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Sample records for eastern mediterranean sea

  1. The exclusive economic zone debates in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and fisheries

    OpenAIRE

    Başeren, Bayram Öztürk and Sertaç Hami; Öztürk, Bayram

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Delimitation and proclamations of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is important issue for several reasons for the bordering nations. The Mediterranean Sea is unique case due to geographical characteristics and some conflicts already existed on maritime delimitations among some nations. It’s a matter of fact that; all States will have to reach agreement, regarding proclamations of the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Eastern Mediterranean ...

  2. The exclusive economic zone debates in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and fisheries

    OpenAIRE

    Başeren, Bayram Öztürk and Sertaç Hami

    2008-01-01

    Abstract Delimitation and proclamations of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is important issue for several reasons for the bordering nations. The Mediterranean Sea is unique case due to geographical characteristics and some conflicts already existed on maritime delimitations among some nations. It’s a matter of fact that; all States will have to reach agreement, regarding proclamations of the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Eastern Mediterranean ...

  3. Census of biodiversity in marine caves of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. GEROVASILEIOU

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Scientific information on the biodiversity of marine caves in the eastern Mediterranean is limited, especially when considering the extensively studied caves of the north-western and central Mediterranean. Aiming to enhance current knowledge regarding cave communities, this study represents a first assessment of the marine cave biota of the eastern Mediterranean, as this has been defined by the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD. Information retrieved from an extensive overview of relevant scientific documents was combined with original data recorded from 23 marine caves of the north-eastern Mediterranean. Our results report a total of 520 taxa recorded in eastern Mediterranean marine caves to date, the majority of which are sponges, polychaetes, rhodophytes, bivalves, fishes, and gastropods. These include several protected, endemic, and alien species. However, not all taxonomic groups have been equally studied among different areas and future studies are expected to raise the number of endemic and alien species. The overall observed trend is that the reported species number is generally related to sampling effort and scientific expertise. The most well-studied marine cave communities of the eastern Mediterranean are those of the Aegean Sea (especially its northern sector, which presented the highest number of species, followed by those of the Levantine. Furthermore, our research in Aegean caves revealed numerous new records for the marine cave fauna of the eastern basin, while several species are reported for the first time in the marine cave habitat. The critical need for further scientific research, monitoring, and conservation of this unique ecosystem was highlighted by (i the presence of certain species endemic to the eastern Mediterranean coupled with a high proportion of alien species, especially in the Levantine, and (ii the marine cave habitat availability in isolated insular areas of the eastern Mediterranean.

  4. Main Introduction Way of Indo-Pacific and Red Sea Originated Benthic Foraminifers to the Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Engin MERİÇ

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Majority of the alien foraminifers recorded in the eastern Mediterranean are Indo-Pacific originated and entered the Mediterranean via Suez Canal. In this study, current literature on the alien benthic foraminiferal fauna of the eastern Mediterranean was reviewed and the main dispersal pathways are determined. Distribution patterns of the alien species suggests that most of the species are introduced via Suez Canal and expand their range of distributions in a counter-clockwise manner by the general surface currents of the eastern Mediterranean. However, not all, but some of the species have also been dispersed westwards along the North African coast and reached central Mediterranean. Locally abundant records of Euthymonacha polita (Chapman, Coscinospira acicularis (Batsch and Amphistegina lobifera in the Aegean Sea indicates that Suez Canal may not be the only vector for the Indo-Pacific species to enter eastern Mediterranean and submarine springs help these thermophilic species to form establish populations in cool waters of the northern Aegean and the Sea of Marmara

  5. Tsunami Hazard Analysis for the Eastern Mediterranean and its Connected Seas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Necmioglu, Ocal; Meral Ozel, Nurcan

    2015-04-01

    Accurate earthquake source parameters are essential for any tsunami hazard assessment and mitigation, including early warning systems. Complex tectonic setting makes the a priori accurate assumptions of earthquake source parameters difficult and characterization of the faulting type is a challenge. Information on tsunamigenic sources is of crucial importance in the Eastern Mediterranean and its Connected Seas, especially considering the short arrival times and lack of offshore sea-level measurements. In addition, the scientific community have had to abandon the paradigm of a ''maximum earthquake'' predictable from simple tectonic parameters (Ruff and Kanamori, 1980) in the wake of the 2004 Sumatra event (Okal, 2010) and one of the lessons learnt from the 2011 Tohoku event was that tsunami hazard maps may need to be prepared for infrequent gigantic earthquakes as well as more frequent smaller-sized earthquakes (Satake, 2011). We have initiated an extensive modeling study to perform a deterministic Tsunami Hazard Analysis for the Eastern Mediterranean and its Connected Seas. Characteristic earthquake source parameters (strike, dip, rake, depth, Mwmax) at each 0.5° x 0.5° size bin for 0-40 km depth (total of 310 bins) and for 40-100 km depth (total of 92 bins) in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea region (30°N-48°N and 22°E-44°E) have been assigned from the harmonization of the available databases and previous studies. These parameters have been used as input parameters for the deterministic tsunami hazard modeling. Nested Tsunami simulations of 6h duration with a coarse (2 arc-min) grid resolution have been simulated at EC-JRC premises for Black Sea and Eastern and Central Mediterranean (30°N-41.5°N and 8°E-37°E) for each source defined using shallow water finite-difference SWAN code (Mader, 2004) for the magnitude range of 6.5 - Mwmax defined for that bin with a Mw increment of 0.1. Results show that not only the earthquakes resembling the

  6. 137 Caesium distribution in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Recent changes and future trends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papucci, C.; Delfanti, R.

    1999-01-01

    A series of sampling campaigns were carried out in the eastern Mediterranean in the period 1995-1997, to examine the relationship between the distribution of 137Cs in the water column and water mass circulation. 137Cs concentration in the surface water ranges between 3.3 and 4.0 mBq/l all over the area, indicating that the input due to the Chernobyl accident has been transferred to deep water layers by convection processes. In fact, in the vertical profiles, relative maxima are observed in the intermediate (4 mBq/l) and deep waters (∼2.5 mBq/l) formed after the Chernobyl accident. A clear Chernobyl signal also traces the new deep waters formed in the Aegean Sea that, exiting from the Cretan Arc Straits, since 1991 are spreading in the bottom layer of the eastern Mediterranean. The changes in 137Cs vertical profiles related to the new thermohaline circulation of the intermediate and deep waters of the eastern Mediterranean are being monitored at a deep station in the western Ionian Sea. The 1997 profile shows a decrease in 137Cs concentration both in the Levantine intermediate water and in the eastern Mediterranean deep water with respect to 1996. The decrease in Levantine intermediate water is likely due to seasonal/interannual variability, while the changes in the deep layer are related to the spreading westward into the Ionian of the new Aegean dense water. Along the path towards the western Mediterranean, 137Cs content in the Levantine intermediate water decreases from ∼4 mBq/l in the W-Ionian Sea to ∼2 mBq/l at the western sill of the Sicily Straits, due to mixing with underlying water, with lower caesium content, near the Malta Sill. Time-series measurements at the western sill of the Sicily Straits show that, while 137Cs concentration in the surface water entering the eastern Mediterranean remained constant (∼3.5 mBq/l) in the period 1993-1997, its level in the Levantine intermediate water leaving the basin decreased from 3.5 to 2.0 mBq/l

  7. Circumstantial Evidence of Possible Hot Spot Activity Outside Rhodes, Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    OpenAIRE

    Miliaresis, George

    2014-01-01

    Zouzias Dimitrios, St Seymour Karen, Miliaresis George, Vamvoukakis Costas (2008). Circumstantial Evidence of Possible Hot Spot Activity Outside Rhodes, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. 3rd International Conference on the Geology of the Tethys (8-11 January, 2008, South Valley University - Aswan). [Abstract in Program

  8. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen profile data from MULTIPLE SHIPS in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: (NODC Accession 9400176)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) and other data were collected in Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin as part of Mediterranean Ocean Circulation project. Data...

  9. Deterministic Tectonic Origin Tsunami Hazard Analysis for the Eastern Mediterranean and its Connected Seas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Necmioglu, O.; Meral Ozel, N.

    2014-12-01

    Accurate earthquake source parameters are essential for any tsunami hazard assessment and mitigation, including early warning systems. Complex tectonic setting makes the a priori accurate assumptions of earthquake source parameters difficult and characterization of the faulting type is a challenge. Information on tsunamigenic sources is of crucial importance in the Eastern Mediterranean and its Connected Seas, especially considering the short arrival times and lack of offshore sea-level measurements. In addition, the scientific community have had to abandon the paradigm of a ''maximum earthquake'' predictable from simple tectonic parameters (Ruff and Kanamori, 1980) in the wake of the 2004 Sumatra event (Okal, 2010) and one of the lessons learnt from the 2011 Tohoku event was that tsunami hazard maps may need to be prepared for infrequent gigantic earthquakes as well as more frequent smaller-sized earthquakes (Satake, 2011). We have initiated an extensive modeling study to perform a deterministic Tsunami Hazard Analysis for the Eastern Mediterranean and its Connected Seas. Characteristic earthquake source parameters (strike, dip, rake, depth, Mwmax) at each 0.5° x 0.5° size bin for 0-40 km depth (total of 310 bins) and for 40-100 km depth (total of 92 bins) in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea region (30°N-48°N and 22°E-44°E) have been assigned from the harmonization of the available databases and previous studies. These parameters have been used as input parameters for the deterministic tsunami hazard modeling. Nested Tsunami simulations of 6h duration with a coarse (2 arc-min) and medium (1 arc-min) grid resolution have been simulated at EC-JRC premises for Black Sea and Eastern and Central Mediterranean (30°N-41.5°N and 8°E-37°E) for each source defined using shallow water finite-difference SWAN code (Mader, 2004) for the magnitude range of 6.5 - Mwmax defined for that bin with a Mw increment of 0.1. Results show that not only the

  10. Nutrient Limitation in Surface Waters of the Oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean Sea: an Enrichment Microcosm Experiment

    KAUST Repository

    Tsiola, A.; Pitta, P.; Fodelianakis, Stylianos; Pete, R.; Magiopoulos, I.; Mara, P.; Psarra, S.; Tanaka, T.; Mostajir, B.

    2015-01-01

    groups of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic (pico-, nano-, and micro-) plankton using a microcosm experiment during stratified water column conditions in the Cretan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Microcosms were enriched with N and P (either solely

  11. Data from investigation on seismic Sea waves events in the Eastern Mediterranean from 1000 to 1500 A.D.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. ANTONOPOULOS

    1980-06-01

    Full Text Available Tsunamis from 1000 to 1500 A.D. in the Eastern Mediterranean
    Sea between 31-44 N and 18-36 E excluding the Black Sea
    and the Italian coasts of the Adriatic Sea is the object of the
    present paper.

  12. Data from investigation on seismic Sea waves events in the Eastern Mediterranean from 1900 to 1980 A.D.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. ANTONOPOULOS

    1980-06-01

    Full Text Available Tsunamis from 1900 to 1980 A.D. in the Eastern Mediterranean
    Sea between 31-44 N and 18-36 E excluding the Black Sea
    and the Italian coasts of the Adriatic Sea is the object of the
    present paper.

  13. The presence of the Indo-Pacific symbiont-bearing foraminifer Amphistegina lobifera in Greek coastal ecosystems (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean

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    M.V. TRIANTAPHYLLOU

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available During the last decades, hundreds of species of Indo-Pacific origin from the Red Sea have traversed the Suez Canal and settled in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nowadays, Amphistegina lobifera Larsen, is known to be a successful immigrant that is widely distributed in the coastal ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Amphistegina is the most common epiphytic, symbiont- bearing large foraminifer. In this study we provide additional data on the presence of this species in the coastal ecosystems of Aegean Sea, Greece. The high relative abundance of A. lobifera is the result of very successful adaptation of this species to local conditions and suggests that it has become a significant part of the epiphytic foraminiferal fauna.

