Lidia Dzierzbicka-Glowacka, Andrzej Zielinski
Institute
of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot
Keywords: Biological model, Phytoplankton, Nutrient, Benthic regeneration Manuscript received December 9, 1997, in final form December 29, 1998.
This paper presents the numerical simulations of variability
of biological processes such as phytoplankton bottom flux, remineralisation
of detritus, detrital material sedimenting out of the water column onto the
bottom and the benthic detritus pool, as well as the effect of these
processes
on the distribution functions of chlorophyll a and nutrient
concentration in a stratified sea. The influence of these processes on the
distribution functions was recorded in the changes in biological and chemical
parameters, such as the factor limiting production increase, the maximum rate
of production increase, the nutrient half-saturation constant and the
function
characterising the vertical distribution of zooplankton. The numerical
studies were carried out using a phytoplankton–phosphate–detritus
biological
model with a well–developed regeneration mechanism. This paper presents
the
vertical distributions of biological characteristics to facilitate a better
understanding of temporal changes but on the assumption that the above
processes are horizontally uniform. The calculations were made in an area
0 
z 20 m with a vertical space step of 10 cm and a time step of
15 min. The complex experimental data, gathered during the PEX ´ 86
international scientific experiment of the Baltic states, and subsequently
by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, were used as
the input data for the calculations.
`IO PAS initial model´ of marine primary production for remote
sensing applications
Oceanologia 1997, no. 39 (4), pp. 377–395
Bogdan Wozniak, Jerzy Dera
Institute
of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot
Roman Majchrowski, Dariusz Ficek
Pedagogical University, Slupsk
Olga J. Koblentz-Mishke
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Miroslaw Darecki
Institute
of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot
Keywords: Primary production, Bio-optical modelling, Photosynthesis, Quantum yield, Nutrients, Remote sensing, World Ocean Manuscript received October 23, 1997, in final form November 10, 1997.
A model of marine primary production with a set of statistical relationships linking physiological parameters of the phytoplankton with abiotic factors of the sea has been developed. The study is based on empirical data analysed from some 3500 stations in various oceanic regions. The data comes from Polish and Russian expeditions as well as from literature.
Zbigniew Otremba
Department of Physics, Maritime Academy, Gdynia
Keywords: Sea surface, Crude oil pollution, Light reflection, Light transmission, Model remote sensing Manuscript received December 5, 1997, in final form January 12, 1998.
Selected results of investigations into the optical properties of thin oil films on a sea surface are presented. The plots of angular functions are given for the coefficient of the reflection of the light arriving at the sea surface from the depths and for the coefficient of transmission of the light entering the water across an oil film. The calculations on a triple-layer model (air-oil-water) takes into account the results of temperature measurements and the spectral relationships of the complex refractive index for two optically diverse types of crude oil – ‘Petrobaltic’ and ‘Romashkino’.
Grazyna Kowalewska
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot
Keywords: Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll a derivatives, Chlorins, Phytoplankton pigments, Sediments, Baltic Sea, HPLC Manuscript received October 28, 1997, in final form December 15, 1997.
Determinations of chlorophyll a and its derivatives (chlorins)
as well as chlorophylls b, c and 
-carotene in recent sediments
(0–10 cm) of the southern Baltic Sea carried out in the years 1992–1996
are compiled. Correlations of the concentrations of chlorins with parameters such
as the origin of a sample, oxygen in near-bottom waters (literature data)
and organic carbon in sediments were analysed with respect to the chlorins’
utility as environmental markers. Comparison of the concentration levels of
chlorins in sediments with the literature results proves that these compounds
are sensitive environmental markers of primary production in the overlying
waters (taking local water currents into account) and of environmental
conditions. Moreover, together with other sedimental pigments, they are
markers of prevailing plankton classes in the adjacent waters, and are
valuable indicators of the average plankton composition supplementary to
biological determinations.
Ashraful Mohammed Haque
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot
Maria Szymelfenig
Institute of Oceanography, Gdansk University, Gdynia
Jan Marcin Weslawski
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot
Keywords: Sandy littoral, Zoobenthos Manuscript received September 30, 1997, in final form December 11, 1997.
Three sites in the Gulf of Gdansk were analysed for the presence of zoobenthos in 0–10 cm sediment cores, collected at 1 m depth in the course of the year. 80% of the macrobenthos biomass was distributed in the top 5 cm of the sediment at Oslonino, while at Jurata 50% of the biomass was found below 5 cm. At Mikoszewo macrofauna was found in the intermediate 3–5 cm layer only. Meiofauna was most abundant in the upper sediment layers at Jurata and Oslonino, while at Mikoszewo most of the biomass was found below 5 cm. The upper 5 cm layer was the richest in taxa, as regards both meio- and macrobenthos. Below 5 cm Polychaeta dominated the macrofauna, Nematoda and Oligochaeta the meiofauna. The vertical distribution of meio- and macrofauna changes slightly in the course of the year. The spring and autumn samples revealed more fauna in the upper sediment layers, while the deeper sediment strata were rich in biomass in the winter months. The mean size of individual zoobenthos specimens increased with the depth of the sediment layer.
Lech Kotwicki
Institute of Ecology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Dziekanow Lesny
Keywords: Gulf of Gdansk, Sandy littoral zone, Macrozoobenthos, Seasonal changes Manuscript received October 10, 1997, in final form November 14, 1997.
The aim of the study was to determine the distribution, composition and seasonal variability of the macrozoobenthos in the sandy littoral zone of the Gulf of Gdansk including the inner part of Puck Bay. The results of qualitative and quantitative investigations of the benthic fauna are presented. Material was collected every month from October 1992 to December 1993 at 10 stations from 0.5 to 1 m depth. A total of 23 species and 5 higher macrofaunal taxa were identified. At each station 2 samples were collected with an 80 cm2 Morduchaj–Boltovski pipe-grab. The average abundance and wet weight of particular taxa were calculated. The analyses showed that in the shallow-bottom zone the most diverse and abundant bottom fauna occurred at the stations situated in the inner Puck Bay. The composition was least diverse at the stations located in the estuary of the river Vistula (Swibno, Mikoszewo. Polychaeta and Bivalvia constituted up to 97% of the bottom fauna biomass; Nereis diversicolor and Mya arenaria were the dominant species.