The modification of radar signals by organic sea slicks Final report

The ultimate goal of the present investigation was the classification of organic surface films by determining their viscoelastic parameters with the help of multi-frequency radar techniques. This aim has been approached by the following strategy: laboratory measurements which included chemical and physicochemical characterization of the system slick/vicinal water layer. As a consequence of this endeavour, about 24 different slick-forming materials were selected. Wind-wave-tank experiments were performed using these 24 substances, nine of which were chosen for further investigations on the open sea. During the SAXON-FPN experiments these nine slick-forming substances and, in addition, a mixture of compounds, were disseminated on the sea surface and overflown by the airplanes and the HELISCAT which were available during the respective campaignsSIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: D.Dt.F. QN1(5,19) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Analyse lipophiler organischer Schadstoffe in Ost- und Nordsee (ALOSON) Abschlussbericht

During the ALOSON-F+E-project emphasis has been placed upon non-target investigations of seawater, marine sediments and marine biota from the Baltic and North Sea. Sampling procedures as well as extraction, clean-up and fractionation methods were developed for these three environmental compartments and applied to three stations in the German Bight. In these water samples 20 compounds were verified thus far not included in actual monitoring programmes, while in the respective sediment samples 12 compounds were verified. It is worth mentioning that in the seawater samples some new compounds were found which are essential components of drugs or other active substances like coffein. Furthermore, halogenated pyridine derivatives may be of interest. In the sediment samples dominating pollutants turned out to comprise musk compounds and several sulfur and nitrogen containing substances which may justify subsequent investigations. In biota samples (mussels and Wittling gonades/liver/muscle) 11 compounds were verified. Again, the polycyclic musks HHCB and AHTN dominated, but also several 'classical' pollutants like chlordane, HCH and DDT isomers and/or metabolites were found. In addition, comparison with the MS library suggested many brominated compounds which may be of particular interest with regard to subsequent studies. In parallel, some target investigations were carried out in 13 marinas at the Baltic and North Sea coast and for 5 stations in the German Bight. Orienting quantifications in seawater (German Bight) were carried out for benzothiazole, methylthiobenzothiazole, thiocyanatobenzothiazole, HHCB, AHTN, 2,5-dichloroaniline, 1-chloro-2-nitrobenzene, 1-chloro-4-nitrobenzene and LAS, while extensive quantifications in marine sediments as well as in marina sediments were performed for Irgarol 1051, TBT, DBT, MBT, TPT, DPT, MPT, nonylphenol, nonylphenol-monoethoxylate, nonylphenolpolyethoxylate, LAS and the optical whiteners DAS 1, DSBP, BLS, LAS. (orig.)Im Rahmen des ALOSON-F+E-Vorhabens des Umweltbundesamtes standen Non-target-Untersuchungen im Meerwasser, marinen Sediment und mariner Biota der Nord- und Ostsee im Vordergrund. Fuer alle drei Umweltkompartimente wurden Probenahme- und -aufarbeitungsmethoden entwickelt. Daran anschliessend wurden mit Hilfe dieser ALOSON-Methoden Wasser- und Sedimentproben in der Deutschen Bucht genommen, extrahiert, fraktioniert und mit Hilfe von GC-MS analysiert. Fuer drei kuestennahe Stationen wurden im Wasser 20 und in den Sedimentproben 12 Verbindungen verifiziert, die bisher nicht durch die laufenden Monitoring-Programme erfasst werden. Hervorzuheben ist, dass im Meerwasser einige neue Substanzen gefunden wurden, die als Wirkstoffe in pharmazeutischen Praeparaten eingesetzt werden, teilweise aber auch als Wirkstoffe in Kaffee und Tee bekannt sind. Ferner scheinen halogenierte Pyridinderivate fuer Anschlussuntersuchungen von Interesse zu sein. In den Sedimentproben fielen besonders einige Moschusduftstoffe sowie schwefelhaltige und stickstoffhaltige Verbindungen auf. In Biotaproben (Muscheln und Wittling-Gonaden/-Leber-/Muskel) wurden 11 Verbindungen verifiziert, wobei besonders wiederum polycyclische Moschusduftstoffe, aber auch 'klassische' Schadstoffe, wie Chlordan-, HCH- und DDT-Isomere und ihre Metabolite, ins Auge fallen. Daneben sind in den MS-Bibliotheksvorschlaegen viele bromierte Verbindungen zu finden, die allerdings noch nicht verifiziert wurden. Darueber hinaus wurden Target-Untersuchungen fuer 13 Sportboothaefen an Nord- und Ostseekueste sowie fuer 5 ausgewaehlte Stationen in der Deutschen Bucht durchgefuehrt. Hierbei wurden orientierende Konzentrationsbestimmungen im Meerwasser (Benzothiazol, Methylthiobenzothiazol, Thiocyanatobenzothiazol, HHCB, AHTN, 2,5-Dichloranilin, 1-Chlor-2-nitrobenzol 1-Chlor-4-nitrobenzol, LAS) und umfassende im Sediment (Irgarol 1051, TBT, DBT, MBT, TPT, DPT, MPT, Nonylphenol, Nonylphenol-monoethoxylat, Nonylphenolpolyethoxylate, die optischen Aufheller DAS 1, DSBP, BLS sowie die LAS) durchgefuehrt. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: RN 8908(2000,34) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Definitionsstudie ueber Modulare Multi-Sensor Instrumentierung fuer die Meeresforschung und -ueberwachung Abschlussbericht