  14. Biogeochemical relationships between ultrafiltered dissolved organic matter and picoplankton activity in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meador, Travis B.; Gogou, Alexandra; Spyres, Georgina; Herndl, Gerhard J.; Krasakopoulou, Evangelia; Psarra, Stella; Yokokawa, Taichi; De Corte, Daniele; Zervakis, Vassilis; Repeta, Daniel J.

    2010-01-01

    We targeted the warm, subsurface waters of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) to investigate processes that are linked to the chemical composition and cycling of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in seawater. The apparent respiration of semi-labile DOC accounted for 27 +/- 18% of oxygen consumption in

  15. Earthquake Scenario-Based Tsunami Wave Heights in the Eastern Mediterranean and Connected Seas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Necmioglu, Ocal; Özel, Nurcan Meral

    2015-12-01

    We identified a set of tsunami scenario input parameters in a 0.5° × 0.5° uniformly gridded area in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean (both for shallow- and intermediate-depth earthquakes) and Black Seas (only shallow earthquakes) and calculated tsunami scenarios using the SWAN-Joint Research Centre (SWAN-JRC) code ( Mader 2004; Annunziato 2007) with 2-arcmin resolution bathymetry data for the range of 6.5—Mwmax with an Mw increment of 0.1 at each grid in order to realize a comprehensive analysis of tsunami wave heights from earthquakes originating in the region. We defined characteristic earthquake source parameters from a compiled set of sources such as existing moment tensor catalogues and various reference studies, together with the Mwmax assigned in the literature, where possible. Results from 2,415 scenarios show that in the Eastern Mediterranean and its connected seas (Aegean and Black Sea), shallow earthquakes with Mw ≥ 6.5 may result in coastal wave heights of 0.5 m, whereas the same wave height would be expected only from intermediate-depth earthquakes with Mw ≥ 7.0 . The distribution of maximum wave heights calculated indicate that tsunami wave heights up to 1 m could be expected in the northern Aegean, whereas in the Black Sea, Cyprus, Levantine coasts, northern Libya, eastern Sicily, southern Italy, and western Greece, up to 3-m wave height could be possible. Crete, the southern Aegean, and the area between northeast Libya and Alexandria (Egypt) is prone to maximum tsunami wave heights of >3 m. Considering that calculations are performed at a minimum bathymetry depth of 20 m, these wave heights may, according to Green's Law, be amplified by a factor of 2 at the coastline. The study can provide a basis for detailed tsunami hazard studies in the region.

  16. Integrated survey of elemental stoichiometry (C, N, P from the western to eastern Mediterranean Sea

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    M. Pujo-Pay

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides an extensive vertical and longitudinal description of the biogeochemistry along an East-West transect of 3000 km across the Mediterranean Sea during summer 2008 (BOUM cruise. During this period of strong stratification, the distribution of nutrients, particulate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC, nitrogen (DON and phosphorus (DOP were examined to produce a detailed spatial and vertically extended description of the elemental stoichiometry of the Mediterranean Sea. Surface waters were depleted in nutrients and the thickness of this depleted layer increased towards the East from about 10 m in the Gulf of Lion to more than 100 m in the Levantine basin, with the phosphacline deepening to a greater extent than that for corresponding nitracline and thermocline depths. We used the minimum oxygen concentration through the water column in combination with 2 fixed concentrations of dissolved oxygen to distinguish an intermediate layer (Mineralization Layer; ML from surface (Biogenic Layer; BL, and deep layers (DL. Whilst each layer was represented by different water masses, this approach allowed us to propose a schematic box-plot representation of the biogeochemical functioning of the two Mediterranean basins. Despite the increasing oligotrophic nature and the degree of P-depletion along the West to East gradient strong similarities were encountered between eastern and western ecosystems. Within the BL, the C:N:P ratios in all pools largely exceeded the Redfield ratios, but surprisingly, the nitrate vs. phosphate ratios in the ML and DL tended towards the canonical Redfield values in both basins. A change in particulate matter composition has been identified by a C increase relative to N and P along the whole water column in the western basin and between BL and ML in the eastern one. Our data showed a noticeable stability of the DOC:DON ratio (12–13 throughout the Mediterranean Sea. This is in good agreement with a P-limitation of

  17. Multidisciplinary oil spill modeling to protect coastal communities and the environment of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Tiago M.; Kokinou, Eleni; Zodiatis, George; Radhakrishnan, Hari; Panagiotakis, Costas; Lardner, Robin

    2016-11-01

    We present new mathematical and geological models to assist civil protection authorities in the mitigation of potential oil spill accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Oil spill simulations for 19 existing offshore wells were carried out based on novel and high resolution bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, and geomorphological data. The simulations show a trend for east and northeast movement of oil spills into the Levantine Basin, affecting the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Oil slicks will reach the coast in 1 to 20 days, driven by the action of the winds, currents and waves. By applying a qualitative analysis, seabed morphology is for the first time related to the direction of the oil slick expansion, as it is able to alter the movement of sea currents. Specifically, the direction of the major axis of the oil spills, in most of the cases examined, is oriented according to the prevailing azimuth of bathymetric features. This work suggests that oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea should be mitigated in the very few hours after their onset, and before wind and currents disperse them. We explain that protocols should be prioritized between neighboring countries to mitigate any oil spills.

  18. LATE PLIOCENE-HOLOCENE DEBRIS FLOW DEPOSITS IN THE IONIAN SEA (EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

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    GIOVANNI ALOISI DE LARDEREL

    1997-11-01

    Full Text Available Widespread coring of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin has outlined the existence of a systematic relation between lithology of debris flow deposits and physiographic setting. Whilst the topographic highs are characterized by pelagic sedimentation, the basin floors are alternatively subject to pelagic sedimentation and re-sedimentation pro cesses. Amongst the latters, turbidity flows and debris flows are the most common transport mechanisms.In this paper we present the study of the debris flow pro cess in the Ionian Sea using visual description of cores, grain size, carbonate content and smear slide analysis carried out on gravity and piston cores recovered over the past 20 years. A distinction has been made between debris flow deposits originating from the continental margins (North Africa and Malta Escarpment and those emplaced in the small basins amidst the Calabrian and Mediterranean ridges "Cobblestone Topography". As a result of the difference in setting, the former debris flow deposits include a great variety of lithologies and ages whilst the latter involve the pelagic sediments forming the typical Eastern Mediterranean Plio-Quaternary succession. A detailed study of clast and matrix structures makes it possible to describe the flows in terms of existing classifications of sediment gravity flows and to assume a clast support mechanism. Finally, biostratigraphy coupled with the presence of widespread marker beds enabled us to estimate the age of emplacement of the deposits and to hypothesize a triggering mechanism for flow initiation. Three flows are strictly related to the pelagic turbidite named homogenite, triggered by the explosive eruption of the Santorini volcano (Minoan eruption and therefore have an estimated age of 3,500 BP. The other deposits have ages ranging from 9,000 BP to about 70,000 BP and were originated by debris flows triggered by events such as earthquakes and glacial low sea level stands.    

  19. Data from investigation on seismic Sea-waves events in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Birth of Christ to 500 A.D.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. ANTONOPOULOS

    1980-06-01

    Full Text Available The Eastern Mediterranean has a long history of damaging seismic sea
    waves (Tsunamis but a great number of them which are locally generated are small. They have caused no serious damage to the coasts because their
    energy is confined by many islands of the Greek Archipelagos. However,
    some of them have been rather severe and destructive to property and
    human life.
    This paper is comprised of data from an investigation into the activity
    of seismic sea waves in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Birth of
    Christ to 500 A.D. It contains a great amount of information concerning
    earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and seismic sea waves.
    All the available information has been compiled from historical accounts,
    archives, press reports, magazines and related works.

  20. Rapid Response of Eastern Mediterranean Deep Sea Microbial Communities to Oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Jiang; Techtmann, Stephen M.; Woo, Hannah L.; Ning, Daliang; Fortney, Julian L.; Hazen, Terry C.

    2017-07-18

    Deep marine oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) in the Gulf of Mexico have the potential to drastically impact marine systems. Crude oil contamination in marine systems remains a concern, especially for countries around the Mediterranean Sea with off shore oil production. The goal of this study was to investigate the response of indigenous microbial communities to crude oil in the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea (E. Med.) water column and to minimize potential bias associated with storage and shifts in microbial community structure from sample storage. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was combined with GeoChip metagenomic analysis to monitor the microbial community changes to the crude oil and dispersant in on-ship microcosms set up immediately after water collection. After 3 days of incubation at 14 °C, the microbial communities from two different water depths: 824 m and 1210 m became dominated by well-known oil degrading bacteria. The archaeal population and the overall microbial community diversity drastically decreased. Similarly, GeoChip metagenomic analysis revealed a tremendous enrichment of genes related to oil biodegradation, which was consistent with the results from the DWH oil spill. These results highlight a rapid microbial adaption to oil contamination in the deep E. Med., and indicate strong oil biodegradation potentia

  1. Indications of low macrobenthic activity in the deep sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Basso

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available The fluxes and budget of organic matter from the oligotrophic surface waters of the eastern Mediterranean to the deep waters are poorly known, and little information is available on past and present macrobenthic activity on the sea floor. Evidence of macrobenthic activity can be direct, through recovery of living organisms or their autochthonous skeletal remains, or indirect, through bioturbation and trace fossils. The evidence of biological activity in deep eastern Mediterranean sediments has been evaluated and compared through 210Pb profiles from box-cores and study of dredge samples from sites on Medina Rise (1374 m water depth, the Messina Abyssal Plain (4135 m and several sites along the Mediterranean Ridge, SW and S of Crete (1783 to 3655 m. All these sites are remote from the continental shelves, so the biological benthic activity is expected to depend primarily on primary production from surface waters. The results show that present-day macrobenthos and trace fossils are generally scarce, especially at depths > 2500 m. This observation is supported by surface sediment 210Pb excess distributions that show a surface mixed layer (SML 2500 m. The historical layer of some box-cores and the Pleistocene hardgrounds collected in the Cleft area (Mediterranean Ridge do, however, record a macrobenthic activity that is apparently more intense than at present, which may be related to higher primary production of the Pleistocene glacial intervals. In contrast with most areas of the present-day deep eastern Mediterranean which depend on surface primary production based on photosynthesis, a relatively dense and diversified macrobenthic community based on chemosynthesis has been recognised at depths > 1100 m on the Napoli Dome mud volcano in the Olimpi area, and on the Kazan and other mud volcanoes in the Anaximander Mountains.

  2. Shipboard measurements of nitrogen dioxide, nitrous acid, nitric acid and ozone in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Večeřa, Zbyněk; Mikuška, Pavel; Smolík, Jiří; Eleftheriadis, K.; Bryant, C.; Colbeck, I.; Lazaridis, M.

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 1 (2008), s. 117-125 ISSN 1567-7230 Grant - others:5th FP Commission of the EC(XE) EVK2-CT-1999-0052 SUB-AERO Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40310501; CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : reactive nitrogen species * ozone * Eastern Mediterranean Sea Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation

  3. Gouge marks on deep-sea mud volcanoes in the eastern Mediterranean: Caused by Cuvier’s beaked whales?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woodside, J.M.; David, L; Frantzis, A.; Hooker, S.K.

    2006-01-01

    Enigmatic seafloor gouge marks at depths of 1700-2100 m have been observed from submersible during geological survey work studying mud volcanoes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The marks consist of a central groove (about 10 cm deep and 1-2 m long), superimposed on a broader bowl-shaped depression

  4. Reconstruction and outlook of the radionuclide transport in the Mediterranean seas chain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maderich, M.

