Pyrene Mineralization by Mycobacterium sp. Strain KMS in a Barley Rhizosphere

To determine whether the soil Mycobacterium isolate KMS would mineralize pyrene under rhizosphere conditions, a microcosm system was established to collect radioactive carbon dioxide released from the labeled polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Microcosms were designed as sealed, flow-through systems that allowed the growth of plants. Experiments were conducted to evaluate mineralization of 14C-labeled pyrene in a sand amended with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degrading Mycobacterium isolate KMS, barley plants, or barley plants with roots colonized by isolate KMS. Mineralization was quantified by collecting the 14CO2 produced from 14C-labeled pyrene at intervals during the 10-d incubation period. Roots and foliar tissues were examined for 14C incorporation. Mass balances for microcosms were determined through combustion of sand samples and collection and quantification of 14CO2 evolved from radiolabeled pyrene. No pyrene mineralization was observed in the sterile control systems. Greater release of 14CO2 was observed in the system with barley colonized by KMS than in microcosms containing just the bacterium inoculum or sterile barley plants. These findings suggest that phytostimulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons mineralization could be applied in remediation schemes

The Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA)

The Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA) was established in order to better understand the complex interdisciplinary processes of northern seas and the Arctic coasts in a changing environment. Particular focus is given to the German Bight in the North Sea as a prime example of a heavily used coastal area, and Svalbard as an example of an Arctic coast that is under strong pressure due to global change. The COSYNA automated observing and modelling system is designed to monitor real-time conditions and provide short-term forecasts, data, and data products to help assess the impact of anthropogenically induced change. Observations are carried out by combining satellite and radar remote sensing with various in situ platforms. Novel sensors, instruments, and algorithms are developed to further improve the understanding of the interdisciplinary interactions between physics, biogeochemistry, and the ecology of coastal seas. New modelling and data assimilation techniques are used to integrate observations and models in a quasi-operational system providing descriptions and forecasts of key hydrographic variables. Data and data products are publicly available free of charge and in real time. They are used by multiple interest groups in science, agencies, politics, industry, and the public

Experimental method to measure surface signature generation by sea bottom undulations

An experimental method to investigate submarine bedform signatures at the sea surface is described. The study area was the Lister Tief in the German Bight of the southeastern North Sea, a semienclosed tidal basin with asymmetric and very large sand waves. In-situ and remote measurements of surface roughness were obtained simultaneously. An X-band wave monitoring radar, an oceanographic multisensor sea surface buoy, an acoustic Doppler current profiler, and a standard echo sounder were operated on and from board a research vessel while drifting along the tidal channel

Sea surface current deduced from Doppler-shift of high-frequency radar backscatter, 2010-10-29 to 2016-12-31

The HF-Radar network in the German Bight consist of three Wellen Radar (WERA) Systems, which are located on Sylt, Büsum and Wangerooge. All Systems transmit via a rectangular array of four antennae with an average power of 32 W. The Systems on Sylt and Büsum operate at 10.8 MHz with a linear receive array consisting of 12 antennae, while the Wangerooge radar operates at 12.1 MHz with a 16 antennae array. Each radar covers a 120° field of view with a 3°azimuth and 1.5 km range resolution. All systems are operated continuously with an hourly program, where 58 minutes are for measurements and the remaining 2 minutes are utilized to find the best suited frequency around the selected frequency band. The acquired data are preprocessed at each radar site and than forwarded to the main server at HZG in Geesthacht were the final products are generated and uploaded to the COSYNA data base. The radial component of the ocean surface current with respect to the radar look direction is retrieved at each radar site utilizing 20 minutes of data. These components typically cover a range distance of 100 km within the azimuth of 120° covered by the radar. The surface current components are forwarded to the main server at HZG were the data are subject to quality control and fused to a surface current vector field. The radar network resolves surface currents every 20 minutes, which are made available on the COSYNA web portal within 30 minutes of acquisition (http://codm.hzg.de/codm/). The data are organized in daily netCDF files. The first file is from 2010. The measurements are ongoing and will be added in PANGAEA as complete years. All data including the near real-time data will be still available via the COSYNA data portal (doi:10.17616/R3K02T). Details of data management in COSYNA in general are described in an Ocean Science paper (doi:10.5194/os-12-909-2016)