamless part of their interactions as epistemic tools, in their joint production of understanding and imagining. The analysis also suggests that students' epistemological and cognitive development, individually and as a group, should be understood in terms of developing "epistemic fluency.''
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8. |
- Blackburn, Nicholas, et al.
(author)
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The use of an automated organism tracking microscope in mesocosm experiments
- 2022
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1541-5856. ; 20:12, s. 768-780
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A method for automatically counting and measuring sizes and motility behavior of zooplankton and phytoplankton in water samples is presented. Two video cameras are focused on separate optical chambers of different sizes. The chambers are filled and emptied repeatedly by synchronized pumps. Real-time motion analysis is performed by computer on the respective video feeds. Fluorescence from chlorophyll a (Chl a) is imaged at single pixel resolution. Measured parameters for individual organisms include size, swimming velocity, motility patterns, and chlorophyll fluorescence density. The system was tested during a mesocosm experiment where it was mounted on one of several mesocosm columns. The results were validated against Chl a measurements and microscopy counts. A sampling interval of 1 per day revealed detailed dynamics of chlorophyll activity as well as shifts in both the phytoplankton and zooplankton community structure over the course of a month. A helix coefficient, a metric related to organism motility behavior, showed substantial variation over time, consistent with changing plankton communities. Sampling rates as frequent as 1 per hour enables detailed analysis of diurnal vertical migration and similar phenomena at fixed sampling points.
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9. |
- Broman, Elias, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Distinct Coastal Microbiome Populations Associated With Autochthonous- and Allochthonous-Like Dissolved Organic Matter
- 2019
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In: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-302X. ; 10, s. 1-15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coastal zones are important transitional areas between the land and sea, where both terrestrial and phytoplankton supplied dissolved organic matter (DOM) are respired or transformed. As climate change is expected to increase river discharge and water temperatures, DOM from both allochthonous and autochthonous sources is projected to increase. As these transformations are largely regulated by bacteria, we analyzed microbial community structure data in relation to a 6-month long time-series dataset of DOM characteristics from Roskilde Fjord and adjacent streams, Denmark. The results showed that the microbial community composition in the outer estuary (closer to the sea) was largely associated with salinity and nutrients, while the inner estuary formed two clusters linked to either nutrients plus allochthonous DOM or autochthonous DOM characteristics. In contrast, the microbial community composition in the streams was found to be mainly associated with allochthonous DOM characteristics. A general pattern across the land-to-sea interface was that Betaproteobacteria were strongly associated with humic-like DOM [operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to family Comamonadaceae], while distinct populations were instead associated with nutrients or abiotic variables such as temperature (Cyanobacteria genus Synechococcus) and salinity (Actinobacteria family Microbacteriaceae). Furthermore, there was a stark shift in the relative abundance of OTUs between stream and marine stations. This indicates that as DOM travels through the land-to-sea interface, different bacterial guilds continuously degrade it.
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10. |
- Caballero-Alfonso, Angela, et al.
(author)
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Biogeochemical and environmental drivers of coastal hypoxia
- 2015
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In: Journal of Marine Systems. - : Elsevier BV. - 0924-7963. ; 141, s. 190-199
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent reports have demonstrated that hypoxia is widespread in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea. Here we evaluate the long-term trends of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters and of the drivers of coastal hypoxia. Eleven of the 33 sites evaluated had increasing trends of bottom water dissolved oxygen, but only the Stockholm Archipelago presents a consistent positive increasing trend in time. The vast majority of sites continue to worsen, especially along the Danish and Finnish coasts, in spite of remediation efforts to reduce nutrients. Surface temperatures were relatively comparable across the entire coastal Baltic Sea, whereas bottom water temperatures varied more strongly among sites, most likely due to differences in mixing (or stratification) and water exchange with the open Baltic Sea. Nutrient concentrations varied by factors 2-3 with highest levels at sites with restricted water exchange and higher land based nutrient loading. None of the sites were permanently stratified during the summer seasonal window although most of the sites were stratified more than half of the time. The frequency of hypoxia was also quite variable with sites in Gulf of Bothnia almost never experiencing hypoxia to enclosed sites with more than 50% chance of hypoxia. There are many factors governing hypoxia and the complexity of interacting processes in the coastal zone makes it difficult to identify specific causes. Our results demonstrate that managing nutrients can create positive feedbacks for oxygen recovery to occur. In the absence of nutrient reductions, the recovery from hypoxia in coastal marine ecosystems is unlikely. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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