    1999-01-01

    A set of models was developed to reconstruct and predict in 1960-2010 the 137 Cs contamination in the system of Mediterranean seas that was result of the testing of nuclear weapons and the Chernobyl accident. It incorporates the submodels of the Black Sea, Azov Sea, Marmara Sea, Western and Eastern Mediterranean

  5. Ciguatoxin-like substances in edible fish on the eastern Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentur, Yedidia; Spanier, Ehud

    2007-09-01

    The consumption of edible fish (e.g., Siganus spp) was assumed to have caused ciguatera poisoning at an atypical site, the eastern Mediterranean. This pilot study assesses the presence of ciguatoxin-like substances in edible fish on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Samples of Siganus rivulatus from polluted seawater (Haifa Bay), Siganus rivulatus from relatively clean seawater (Dor), and fish from the freshwater Sea of Galilee not inhabited by toxic algae were analyzed during summertime. Ciguatoxin-like substances were tested by a membrane immunobead assay that yields a color reaction (positive, weakly positive, negative). Significantly more large and small fish from Haifa Bay yielded positive color reactions compared to fish from Dor. Sea of Galilee fish gave no positive color reactions. Our results suggest the presence of ciguatoxin-like substances in edible fish of the eastern Mediterranean. Additional analyses are needed to determine whether these substances are ciguatoxins or related polyethers.

  6. Methane-related authigenic carbonates of the eastern Mediterranean Sea mud volcanoes and their possible relation to gas hydrate destabilisation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aloisi, G; Pierre, C; Rouchy, J.-M.; Foucher, J.P.; Woodside, J.M.; MEDINAUT scientific party, NN

    2000-01-01

    Nautile submersible investigations of mud volcanoes and brine seep areas of the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the MEDINAUT cruise in November 1998 discovered extensive areas of authigenic carbonate crusts associated with methane emissions. Carbonate crusts form pavements, round slabs and circular

  7. Spatial patterns of bacterial abundance, activity and community composition in relation to water masses in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yokokawa, Taichi; De Corte, Daniele; Sintes, Eva; Herndl, Gerhard J.

    2010-01-01

    To determine the variation of bacterial activity and community composition between and within specific water masses, samples were collected throughout the water column at 5 stations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea corresponding to the regions of the northern Aegean, mid-Aegean, western Cretan,

  8. New Fisheries-related data from the Mediterranean Sea (November, 2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. ANASTASOPOULOU

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In this fourth Collective Article, with fisheries-related data from the Mediterranean, we present weight-length relationships for eight deep-sea fish species (Brama brama, Conger conger, Etmopterus spinax, Molva macrophthalma, Mora moro, Pagellus bogaraveo, Phycis blennoides from the Eastern Ionian Sea; Scyliorhinus canicula from various locations in the Mediterranean Sea and weight-length relationships and condition factor of five Mugilidae species (Liza aurata, Liza saliens, Liza ramada, Mugil cephalus, Chelon labrosus from a Mediterranean lagoon in the Ionian Sea. Moreover, we present otolith weight, fish length and otolith length relationships of the red mullet (Mullus barbatus in the Aegean and Ionian Sea and otolith weight relationships in European hake (Merluccius merluccius from the Greek Seas.

  9. Tracers confirm downward mixing of Tyrrhenian Sea upper waters associated with the Eastern Mediterranean Transient

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    W. Roether

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Observations of tritium and 3He in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 1987–2009, confirm the enhanced vertical mixing of intermediate waters into the deep waters that has been noted and associated with the Eastern Mediterranean Transient in previous studies. Our evidence for the mixing rests on increasing tracer concentrations in the Tyrrhenian deep waters, accompanied by decreases in the upper waters, which are supplied from the Eastern Mediterranean. The downward transfer is particularly evident between 1987 and 1997. Later on, information partly rests on increasing tritium-3He ages; here we correct the observed 3He for contributions released from the ocean floor. The Tyrrhenian tracer distributions are fully compatible with data upstream of the Sicily Strait and in the Western Mediterranean. The tracer data show that mixing reached to the bottom and confirm a cyclonic nature of the deep water circulation in the Tyrrhenian. They furthermore indicate that horizontal homogenization of the deep waters occurs on a time scale of roughly 5 years. Various features point to a reduced impact of Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW in the Tyrrhenian during the enhanced-mixing period. This is an important finding because it implies less upward mixing of WMDW, which has been named a major process to enable the WMDW to leave the Mediterranean via the Gibraltar Strait. On the other hand, the TDW outflow for several years represented a major influx of enhanced salinity and density waters into the deep-water range of the Western Mediterranean.

  10. Vertical distributions and speciation of dissolved rare earth elements in the anoxic brines of Bannock Basin, eastern Mediterranean Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schijf, Johan; Baar, Hein J.W. de; Millero, Frank J.; Byrne, R.H.

    1995-01-01

    Vertical distributions of dissolved rare earth elements (REEs) are presented for the anoxic, highly sulfidic brines of Bannock Basin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. REE concentrations at the seawater-brine interface are the highest ever recorded in the water column of an anoxic basin and

  11. Temporal and spatial variations in provenance of Eastern Mediterranean Sea sediments: Implications for Aegean and Aeolian arc volcanism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klaver, M.; Djuly, T.; de Graaf, S.; Sakes, A.; Wijbrans, J.R.; Davies, G.R.; Vroon, P.Z.

    2015-01-01

    The Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) is the last remnant of the Tethys Ocean that has been subducted to the north since the Jurassic. Subduction has led to the formation of multiple island arcs in the EMS region where the Aeolian and Aegean arcs are currently active. The EMS is surrounded by

  12. Evaluating the impact of atmospheric depositions on springtime dinitrogen fixation in the Cretan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean - A mesocosm approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eyal Rahav

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Large amounts of dust and atmospheric aerosols, originating from surrounding desert areas (e.g., Sahara and Middle East are deposited annually on the surface of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. These depositions can provide high amounts of micro (such as Fe, Zn, Co and macro nutrients (such as P and N to supplement nutrient-poor surface waters- that typically limit primary productivity and also dinitrogen (N2 fixation in many marine environments. Here, we studied the impact of the atmospheric deposition of dust and aerosols on N2 fixation in the Cretan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mixed polluted aerosols (hereafter A and Saharan dust (hereafter SD were added to nine mesocosms (3-m3 each containing surface mixed layer seawater (~10 m, and N2 fixation was evaluated for 6 days during May 2012 (springtime. The addition of SD triggered a rapid (30 h and robust (2-4 fold increase in N2 fixation rates that remained high for 6 days and contributed 3-8% of the primary productivity. The A addition also resulted in higher N2 fixation rates compared to the unamended control mesocosms, although the responses were less profound (1.5-2 fold and accounted for only 2-4% of the primary productivity. The microbial community responded differently to the two additions. Heterotrophic bacterial N2 fixers dominated the diazotroph community in A and the control mesocosms, while the non-filamentous cyanobacterial group Trichodesmium prevailed in the SD treatment (68% of all the operational taxonomic units, verified by qPCR analyses. Our results indicate that the aerosol source, its route prior to deposition, and its specific chemical composition, can alter the diazotrophic diversity and activity in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and may thus impact both the N and C dynamics in this impoverished environment.

  13. Distribution of artificial radionuclides in deep sediments of the Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia-Orellana, J.; Pates, J.M.; Masque, P.; Bruach, J.M.; Sanchez-Cabeza, J.A.

    2009-01-01

    Artificial radionuclides enter the Mediterranean Sea mainly through atmospheric deposition following nuclear weapons tests and the Chernobyl accident, but also through the river discharge of nuclear facility effluents. Previous studies of artificial radionuclides impact of the Mediterranean Sea have focussed on shallow, coastal sediments. However, deep sea sediments have the potential to store and accumulate pollutants, including artificial radionuclides. Deep sea marine sediment cores were collected from Mediterranean Sea abyssal plains (depth > 2000 m) and analysed for 239,240 Pu and 137 Cs to elucidate the concentrations, inventories and sources of these radionuclides in the deepest areas of the Mediterranean. The activity - depth profiles of 210 Pb, together with 14 C dating, indicate that sediment mixing redistributes the artificial radionuclides within the first 2.5 cm of the sedimentary column. The excess 210 Pb inventory was used to normalize 239,240 Pu and 137 Cs inventories for variable sediment fluxes. The 239,240 Pu/ 210 Pb xs ratio was uniform across the entire sea, with a mean value of 1.24 x 10 -3 , indicating homogeneous fallout of 239,240 Pu. The 137 Cs/ 210 Pb xs ratio showed differences between the eastern (0.049) and western basins (0.030), clearly significant impact of deep sea sediments from the Chernobyl accident. The inventory ratios of 239,240 Pu/ 137 Cs were 0.041 and 0.025 in the western and eastern basins respectively, greater than the fallout ratio, 0.021, showing more efficient scavenging of 239,240 Pu in the water column and major sedimentation of 137 Cs in the eastern basin. Although areas with water depths of > 2000 m constitute around 40% of the entire Mediterranean basin, the sediments in these regions only contained 2.7% of the 239,240 Pu and 0.95% of the 137 Cs deposited across the Sea in 2000. These data show that the accumulation of artificial radionuclides in deep Mediterranean environments is much lower than predicted by

  14. Genetic architecture of the marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Perciformes, Gobiidae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejri, Randa; Arculeo, Marco; Hassine, Oum Kalthoum Ben; Brutto, Sabrina Lo

    2011-02-01

    The marbled goby Pomatoschistus marmoratus, a species inhabiting coastal Mediterranean lagoons, has been studied by measuring its mitochondrial DNA variation. This analysis revealed a Mediterranean west vs east split and, subsequently, an eastern differentiation among the Libyan-Tunisian Gulf, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea. The high cohesion between the samples collected in the vast area of western Mediterranean contrasts with the genetic mosaic of the more sub-structured eastern Mediterranean. This western homogeneity can not yet be fully explained even if a human-mediated migratory flow, due to a maritime traffic, has been posited. The pattern in the eastern basin revealed a genetic architecture possibly due to the non-migratory habit of the gobid. Within this perspective, the role of the Mediterranean lagoon habitat should be related to how much it amplifies the effects of historical (e.g. past sea-level changes) and environmental (e.g. present-day hydrographic regime) processes as regards the genetic structure of the inhabiting species. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Annual Acoustic Presence of Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Offshore Eastern Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciacca, Virginia; Caruso, Francesco; Beranzoli, Laura; Chierici, Francesco; De Domenico, Emilio; Embriaco, Davide; Favali, Paolo; Giovanetti, Gabriele; Larosa, Giuseppina; Marinaro, Giuditta; Papale, Elena; Pavan, Gianni; Pellegrino, Carmelo; Pulvirenti, Sara; Simeone, Francesco; Viola, Salvatore; Riccobene, Giorgio

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, an increasing number of surveys have definitively confirmed the seasonal presence of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in highly productive regions of the Mediterranean Sea. Despite this, very little is yet known about the routes that the species seasonally follows within the Mediterranean basin and, particularly, in the Ionian area. The present study assesses for the first time fin whale acoustic presence offshore Eastern Sicily (Ionian Sea), throughout the processing of about 10 months of continuous acoustic monitoring. The recording of fin whale vocalizations was made possible by the cabled deep-sea multidisciplinary observatory, “NEMO-SN1”, deployed 25 km off the Catania harbor at a depth of about 2,100 meters. NEMO-SN1 is an operational node of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water-column Observatory (EMSO) Research Infrastructure. The observatory was equipped with a low-frequency hydrophone (bandwidth: 0.05 Hz–1 kHz, sampling rate: 2 kHz) which continuously acquired data from July 2012 to May 2013. About 7,200 hours of acoustic data were analyzed by means of spectrogram display. Calls with the typical structure and patterns associated to the Mediterranean fin whale population were identified and monitored in the area for the first time. Furthermore, a background noise analysis within the fin whale communication frequency band (17.9–22.5 Hz) was conducted to investigate possible detection-masking effects. The study confirms the hypothesis that fin whales are present in the Ionian Sea throughout all seasons, with peaks in call detection rate during spring and summer months. The analysis also demonstrates that calls were more frequently detected in low background noise conditions. Further analysis will be performed to understand whether observed levels of noise limit the acoustic detection of the fin whales vocalizations, or whether the animals vocalize less in the presence of high background noise. PMID:26581104

  16. An illustrated catalogue of Rudolf Sturany’s type specimens in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria (NHMW: deep-sea Eastern Mediterranean molluscs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo G. Albano

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The “Pola” expeditions were the first to explore the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the 1890s. They remained the most intense surveys in that area for a century and constitute today a fundamental baseline to assess change in the basin, whose fauna is still inadequately described. Solid taxonomic foundations for the study of deep-sea organisms are needed and we here contribute by revising the name-bearing types of mollusc species introduced by Rudolf Sturany on the basis of the “Pola” material from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea stored in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. Sturany introduced 15 names (Marginella occulta var. minor Sturany, 1896 shall not be considered as the introduction of a new name. He described and established two manuscript names by Monterosato: Jujubinus igneus and Pseudomurex ruderatus. The genus Isorropodon was also introduced together with its type species I. perplexum. For each name, we list the available type material, provide the original description and a translation into English and illustrate the specimens in colour and with SEM imaging.