For the airborne remote sensing system EUROMAR-SEASTARS currently being developed under the EUREKA programme, a sensor package is compiled considering active and passive, optical and microwave, imaging and profiling instruments. It integrates synthetic aperture radar (SAR), forward looking radar (flar), laser fluorosensor (LSF) and microwave (1.4, 5.6, 18, 36, 90 GHz) radiometer. This set of instruments is designed to be modular and therefore an optimal subset can be chosen depending on the scientific task of the mission. All instruments are connected through a common bus and real-time images or data displays show the state of the surrounding sea. Sensor and housekeeping data, recorded on-board on standardized storage media, will be distributed among interested users. (WEN)Available from TIB Hannover: F96B1573+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany); Commission of the European Communities (CEC), Brussels (Belgium)DEGerman

Satellite observations of oceanic eddies around Africa

Oceanic eddies having scales from several hundred meters to several hundred kilometers are ubiquitous phenomena in the World’s ocean. This became evident only after they could be observed from satellites and space shuttles. Here we present several images taken in different spectral bands which show signatures of eddies of different spatial scales in sea areas around Africa. In particular, we present a series of satellite images showing the propagation of a small-scale cyclonic (cold) eddy generated at Cap-Vert at the coast of Senegal into the open ocean. We show that this small-scale eddy transported nutrients from the Senegal upwelling region westward into the oligotrophic North Atlantic thus giving rise to enhanced chlorophyll-a concentration there. Since eddies are also areas of high fish population, knowledge of their position and properties is of great importance for fishery

Bacterioneuston Community Structure in the Southern Baltic Sea and Its Dependence on Meteorological Conditions▿†

The bacterial community in the sea surface microlayer (SML) (bacterioneuston) is exposed to unique physicochemical properties and stronger meteorological influences than the bacterial community in the underlying water (ULW) (bacterioplankton). Despite extensive research, however, the structuring factors of the bacterioneuston remain enigmatic. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of meteorological conditions on bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton community structures and to identify distinct, abundant, active bacterioneuston members. Nineteen bacterial assemblages from the SML and ULW of the southern Baltic Sea, sampled from 2006 to 2008, were compared. Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) fingerprints were analyzed to distinguish total (based on the 16S rRNA gene) and active (based on 16S rRNA) as well as nonattached and particle-attached bacterial assemblages. The nonattached communities of the SML and ULW were very similar overall (similarity: 47 to 99%; mean: 88%). As an exception, during low wind speeds and high radiation levels, the active bacterioneuston community increasingly differed from the active bacterioplankton community. In contrast, the particle-attached assemblages in the two compartments were generally less similar (similarity: 8 to 98%; mean: 62%), with a strong variability in the active communities that was solely related to wind speed. Both nonattached and particle-attached active members of the bacterioneuston, which were found exclusively in the SML, were related to environmental clones belonging to the Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria originally found in diverse habitats, but especially in water columns. These results suggest that bacterioneuston communities are strongly influenced by the ULW but that specific meteorological conditions favor the development of distinctive populations in the air-water interface