  17. Aerosol sources and their contribution to the chemical composition of aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during summertime

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Sciare

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available A detailed study on the temporal variability of compounds important in controlling aerosol chemical composition was performed during a one-month experiment conducted during summer 2000 at a background site on Crete, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Contribution of different aerosol sources in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin could be investigated at this location since the site is influenced by a wide range of air masses originating mainly in Europe and Africa. Chemical apportionment was performed for various air mass origins and showed a strong impact of anthropogenic emissions in the Turkey and Central Europe sectors, with black carbon (BC and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO4 concentrations higher than observed in the Eastern and Western Europe sectors. High levels of non-sea-salt calcium (nss-Ca were associated with air masses from Africa but also from Central Turkey. Evidence was found that BC calculation based on light absorbance during dust events was biased. This quality-controlled high temporal resolution dataset allowed to investigate in detail the source-receptor relationships responsible for the levels of BC, nss-SO4 and sulfur dioxide (SO2, observed in Crete. Among the results obtained from this model, the major contribution of Turkey and Central Europe was confirmed in terms of anthropogenic emissions. Comparisons with remote optical properties obtained from Satellite observations (SEAWIFS north of Crete indicates that our ground based aerosol characterization was suitable for describing aerosol properties in the atmospheric column for most of the time during the campaign.

  18. The changing Mediterranean Sea — a sensitive ecosystem?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turley, Carol M.

    1999-08-01

    I was asked to present a keynote paper on the socio-economic aspects of oceanographic research in the Mediterranean Sea in the Session on From Oceanographic Science to Policy at the International Conference on Progress in Oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea, Rome November 1997. The session was unique in that it included papers from oceanographers, social scientists and economists. For this reason I have aimed this paper towards, what I consider to be, social and economic issues that may have important oceanographic outcomes and vice versa. I have attempted to express them in a manner that can be understood by economists, social scientists, policy makers and oceanographers alike. The Mediterranean is highly populated and the greatest tourist destination in the world, both of which are predicted by UNEP to rise substantially in the future. Its blue waters, however, include some of the most extreme oligotrophic waters in the world such that it is only capable of supplying 50% of its requirements for fish. The relatively clear, pigment poor surface waters of the Mediterranean have a general increasing oligotrophy eastward with substantially lower phytoplankton, benthic and fish production in the eastern basin. The Mediterranean Sea is highly sensitive to climatic changes; it has high evaporation rates, low land runoff from few rivers and seasonal rains resulting in a deficit in its hydrological balance. This has worsened with the damming of rivers such as the Nile. Nutrient depleted Atlantic water flows into the Mediterranean through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar and exits after circulating the basin with nearly 10% more salt content. This hydrological imbalance may have far-reaching consequences in the Atlantic, producing similar climate changes in Northern Europe, to that seen during the last glaciation, and may be linked to a hydrological deficit in the Mediterranean Sea resulting from a decline in the Nile outflow. The basin-wide circulation, hot-dry and

  19. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Coll

    Full Text Available The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Here we combined an extensive literature analysis with expert opinions to update publicly available estimates of major taxa in this marine ecosystem and to revise and update several species lists. We also assessed overall spatial and temporal patterns of species diversity and identified major changes and threats. Our results listed approximately 17,000 marine species occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. However, our estimates of marine diversity are still incomplete as yet-undescribed species will be added in the future. Diversity for microbes is substantially underestimated, and the deep-sea areas and portions of the southern and eastern region are still poorly known. In addition, the invasion of alien species is a crucial factor that will continue to change the biodiversity of the Mediterranean, mainly in its eastern basin that can spread rapidly northwards and westwards due to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea. Spatial patterns showed a general decrease in biodiversity from northwestern to southeastern regions following a gradient of production, with some exceptions and caution due to gaps in our knowledge of the biota along the southern and eastern rims. Biodiversity was also generally higher in coastal areas and continental shelves, and decreases with depth. Temporal trends indicated that overexploitation and habitat loss have been the main human drivers of historical changes in biodiversity. At present, habitat loss and degradation, followed by fishing impacts, pollution, climate change, eutrophication, and the establishment of alien species are the most important threats and affect the greatest number of taxonomic groups. All these impacts are expected to grow in importance in the future, especially climate change and habitat degradation. The spatial identification of hot spots highlighted the ecological importance of most of the western Mediterranean shelves (and in particular

  20. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns, and threats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coll, Marta; Piroddi, Chiara; Steenbeek, Jeroen; Kaschner, Kristin; Ben Rais Lasram, Frida; Aguzzi, Jacopo; Ballesteros, Enric; Bianchi, Carlo Nike; Corbera, Jordi; Dailianis, Thanos; Danovaro, Roberto; Estrada, Marta; Froglia, Carlo; Galil, Bella S; Gasol, Josep M; Gertwagen, Ruthy; Gil, João; Guilhaumon, François; Kesner-Reyes, Kathleen; Kitsos, Miltiadis-Spyridon; Koukouras, Athanasios; Lampadariou, Nikolaos; Laxamana, Elijah; López-Fé de la Cuadra, Carlos M; Lotze, Heike K; Martin, Daniel; Mouillot, David; Oro, Daniel; Raicevich, Sasa; Rius-Barile, Josephine; Saiz-Salinas, Jose Ignacio; San Vicente, Carles; Somot, Samuel; Templado, José; Turon, Xavier; Vafidis, Dimitris; Villanueva, Roger; Voultsiadou, Eleni

    2010-08-02

    The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Here we combined an extensive literature analysis with expert opinions to update publicly available estimates of major taxa in this marine ecosystem and to revise and update several species lists. We also assessed overall spatial and temporal patterns of species diversity and identified major changes and threats. Our results listed approximately 17,000 marine species occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. However, our estimates of marine diversity are still incomplete as yet-undescribed species will be added in the future. Diversity for microbes is substantially underestimated, and the deep-sea areas and portions of the southern and eastern region are still poorly known. In addition, the invasion of alien species is a crucial factor that will continue to change the biodiversity of the Mediterranean, mainly in its eastern basin that can spread rapidly northwards and westwards due to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea. Spatial patterns showed a general decrease in biodiversity from northwestern to southeastern regions following a gradient of production, with some exceptions and caution due to gaps in our knowledge of the biota along the southern and eastern rims. Biodiversity was also generally higher in coastal areas and continental shelves, and decreases with depth. Temporal trends indicated that overexploitation and habitat loss have been the main human drivers of historical changes in biodiversity. At present, habitat loss and degradation, followed by fishing impacts, pollution, climate change, eutrophication, and the establishment of alien species are the most important threats and affect the greatest number of taxonomic groups. All these impacts are expected to grow in importance in the future, especially climate change and habitat degradation. The spatial identification of hot spots highlighted the ecological importance of most of the western Mediterranean shelves (and in particular, the Strait of

  1. Red to Mediterranean Sea bioinvasion: natural drift through the Suez Canal, or anthropogenic transport?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shefer, Sigal; Abelson, Avigdor; Mokady, Ofer; Geffen, Eli

    2004-08-01

    The biota of the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea has experienced dramatic changes in the last decades, in part as a result of the massive invasion of Red Sea species. The mechanism generally hypothesized for the 'Red-to-Med' invasion is that of natural dispersal through the Suez Canal. To date, however, this hypothesis has not been tested. This study examines the mode of invasion, using as a model the mussel Brachidontes pharaonis, an acclaimed 'Lessepsian migrant' that thrives along the eastern Mediterranean coast. Our findings reveal two distinct lineages of haplotypes, and five possible explanations are discussed for this observation. We show that the genetic exchange among the Mediterranean, Gulf of Suez and the northern Red Sea is sufficiently large to counteract the build up of sequential genetic structure. Nevertheless, these basins are rich in unique haplotypes of unknown origin. We propose that it is historic secondary contact, an ongoing anthropogenic transport or both processes, that participate in driving the population dynamics of B. pharaonis in the Mediterranean and northern Red Sea. Copyright 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

  2. First record of Dichotomaria obtusata (Ellis & Solander Lamarck (Nemaliales, Rhodophyta in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. HOFFMAN

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Global climate change is causing the Mediterranean coastal area of Israel to gradually acquire tropical characteristics. Rising sea surface temperatures in the eastern Mediterranean basin have facilitated the introduction, settlement and establishment of hundreds of alien species (Zenetos et al. 2012. The vast majority of these exotic species are of Indo-Pacific origin. We report the occurrence of the genus Dichotomaria in the eastern Mediterranean on the basis of specimens identified as Dichotomaria cf. obtusata (J. Ellis & Solander Lamarck. Tetrasporophytes with sporangial initials were identified morphologically and confirmed molecularly using plastid rbcL sequences. We also discuss possible paths of introduction of this and other alien species into the Levantine Sea.

  3. Long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants to the Eastern Mediterranean basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuncel, G.; Tuncel, S.

    1994-01-01

    A permanent stations has been established in the Eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey for continuous monitoring of aerosols and precipitation. The station is part of the MED-POL programme which includes all countries that have coasts in the Mediterranean Sea and attempts to determine the role of the atmospheric fluxes of pollutants on the pollution of the Mediterranea Sea. Aerosol and deposition samples have been collected since early 1992. Concentrations of SO 4 , NO 3 , Cl, Li, Pb, K, Ca, Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Se, Zn and Na were determined by ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrometry. Daily samples will be screened to select the ones which correspond to transport from Europe and will be analyzed for a larger number of parameters using INAA. Method development took most of the time in 1992, and analysis are still in progress. Available data have shown that concentrations of anthropogenic elements are smaller in the Eastern Mediterranean atmosphere compared to other rural sites in the Europe. (author). 21 refs, 8 figs, 6 tabs

  4. Biogeographical homogeneity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea - I: the opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda from Lebanon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. CROCETTA

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available A reviewed knowledge of the opisthobranch species from Lebanon (eastern Mediterranean Sea, based on literature records (scattered throughout various papers published over a period of more than 150 years and recently collected material (1999-2002 within the CEDRE framework and other samples, is presented, yielding a total number of 35 taxa recorded from the Lebanese shores identified to species level. Special emphasis has mainly been given to the alien species, for which scattered notes are also given. The known opisthobranch biota is composed of 22 native (~ 63%, 12 alien (~ 34% and one cryptogenic (~ 3% taxa. Eleven of these (Berthella aurantiaca, B. ocellata, Aplysia fasciata, Felimare picta, Felimida britoi, F. luteorosea, F. purpurea, Phyllidia flava, Dendrodoris grandiflora, D. limbata and Aeolidiella alderi constitute new records for the Lebanese fauna, whilst the examined material of a further seven species (Elysia grandifolia, Pleurobranchus forskalii, Aplysia dactylomela, Bursatella leachii, Syphonota geographica, Goniobranchus annulatus, Flabellina rubrolineata anecdotally cited from Lebanon on the basis of the samples here studied, is here first explained. One additional taxon belonging to the genus Haminoea has been identified to genus level only. Despite the searching effort poning the basis of the material analyzed here, data reported clearly suggest that strong investments are still needed for a better understanding of the eastern Mediterranean opisthobranch fauna.

  5. FEATURES AND PROBLEMS WITH HISTORICAL GREAT EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lobkovsky L.

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The present study examines the historical earthquakes and tsunamis of 21 July 365 and of 9 February 1948 in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Numerical simulations were performed for the tsunamis generated by underwater seismic sources in frames of the keyboard model, as well as for their propagation in the Mediterranean Sea basin. Similarly examined were three different types of seismic sources at the same localization near the Island of Crete for the earthquake of 21 July 365, and of two different types of seismic sources for the earthquake of 9 February 1948 near the Island of Karpathos. For each scenario, the tsunami wave field characteristics from the earthquake source to coastal zones in Mediterranean Sea’s basin were obtained and histograms were constructed showing the distribution of maximum tsunami wave heights, along a 5-m isobath. Comparison of tsunami wave characteristics for all the above mentioned scenarios, demonstrates that underwater earthquakes with magnitude M > 7 in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea basin, can generate waves with coastal runup up to 9 m.

  6. First record red lionfish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1785 in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mevlüt Gürlek

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available A single male specimen of red lionfish Pterois volitans was recorded for the first time in 13 May 2016 from the Iskenderun Bay, North-eastern Mediterranean, Turkey. The present paper also reports the first record of the red lionfish P. volitans along the Mediterranean Sea.

  7. Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the eastern and western Mediterranean

    OpenAIRE

    Dayan, U.; Nissen, K.; Ulbrich, U.

    2015-01-01

    This review discusses published studies of heavy rainfall events over the Mediterranean Basin, combining them in a more general picture of the dynamic and thermodynamic factors and processes that produce heavy rain storms. It distinguishes the western and eastern Mediterranean in order to point out specific regional peculiarities. The crucial moisture for developing intensive convection over these regions can be originated not only from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea but als...

  8. Nutrient Limitation in Surface Waters of the Oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean Sea: an Enrichment Microcosm Experiment

    KAUST Repository

    Tsiola, A.

    2015-12-01

    The growth rates of planktonic microbes in the pelagic zone of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea are nutrient limited, but the type of limitation is still uncertain. During this study, we investigated the occurrence of N and P limitation among different groups of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic (pico-, nano-, and micro-) plankton using a microcosm experiment during stratified water column conditions in the Cretan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Microcosms were enriched with N and P (either solely or simultaneously), and the PO4 turnover time, prokaryotic heterotrophic activity, primary production, and the abundance of the different microbial components were measured. Flow cytometric and molecular fingerprint analyses showed that different heterotrophic prokaryotic groups were limited by different nutrients; total heterotrophic prokaryotic growth was limited by P, but only when both N and P were added, changes in community structure and cell size were detected. Phytoplankton were N and P co-limited, with autotrophic pico-eukaryotes being the exception as they increased even when only P was added after a 2-day time lag. The populations of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus were highly competitive with each other; Prochlorococcus abundance increased during the first 2 days of P addition but kept increasing only when both N and P were added, whereas Synechococcus exhibited higher pigment content and increased in abundance 3 days after simultaneous N and P additions. Dinoflagellates also showed opportunistic behavior at simultaneous N and P additions, in contrast to diatoms and coccolithophores, which diminished in all incubations. High DNA content viruses, selective grazing, and the exhaustion of N sources probably controlled the populations of diatoms and coccolithophores.

  9. The Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries at risk from overexploitation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Athanassios C Tsikliras

    Full Text Available The status of the Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries was evaluated for the period 1970-2010 on a subarea basis, using various indicators including the temporal variability of total landings, the number of recorded stocks, the mean trophic level of the catch, the fishing-in-balance index and the catch-based method of stock classification. All indicators confirmed that the fisheries resources of the Mediterranean and Black Sea are at risk from overexploitation. The pattern of exploitation and the state of stocks differed among the western (W, central (C and eastern (E Mediterranean subareas and the Black Sea (BS, with the E Mediterranean and BS fisheries being in a worst shape. Indeed, in the E Mediterranean and the BS, total landings, mean trophic level of the catch and fishing-in-balance index were declining, the cumulative percentage of overexploited and collapsed stocks was higher, and the percentage of developing stocks was lower, compared to the W and C Mediterranean. Our results confirm the need for detailed and extensive stock assessments across species that will eventually lead to stocks recovering through conservation and management measures.

  10. The northward expansion of Synaptula reciprocans (Echinodermata) in the Mediterranean Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ragkousis, Michail; Marmara, Dimitra; Filiz, Halit

    2017-01-01

    Synaptula reciprocans was reported in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time back in 1986. Since then there have been numerous reports, following the species' gradual expansion and establishment in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Here we report, by using citizen science methods, from the project...... titled "Is it Alien to you? Share it" of iSea, the most recent known expansion sites of S. reciprocans, including its new northern-most frontier. Furthermore, the provided photographic evidence testifies for possible interspecies relationships, for the first time....

  11. Circulation in the Mediterranean Sea: evidences, debates and unanswered questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claude Millot

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available The overall counterclockwise alongslope circulation of Atlantic Water (AW in the western basin of the Mediterranean Sea is now generally accepted. As the eastern basin displays similar general features, why is it generally assumed to function in a different way, and why is AW now said to circulate across the interior of the eastern basin? Relatively huge mesoscale anticyclonic eddies induced by the instability of the AW circulation in the south of the western basin have lifetimes up to several years. It is possible that they extend down to the sea bottom and play a major role in the distribution of all water masses. Why have apparently similar eddies generated in the eastern basin never received specific attention? Once formed, Mediterranean Waters (MWs must spread and circulate before outflowing. Why have simple dynamical arguments for understanding the circulation of AW, such as the Coriolis effect, rarely been considered for the circulation of MWs? In this paper we address these major aspects of water circulation in the Mediterranean Sea. In order to be as objective and convincing as possible, and to write a paper that can be understood by as broad a readership as possible, we have chosen to present only raw data sets that can be easily interpreted by the reader without any help from the author. Based on the evidence provided by these data sets, we specify the current debates and list what we think are the main unanswered questions.

  12. Random Forest population modelling of striped and common-bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlucci, Roberto; Cipriano, Giulia; Paoli, Chiara; Ricci, Pasquale; Fanizza, Carmelo; Capezzuto, Francesca; Vassallo, Paolo

    2018-05-01

    This study provides the first estimates of density and abundance of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba and common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean Sea) and identifies the predictive variables mainly influencing their occurrence and concentration in the study area. Conventional Distance Sampling (CDS) and the Delta approach on Random Forest (DaRF) methods have been applied to sightings data collected between 2009 and 2016 during standardized vessel-based surveys, providing similar outcomes. The mean value of density over the entire study area was 0.72 ± 0.26 specimens/km2 for the striped dolphin and 0.47 ± 0.09 specimens/km2 for the common bottlenose dolphin. The abundance estimated by DaRF in the Gulf of Taranto was 10080 ± 3584 specimens of S. coeruleoalba and 6580 ± 1270 specimens of T. truncatus, respectively. Eight predictive variables were selected, considering both the local physiographic features and human activities existing in the investigated area. The explanatory variables depth, distance from the coast, distance from industrial areas and distance from areas exploited by fishery seem to play a key role in influencing the spatial distribution of both species, whereas the geomorphological variables proved to be the most significant factors shaping the concentration of both dolphins. The establishment of a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) according the SPA/BD Protocol in the Gulf of Taranto is indicated as an effective management tool for the conservation of both dolphin populations in the Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea.

  13. Biochemical biomarker responses to pollution in selected sentinel organisms across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Tsangaris, Catherine; Moschino, Vanessa; Strogyloudi, Evangelia; Coatu, Valentina; Ramšak, Andreja; Abu Alhaija, Rana; Carvalho, Susana; Felline, Serena; Kosyan, Alisa; Lazarou, Yiota; Hatzianestis, Ioannis; Oros, Andra; Tiganus, Daniela

    2015-01-01

    Pollution effects were assessed by means of biochemical biomarkers (catalase, glutathione S-transferase and acetylcholinesterase activities, and metallothioneins content) in five species at selected coastal sites across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, a well-established sentinel species, was investigated in the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, and Black Sea. The mussel Brachidontes pharaonis and the striped red mullet Mullus surmuletus were used in the Levantine Sea where M. galloprovincialis is not present. The white seabream Diplodus sargus sargus and the gastropod Rapana venosa were additionally sampled in the Adriatic and the Black Sea, respectively. Mussels showed catalase, glutathione S-transferase, and acetylcholinesterase responses to pollution in most geographical areas while the response of metallothioneins was restricted to a few sites. R. venosa showed marked responses of catalase and metallothioneins whereas both fish species did not generally exhibit variations in biomarker values among sites. The approach based on the reference deviation concept using the “Integrated Biological Responses version 2” index was useful for the interpretation of overall biomarker responses.

  14. Biochemical biomarker responses to pollution in selected sentinel organisms across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Tsangaris, Catherine

    2015-09-23

    Pollution effects were assessed by means of biochemical biomarkers (catalase, glutathione S-transferase and acetylcholinesterase activities, and metallothioneins content) in five species at selected coastal sites across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, a well-established sentinel species, was investigated in the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, and Black Sea. The mussel Brachidontes pharaonis and the striped red mullet Mullus surmuletus were used in the Levantine Sea where M. galloprovincialis is not present. The white seabream Diplodus sargus sargus and the gastropod Rapana venosa were additionally sampled in the Adriatic and the Black Sea, respectively. Mussels showed catalase, glutathione S-transferase, and acetylcholinesterase responses to pollution in most geographical areas while the response of metallothioneins was restricted to a few sites. R. venosa showed marked responses of catalase and metallothioneins whereas both fish species did not generally exhibit variations in biomarker values among sites. The approach based on the reference deviation concept using the “Integrated Biological Responses version 2” index was useful for the interpretation of overall biomarker responses.

  15. Biochemical biomarker responses to pollution in selected sentinel organisms across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsangaris, Catherine; Moschino, Vanessa; Strogyloudi, Evangelia; Coatu, Valentina; Ramšak, Andreja; Alhaija, Rana Abu; Carvalho, Susana; Felline, Serena; Kosyan, Alisa; Lazarou, Yiota; Hatzianestis, Ioannis; Oros, Andra; Tiganus, Daniela

    2016-01-01

    Pollution effects were assessed by means of biochemical biomarkers (catalase, glutathione S-transferase and acetylcholinesterase activities, and metallothioneins content) in five species at selected coastal sites across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, a well-established sentinel species, was investigated in the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, and Black Sea. The mussel Brachidontes pharaonis and the striped red mullet Mullus surmuletus were used in the Levantine Sea where M. galloprovincialis is not present. The white seabream Diplodus sargus sargus and the gastropod Rapana venosa were additionally sampled in the Adriatic and the Black Sea, respectively. Mussels showed catalase, glutathione S-transferase, and acetylcholinesterase responses to pollution in most geographical areas while the response of metallothioneins was restricted to a few sites. R. venosa showed marked responses of catalase and metallothioneins whereas both fish species did not generally exhibit variations in biomarker values among sites. The approach based on the reference deviation concept using the "Integrated Biological Responses version 2" index was useful for the interpretation of overall biomarker responses.

  16. Mediterranean, our sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markaki, Foteini

    2017-04-01

    My school (1o EPAL Ymittos -Athens, Greece) is a technical school of secondary education and throughout this school year being drafted a program of environmental education. The main theme is the Mediterranean Sea, the biggest closed sea extending between three continents. Topics studied: 1. Biodiversity and the risks threat. 2. The geophysics that characterize (earthquakes, volcanoes explosions, etc). 3. The Mediterranean Sea as environment anthropogenesis, a mosaic of other cultures and even place current notions of social phenomena (refugees). Pedagogical Objectives: Cognitive/Enviromental: 1. To investigate and understand the biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea and the risks to threaten and phenomena that characterize. 2. To understand the position of the Mediterranean Sea in the land and the role of the historical, cultural and social human environment. 3. To come in contact with texts literary, social, articles on the Mediterranean. Psychomotor: 1. To work together and collect information for the Mediterranean Sea. 2. Experiential approach to the natural environment. 3. Develop critical thinking. 4. Undertake responsibilities for the presentation of the program. Emotional: 1. To feel joy from participation in the program. 2. Being sensitized and configure attitudes and actions of respect towards the environment. Methodology implementation: Teamwork. Interdisciplinary - holistic to dissemination of program recordings to courses curriculum. Study in the field. Gathering information from newspapers, magazines, internet, maps, and photographs. Experiential method- Project. Assessment methods and self-assessment. Fields of courses: Greek language- History- Biology- Chemistry- Technology Dissemination of results: Make a page of social media (facebook), a blog, enhancing environmental awareness via video, make an electronic poster.

  17. Reproductive biology of round sardinella (Sardinella aurita in north-eastern Mediterranean

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    Athanassios C. Tsikliras

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The reproductive biology of round sardinella, Sardinella aurita Valenciennes, 1847, was studied for the first time in the north-eastern Mediterranean Sea. Round sardinella has gained much attention lately because of its biomass increase, which might be the result of climatic changes occurring across the Mediterranean Sea. Monthly samples were collected on board commercial purse-seiners for two complete year cycles (September 2000 to August 2002. Round sardinella is a gonochoristic fish. The overall female to male ratio was not statistically different (P=0.34 from unity, although it varied monthly and with the length of the fish. The seasonal changes in the gonadosomatic index and the macroscopic characteristics of gonads showed that round sardinella in the northern Aegean spawns between May and July. Male round sardinella reach first sexual maturity at a smaller total length than females (155.0 and 168.3 mm respectively. Mean absolute fecundity (FA increased exponentially with body length (FA=0.0949xL4.22 and weight (FA=511.19xW1.02, with an average of ~21,000 oocytes produced per spawning female. Relative fecundity (FR ranged between 242 and 681 oocytes/g of body weight (average: 445 oocytes/g. The frequency distribution of oocytes showed that round sardinella produces a single batch of oocytes. In general, the reproductive characteristics of round sardinella in the north-eastern Mediterranean Sea differed when compared to stocks from other areas of its distribution.

  18. Sedimentology and geochemistry of mud volcanoes in the Anaximander Mountain Region from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talas, Ezgi; Duman, Muhammet; Küçüksezgin, Filiz; Brennan, Michael L; Raineault, Nicole A

    2015-06-15

    Investigations carried out on surface sediments collected from the Anaximander mud volcanoes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to determine sedimentary and geochemical properties. The sediment grain size distribution and geochemical contents were determined by grain size analysis, organic carbon, carbonate contents and element analysis. The results of element contents were compared to background levels of Earth's crust. The factors that affect element distribution in sediments were calculated by the nine push core samples taken from the surface of mud volcanoes by the E/V Nautilus. The grain size of the samples varies from sand to sandy silt. Enrichment and Contamination factor analysis showed that these analyses can also be used to evaluate of deep sea environmental and source parameters. It is concluded that the biological and cold seep effects are the main drivers of surface sediment characteristics from the Anaximander mud volcanoes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Mitochondrial DNA reveals genetic structuring of Pinna nobilis across the Mediterranean Sea.

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    Daria Sanna

    Full Text Available Pinna nobilis is the largest endemic Mediterranean marine bivalve. During past centuries, various human activities have promoted the regression of its populations. As a consequence of stringent standards of protection, demographic expansions are currently reported in many sites. The aim of this study was to provide the first large broad-scale insight into the genetic variability of P. nobilis in the area that encompasses the western Mediterranean, Ionian Sea, and Adriatic Sea marine ecoregions. To accomplish this objective twenty-five populations from this area were surveyed using two mitochondrial DNA markers (COI and 16S. Our dataset was then merged with those obtained in other studies for the Aegean and Tunisian populations (eastern Mediterranean, and statistical analyses (Bayesian model-based clustering, median-joining network, AMOVA, mismatch distribution, Tajima's and Fu's neutrality tests and Bayesian skyline plots were performed. The results revealed genetic divergence among three distinguishable areas: (1 western Mediterranean and Ionian Sea; (2 Adriatic Sea; and (3 Aegean Sea and Tunisian coastal areas. From a conservational point of view, populations from the three genetically divergent groups found may be considered as different management units.

  20. Mud volcanoes and gas hydrates in the Anaximander mountains (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lykousis, V.; Alexandri, S.; Woodside, J.M.; de Lange, G.; Dahlmann, A.; Perissoratis, C.; Heeschen, K.; Ioakim, Chr.; Sakellariou, D.; Nomikou, P.; Rousakis, G.; Casas, D.; Ballas, D.; Ercilla, G.

    2009-01-01

    Detailed multibeam, sedimentological, and geophysical surveys provide ample new data to confirm that the Anaximander Mountains (Eastern Mediterranean) are an important area for active mud volcanism and gas hydrate formation. More than 3000 km of multibeam track length was acquired during two recent

  1. Miocene to recent tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Anaximander Seamounts; eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cranshaw, Jennifer

    This thesis is focused on the Messinian to Recent tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Anaximander Mountains and surrounding environs in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is based on processing of high-resolution seismic reflection data and the interpretation and mapping of seismic reflection profiles collected from this area during the 2001 and 2007 research cruises. The data show that the greater Anaximander Mountains region experienced a short interval of tectonic quiescence during the Messinian when a thin evaporite unit was deposited across a major erosional surface. This phase of limited tectonic activity ended in the latest Miocene and was replaced by an erosional phase. Major unconformities in the area are interpreted to develop during the desiccation of the eastern Mediterranean associated with the so-called Messinian salinity crisis. During the early Pliocene, the region experienced an increase in tectonic activity, dominated by transpression. Small amounts of growth observed in Pliocene-Quaternary sediments suggested that the tectonic activity remained low during the early Pliocene-Quaternary. However, the extensive growth strata wedges developed in older sediments indicate a period of accelerated tectonic activity during the mid-late Pliocene-Quaternary. This study suggests that the Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto ) and the Anaximenes Mountain developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary as the result of a crustal-scale thick-skinned linked imbricate thrust fan. The development of back thrusts in both mountains heightened the seafloor morphology of these submarine mountains and brought Eocene-Oligocene sediments into the core of these mountains. The Sim Erinc Plateau represents a 30-40 km wide transpressional fault zone developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary. In this region the corrugated seafloor morphology observed in the multibeam bathymetry map is the reflection of high-angle faults. It is speculated that this transpressional fault zone

  2. Deep-sea biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea: the known, the unknown, and the unknowable.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Danovaro

    Full Text Available Deep-sea ecosystems represent the largest biome of the global biosphere, but knowledge of their biodiversity is still scant. The Mediterranean basin has been proposed as a hot spot of terrestrial and coastal marine biodiversity but has been supposed to be impoverished of deep-sea species richness. We summarized all available information on benthic biodiversity (Prokaryotes, Foraminifera, Meiofauna, Macrofauna, and Megafauna in different deep-sea ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea (200 to more than 4,000 m depth, including open slopes, deep basins, canyons, cold seeps, seamounts, deep-water corals and deep-hypersaline anoxic basins and analyzed overall longitudinal and bathymetric patterns. We show that in contrast to what was expected from the sharp decrease in organic carbon fluxes and reduced faunal abundance, the deep-sea biodiversity of both the eastern and the western basins of the Mediterranean Sea is similarly high. All of the biodiversity components, except Bacteria and Archaea, displayed a decreasing pattern with increasing water depth, but to a different extent for each component. Unlike patterns observed for faunal abundance, highest negative values of the slopes of the biodiversity patterns were observed for Meiofauna, followed by Macrofauna and Megafauna. Comparison of the biodiversity associated with open slopes, deep basins, canyons, and deep-water corals showed that the deep basins were the least diverse. Rarefaction curves allowed us to estimate the expected number of species for each benthic component in different bathymetric ranges. A large fraction of exclusive species was associated with each specific habitat or ecosystem. Thus, each deep-sea ecosystem contributes significantly to overall biodiversity. From theoretical extrapolations we estimate that the overall deep-sea Mediterranean biodiversity (excluding prokaryotes reaches approximately 2805 species of which about 66% is still undiscovered. Among the biotic components

  3. Geology of mud volcanos in the Eastern Mediterranean from combined sidescan and submersible surveys

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zitter, T.A.C.; Huguen, C.; Woodside, J.M.

    2005-01-01

    Submersible observations and seafloor mapping over areas of mud volcanism in the eastern Mediterranean Sea reveal an abundance of methane-rich fluid emissions, as well as specific seep-associated fauna (e.g. tubeworms, bivalves and chemosynthetic bacteria) and diagenetic deposits (i.e. carbonates

  4. Ecological traits and environmental affinity explain Red Sea fish introduction into the Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belmaker, Jonathan; Parravicini, Valeriano; Kulbicki, Michel

    2013-05-01

    Alien species are considered one of the prime threats to biodiversity, driving major changes in ecosystem structure and function. Identifying the traits associated with alien introduction has been largely restricted to comparing indigenous and alien species or comparing alien species that differ in abundance or impact. However, a more complete understanding may emerge when the entire pool of potential alien species is used as a control, information that is rarely available. In the eastern Mediterranean, the marine environment is undergoing an unparalleled species composition transformation, as a flood of aliens have entered from the Red Sea following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. In this study, we compile data on species traits, geographical distribution, and environmental affinity of the entire pool of reef-associated fish species in the Red Sea and more generally across the Indo-Pacific. We use this extensive data to identify the prime characteristics separating Red Sea species that have become alien in the Mediterranean from those that have not. We find that alien species occupy a larger range of environments in their native ranges, explaining their ability to colonize the seasonal Mediterranean. Red Sea species that naturally experience high maximum temperatures in their native range have a high probability of becoming alien. Thus, contrary to predictions of an accelerating number of aliens following increased water temperatures, hotter summers in this region may prevent the establishment of many alien species. We further find that ecological trait diversity of alien species is substantially more evenly spaced and more divergent than random samples from the pool of Red Sea species, pointing at additional processes, such as competition, promoting ecological diversity among alien species. We use these results to provide a first quantitative ranking of the potential of Red Sea species to become established in the eastern Mediterranean. © 2012 Blackwell

  5. Dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from discrete sample and profile observations using CTD, bottle and other instruments from METEOR in the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea and others from 2001-10-18 to 2001-11-11 (NODC Accession 0084620)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0084620 includes discrete sample and profile data collected from METEOR in the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin,...

  6. Enrichment of Bacteria From Eastern Mediterranean Sea Involved in Lignin Degradation via the Phenylacetyl-CoA Pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah L. Woo

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The degradation of allochthonous terrestrial organic matter, such as recalcitrant lignin and hemicellulose from plants, occurs in the ocean. We hypothesize that bacteria instead of white-rot fungi, the model organisms of aerobic lignin degradation within terrestrial environments, are responsible for lignin degradation in the ocean due to the ocean’s oligotrophy and hypersalinity. Warm oxic seawater from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea was enriched on lignin in laboratory microcosms. Lignin mineralization rates by the lignin-adapted consortia improved after two sequential incubations. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing detected a higher abundance of aromatic compound degradation genes in response to lignin, particularly phenylacetyl-CoA, which may be an effective strategy for marine microbes in fluctuating oxygen concentrations. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing detected a higher abundance of Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria bacteria such as taxonomic families Idiomarinaceae, Alcanivoraceae, and Alteromonadaceae in response to lignin. Meanwhile, fungal Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes remained at very low abundance. Our findings demonstrate the significant potential of bacteria and microbes utilizing the phenylacetyl-CoA pathway to contribute to lignin degradation in the Eastern Mediterranean where environmental conditions are unfavorable for fungi. Exploring the diversity of bacterial lignin degraders may provide important enzymes for lignin conversion in industry. Enzymes may be key in breaking down high molecular weight lignin and enabling industry to use it as a low-cost and sustainable feedstock for biofuels or other higher-value products.

  7. Sea floor morphology of the Ebro Shelf in the region of the Columbretes Islands, Western Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, A.; Lastras, G.; Ballesteros, M.; Canals, M.; Acosta, J.; Uchupi, E.

    2005-12-01

    Widespread volcanism off eastern Spain in the western Mediterranean is associated with Cenozoic crustal attenuation and sinistral motion along the Trans-Moroccan-Western Mediterranean-European mega shear, extending from northern Morocco to the North Sea via the Alboran Basin, eastern Iberia, the Valencian and Lyons basins, France and Germany. The Quaternary Columbretes Islands volcanic field is the most prominent example of this volcanism associated with this mega shear. The islands are located in the Ebro continental shelf on top of a structural horst probably made of Paleozoic metamorphic rocks. Surrounding the emerged islands are volcanic structures and associated flows partially mantled by a sediment drift whose morphology is controlled by the southwestward flowing Catalan Current. This association is rather unique and appears to have never been described from a continental shelf in the Mediterranean Sea or outside the sea. The morphology of both kinds of structures, obtained by means of swath bathymetry data and very-high resolution seismic profiles, is presented in this study. They provide striking images of this previously unstudied part of the western Mediterranean seafloor. These images suggest that the volcanic structures are intruded into the surficial Holocene sediments indicating that volcanism in the Columbretes has extended into Holocene.

  8. Breaking biogeographic barriers: Molecular and morphological evidences for the Lessepsian invasion of soritid foraminifers to the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merkado, G.; Abramovich, S.; Abdu, U.; Almogi-Labin, A.; Pawlowski, J.; Holzmann, M.

    2012-04-01

    In recent years we have been witnessing a large-scale invasion (tropicalization) into the Eastern Mediterranean of many alien tropical species. The main factors that promote this process includes: 1. The ongoing warming of sea surface temperatures in the last decades. 2. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 that created an artificial connection between the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific realm of the Red Sea. This connection resulted in an ongoing unidirectional migration (termed the Lessepsian migration) of hundreds of species from Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. 3. The closure of the Nile River by the High Aswan Dam that blocked its nutrient discharge and created hyper-oligotrophic conditions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Larger symbiont-bearing benthic foraminifera were chosen in this study as an ideal target group for documenting this process. Their main advantage is that some of these species are clearly Indo-Pacific migrants while others represent re-encountering of allopatric populations that were isolated for at least 5.5 m.y. The first stage of this study involved the genetic characterization of soritids. Living specimens of Sorites and Amphisorus morphospecies were collected from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and their ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences were determined in order to see the genetic relation between these two "recently connected" locations. The morphological characteristics of each specimen were documented by Scanning Electron Microscope micrographs and digital imaging. In the Red Sea, the specimens were collected from two shallow stations (5-6 m water depth) in the Gulf of Elat, representing different habitats: 1. Tur-Yam, characterizes by abundant Halophila sea grass. 2. The Inter University Institution in Elat, characterizes by pebbles with no sea grass. In the Mediterranean, specimens were collected along the shore of Northern Israel at Shikmona, Haifa, one of the few locations along the Israeli Mediterranean coast where living

  9. Saharan Dust Deposition May Affect Phytoplankton Growth in the Mediterranean Sea at Ecological Time Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallisai, Rachele; Peters, Francesc; Volpe, Gianluca; Basart, Sara; Baldasano, José Maria

    2014-01-01

    The surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea are extremely poor in the nutrients necessary for plankton growth. At the same time, the Mediterranean Sea borders with the largest and most active desert areas in the world and the atmosphere over the basin is subject to frequent injections of mineral dust particles. We describe statistical correlations between dust deposition over the Mediterranean Sea and surface chlorophyll concentrations at ecological time scales. Aerosol deposition of Saharan origin may explain 1 to 10% (average 5%) of seasonally detrended chlorophyll variability in the low nutrient-low chlorophyll Mediterranean. Most of the statistically significant correlations are positive with main effects in spring over the Eastern and Central Mediterranean, conforming to a view of dust events fueling needed nutrients to the planktonic community. Some areas show negative effects of dust deposition on chlorophyll, coinciding with regions under a large influence of aerosols from European origin. The influence of dust deposition on chlorophyll dynamics may become larger in future scenarios of increased aridity and shallowing of the mixed layer. PMID:25333783

  10. Variability of mesoscale features in the Mediterranean Sea from XBT data analysis

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    G. Fusco

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available During the period 1998–2000, the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project, aiming to build a forecasting system for the physical state of the sea, has been carried out. A ship-of-opportunity programme sampled the Mediterranean upper ocean thermal structure by means of eXpendable Bathy-Thermographs (XBTs, along seven tracks, from September 1999 to May 2000. The tracks were designed to detect some of the main circulation features, such as the stream of surface Atlantic water flowing from the Alboran Sea to the Eastern Levantine Basin. The cyclonic gyres in the Liguro-Provenal Basin, the southern Adriatic and Ionian Seas and the anticyclonic gyres in the Levantine Basin were also features to be detected. The monitoring system confirmed a long-term persistence of structures (at least during the entire observing period, which were previously thought to be transient features. In particular, in the Levantine Basin anticyclonic Shikmona and Ierapetra Gyres have been observed during the monitoring period. In order to identify the major changes in the thermal structures and the dynamical implications, the XBT data are compared with historical measurements collected in the 1980s and 1990s. The results indicate that some thermal features are being restored to the situation that existed in the 1980s, after the changes induced by the so-called "Eastern Mediterranean Transient". Key words. Oceanography: physical (eddies and mesoscale processes; general circulation; instruments and techniques

  11. Preliminary Hazard Assessment for Tectonic Tsunamis in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aydin, B.; Bayazitoglu, O.; Sharghi vand, N.; Kanoglu, U.

    2017-12-01

    There are many critical industrial facilities such as energy production units and energy transmission lines along the southeast coast of Turkey. This region is also active on tourism, and agriculture and aquaculture production. There are active faults in the region, i.e. the Cyprus Fault, which extends along the Mediterranean basin in the east-west direction and connects to the Hellenic Arc. Both the Cyprus Fault and the Hellenic Arc are seismologically active and are capable of generating earthquakes with tsunamigenic potential. Even a small tsunami in the region could cause confusion as shown by the recent 21 July 2017 earthquake of Mw 6.6, which occurred in the Aegean Sea, between Bodrum, Turkey and Kos Island, Greece since region is not prepared for such an event. Moreover, the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most vulnerable regions against sea level rise due to global warming, according to the 5th Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. For these reasons, a marine hazard such as a tsunami can cause much worse damage than expected in the region (Kanoglu et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 373, 2015). Hence, tsunami hazard assessment is required for the region. In this study, we first characterize earthquakes which have potential to generate a tsunami in the Eastern Mediterranean. Such study is a prerequisite for regional tsunami mitigation studies. For fast and timely predictions, tsunami warning systems usually employ databases that store pre-computed tsunami propagation resulting from hypothetical earthquakes with pre-defined parameters. These pre-defined sources are called tsunami unit sources and they are linearly superposed to mimic a real event, since wave propagation is linear offshore. After investigating historical earthquakes along the Cyprus Fault and the Hellenic Arc, we identified tsunamigenic earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean and proposed tsunami unit sources for the region. We used the tsunami numerical model MOST (Titov et al

  12. Ozone and carbon monoxide budgets over the Eastern Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myriokefalitakis, S; Daskalakis, N; Fanourgakis, G S; Voulgarakis, A; Krol, M C; Aan de Brugh, J M J; Kanakidou, M

    2016-09-01

    The importance of the long-range transport (LRT) on O3 and CO budgets over the Eastern Mediterranean has been investigated using the state-of-the-art 3-dimensional global chemistry-transport model TM4-ECPL. A 3-D budget analysis has been performed separating the Eastern from the Western basins and the boundary layer (BL) from the free troposphere (FT). The FT of the Eastern Mediterranean is shown to be a strong receptor of polluted air masses from the Western Mediterranean, and the most important source of polluted air masses for the Eastern Mediterranean BL, with about 40% of O3 and of CO in the BL to be transported from the FT aloft. Regional anthropogenic sources are found to have relatively small impact on regional air quality in the area, contributing by about 8% and 18% to surface levels of O3 and CO, respectively. Projections using anthropogenic emissions for the year 2050 but neglecting climate change calculate a surface O3 decrease of about 11% together with a surface CO increase of roughly 10% in the Eastern Mediterranean. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Evidence of methane venting and geochemistry of brines on mud volcanoes of the eastern Mediterranean

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Charlou, J.-L.; Donval, J.-P.; Zitter, T.; Roy, N.; Jean Baptiste, P.; Foucher, J.P.; Woodside, J.M.; Medinaut, Party

    2003-01-01

    As a part of the Dutch-French MEDINAUT diving expedition in 1998, cold seeps and mud volcanoes were studied and sampled in two distinctive tectonic settings in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The first setting was the Olimpi Mud Volcano field (OMV area), including Napoli, Milano, Maidstone and Moscow

  14. Heat Wave Changes in the Eastern Mediterranean since 1960

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuglitsch, Franz G.; Toreti, Andrea; Xoplaki, Elena; Della-Marta, Paul M.; Zerefos, Christos S.; Türkes, Murat; Luterbacher, Jürg

    2010-05-01

    Heat waves have discernible impacts on mortality and morbidity, infrastructure, agricultural resources, the retail industry, ecosystem and tourism and consequently affect human societies. A new definition of socially relevant heat waves is presented and applied to new data sets of high-quality homogenized daily maximum and minimum summer air temperature series from 246 stations in the eastern Mediterranean region (including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey). Changes in heat wave number, length and intensity between 1960 and 2006 are quantified. Daily temperature homogeneity analysis suggest that many instrumental measurements in the 1960s are warm-biased, correcting for these biases regionally averaged heat wave trends are up to 8% higher. We find significant changes across the western Balkans, southwestern and western Turkey, and along the southern Black Sea coastline. Since the 1960s, the mean heat wave intensity, heat wave length and heat wave number across the eastern Mediterranean region have increased by a factor 7.6 ±1.3, 7.5 ±1.3 and 6.2 ±1.1, respectively. These findings suggest that the heat wave increase in this region is higher than previously reported.

  15. Variability and distribution of COL1A2 (type I collagen) polymorphisms in the central-eastern Mediterranean Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scorrano, Gabriele; Lelli, Roberta; Martínez-Labarga, Cristina; Scano, Giuseppina; Contini, Irene; Hafez, Hani S; Rudan, Pavao; Rickards, Olga

    2016-01-01

    The most abundant of the collagen protein family, type I collagen is encoded by the COL1A2 gene. The COL1A2 restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) EcoRI, RsaI and MspI in samples from several different central-eastern Mediterranean populations were analysed and found to be potentially informative anthropogenetic markers. The objective was to define the genetic variability of COL1A2 in the central-eastern Mediterranean and to shed light on its genetic distribution in human groups over a wide geographic area. PCR-RFLP analysis of EcoRI, RsaI and MspI polymorphisms of the COL1A2 gene was performed on oral swab and blood samples from 308 individuals from the central-eastern Mediterranean Basin. The genetic similarities among these groups and other populations described in the literature were investigated through correspondence analysis. Single-marker data and haplotype frequencies seemed to suggest a genetic homogeneity within the European populations, whereas a certain degree of differentiation was noted for the Egyptians and the Turks. The genetic variability in the central-eastern Mediterranean area is probably a result of the geographical barrier of the Mediterranean Sea, which separated European and African populations over time.

  16. Parapatric genetic divergence among deep evolutionary lineages in the Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii (Brachyura, Portunoidea, Carcinidae), accounts for a sharp phylogeographic break in the Eastern Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deli, Temim; Kalkan, Evrim; Karhan, Selahattin Ünsal; Uzunova, Sonya; Keikhosravi, Alireza; Bilgin, Raşit; Schubart, Christoph D

    2018-04-11

    Recently, population genetic studies of Mediterranean marine species highlighted patterns of genetic divergence and phylogeographic breaks, due to the interplay between impacts of Pleistocene climate shifts and contemporary hydrographical barriers. These factors markedly shaped the distribution of marine organisms and their genetic makeup. The present study is part of an ongoing effort to understand the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the highly dispersive Mediterranean green crab, Carcinus aestuarii (Nardo, 1847), across the Mediterranean Sea. Recently, marked divergence between two highly separated haplogroups (genetic types I and II) of C. aestuarii was discerned across the Siculo-Tunisian Strait, suggesting an Early Pleistocene vicariant event. In order to better identify phylogeographic patterns in this species, a total of 263 individuals from 22 Mediterranean locations were analysed by comparing a 587 basepair region of the mitochondrial gene Cox1 (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1). The examined dataset is composed of both newly generated sequences (76) and previously investigated ones (187). Our results unveiled the occurrence of a highly divergent haplogroup (genetic type III) in the most north-eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Divergence between the most distinct type III and the common ancestor of both types I and II corresponds to the Early Pleistocene and coincides with the historical episode of separation between types I and II. Our results also revealed strong genetic divergence among adjacent regions (separating the Aegean and Marmara seas from the remaining distribution zone) and confirmed a sharp phylogeographic break across the Eastern Mediterranean. The recorded parapatric genetic divergence, with the potential existence of a contact zone between both groups in the Ionian Sea and notable differences in the demographic history, suggest the likely impact of paleoclimatic events, as well as past and contemporary oceanographic processes

  17. Thermodynamic Forecasts of the Mediterranean Sea Acidification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. GOYET

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Anthropogenic CO2 is a major driver of the present ocean acidification. This latter is threatening the marine ecosystems and has been identified as a major environmental and economic menace. This study aims to forecast from the thermodynamic equations, the acidification variation (ΔpH of the Mediterranean waters over the next few decades and beyond this century. In order to do so, we calculated and fitted the theoretical values based upon the initial conditions from data of the 2013 MedSeA cruise. These estimates have been performed both for the Western and for the Eastern basins based upon their respective physical (temperature and salinity and chemical (total alkalinity and total inorganic carbon properties. The results allow us to point out four tipping points, including one when the Mediterranean Sea waters would become acid (pH<7. In order to provide an associated time scale to the theoretical results, we used two of the IPCC (2007 atmospheric CO2 scenarios. Under the most optimistic scenario of the “Special Report: Emissions Scenarios” (SRES of the IPCC (2007, the results indicate that in 2100, pH may decrease down to 0.245 in the Western basin and down to 0.242 in the Eastern basin (compared to the pre-industrial pH. Whereas for the most pessimistic SRES scenario of the IPCC (2007, the results for the year 2100, forecast a pH decrease down to 0.462 and 0.457, for the Western and for the Eastern basins, respectively. Acidification, which increased unprecedentedly in recent years, will rise almost similarly in both Mediterranean basins only well after the end of this century. These results further confirm that both basins may become undersaturated (< 1 with respect to calcite and aragonite (at the base of the mixed layer depth, only in the far future (in a few centuries.

  18. Discovering where bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, might go: using environmental and fishery data to map potential tuna habitat in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

    OpenAIRE

    Dimitrios Damalas; Persefoni Megalofonou

    2012-01-01

    Based on a dataset derived from commercial fisheries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in 1998-2005, we applied generalized additive models (GAMs) to investigate the relative influence of a range of environmental factors on catch rates of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus, 1785). GAM analyses were conducted by separately modelling (1) the probability of making a catch (encountering a school), and (2) the positive catch rates (school size). Results suggested intra-annual variation...

  19. Two new species of Dendrobrachia Brook, 1889 (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Dendrobrachiidae from the north-eastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo J. López-González

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Examination of recent benthic material collected during several cruises in the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic and the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean has allowed the taxonomic reassessment of some previously identified specimens belonging to the monogeneric gorgonian family Dendrobrachiidae Brook, 1889. Dendrobrachia fallax Brook, 1889 is the type species of the single genus in this family, and was originally described from Ascension Island (South Atlantic. Subsequently, other authors reported the presence of this species in Cape Verde Islands (north-eastern Atlantic and some Mediterranean localities (Alboran Sea and the Strait of Sicily. The study of the specimen from the Prince of Monaco collections in Cape Verde Islands, and recently collected material from the Gulf of Cadiz (north-eastern Atlantic and in the south of Malta (Mediterranean, materials previously considered as D. fallax, allow us to recognize two undescribed species in this genus. All previous records of D. fallax from the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean should be considered incorrect. Opresko and Bayer (1991 added two additional species of Dendrobrachia. Two new species are described here and compared with their congeners.

  20. Modelling the distribution of 90Sr and 137Cs in the Mediterranean Sea (MTPII-MATER)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez-Cabeza, J.A.; Ortega, M.; Fernandez, V.; Tintore, J.; Monaco, A.

    1999-01-01

    Within the frame of the MTPII-MATER project (MAST), the distribution of 90 Sr and 137 Cs in the Mediterranean Sea was modelled, as these radionuclides are useful tracers of water circulation. The Mediterranean Sea was divided into 81 boxes, corresponding to 21 regions, taking into account water mass circulation, bathymetry and data availability. Transfer rates were obtained from the MOM model run under MEDMEX conditions. The model was run with realistic inputs, which included weapons global fallout, Chernobyl 137 Cs, nuclear industry and river runoff. It was observed that existing data are scarce, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. In general, model predictions agreed well with observations, showing maximum concentrations in surface waters and maxima due to global fallout ( 137 Cs and 90 Sr) and to the Chernobyl accident ( 137 Cs only). (author)

  1. Dementia in Eastern Mediterranean countries: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaghmour, Sara Mahmoud; Bartlett, Ruth; Brannelly, Tula

    2018-01-01

    Globally, there is an increase in the older population, whose lives are affected by local cultural norms. In Eastern Mediterranean countries, dementia is conventionally hidden from view with few dedicated services or recognition for diagnosis. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the limited literature on dementia and cognitive impairment among older people in Eastern Mediterranean countries to present an evaluation of current practices and to consolidate knowledge for future planning. Thirty-three studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and four themes were apparent. Firstly, prevalence, comorbidity and gender: In Eastern Mediterranean countries, many studies identify that the prevalence of dementia is high. As is the case elsewhere, many older adults in Eastern Mediterranean countries have at least one coexisting long-term condition, and some experience low life-satisfaction. Secondly, culture: In Eastern Mediterranean countries, the older adult is highly respected, and placement outside of the family home is considered an abandonment of family duty. The term dementia carries stigma, and it is widely believed that dementia is caused by 'fate'. Thirdly, recognition and tools: There is a lack of verified assessment instruments to assess for dementia. Despite concerns about the cultural appropriateness of the Mini-Mental State Exam, particularly for people who have low literacy levels, and low literacy being the norm in Eastern Mediterranean countries, the Mini-Mental State Examination is the main assessment instrument. Translation and transition of non-Arabic assessment instruments and tools with psychometric properties presents a challenge for clinicians. Finally, workforce issues: health care workers lack knowledge about dementia, as dementia care is a relatively recent addition to the nursing and medical syllabi. While there were some inconsistencies in the papers published, many of the articles call for increasing educational programmes

  2. The Amino Acid Composition of Blue Swimming Crab (Portunus Segnis, Forskal, 1775 from The North Eastern Mediterranean Sea of Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Engin Artar

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This study was carried out to detect the content of amino acid in female and male specimens of blue swimming crab (Portunus segnis obtained from (including 12 male crab and also 12 female crab North Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Turkey. The protein was identified as 17.63% and 18.13% for female and male crab respevtively. Totally 9 essential amino acids were recorded in the present study. Lysine and leucine constituted the highest essential amino acid (EAA concentrations in P. segnis. This species was found to be in good score in terms of the level of EAA and the EAA/Non-EAA ratios when compared with other economical crab species.

  3. Faunal and oxygen isotopic evidence for surface water salinity changes during sapropel formation in the eastern Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, D.F.; Thunell, R.C.

    1979-01-01

    The discovery of the widespread anaerobic deposits (sapropels) in late Cenozoic sediments of the eastern Mediteranean has prompted many workers to propose the periodic occurrence of extremely low surface salinites in the Mediterranean. Oxygen isotopic determinations and total faunal analyses were made at 1000-year intervals across two equivalent sapropels in two piston cores from the Levantine Basin. The sapropel layers were deposited approximately 9000 y.B.P. (Sapropel A) and 80, 000 y. B.P. (Sapropel B). Significant isotopic anomalies were recorded by the foraminiferal species within Sapropels A and B in both cores. The surface dwelling species record a larger 18 O depletion than the mesopelagic species suggesting that surface salinities were reduced by 2-3per 1000 during sapropel formation. The faunal changes associated with the sapropels also indicate that the oceanographic conditions which lead to anoxic conditions in the eastern Mediteranean involve the formation of a low salinity surface layer. The source of the low salinity water might be meltwater produced by disintegration of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet which drained into the Black Sea, into the Aegean Sea and finally into the eastern Mediterranean. (Auth.)

  4. Distribution of meiobenthos at bathyal depths in the Mediterranean Sea. A comparison between sites of contrasting productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasios Tselepides

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available In order to study the distribution of meiobenthos (Metazoa and Foraminifera at bathyal depths along a west-east productivity gradient in the Mediterranean Sea, stations along the continental slopes of the Balearic Sea, west Ionian and east Ionian Seas were sampled during the DESEAS Trans-Mediterranean Cruise in June-July 2001. Standing stock of total meiobenthos differed considerably among the sampling stations, with marked differences occurring between sampling depths and sites. At 600 m depth, meiobenthic abundances were slightly higher over the Balearic continental slope, whereas at the deeper stations (800 m and 1500-1700 m, abundances were significantly higher in the west Ionian Sea. Significant relationships were found between the abundances of major groups and the chloroplastic pigments, indicating that food availability is a major factor controlling the distribution of meiobenthos. Apart from the overall differences in productivity between the western and eastern Mediterranean Sea, local hydrographic features and topographic differences greatly influence the spatial variability of the environmental parameters within each sub-basin and thus the distribution of meiobenthos in the bathyal zone.

  5. Seasonal variability and geostrophic circulation in the eastern Mediterranean as revealed through a repeated XBT transect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Zervakis

    Full Text Available The evolution of the upper thermocline on a section across the eastern Mediterranean was recorded bi-weekly through a series of XBT transects from Piraeus, Greece to Alexandria, Egypt, extending from October 1999 to October 2000 on board Voluntary Observing Ships in the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project. The data acquired provided valuable information on the seasonal variability of the upper ocean thermal structure at three different regions of the eastern Mediterranean: the Myrtoan, Cretan and Levantine Seas. Furthermore, the horizontal distance (~12 miles between successive profiles provides enough spatial resolution to analyze mesoscale features, while the temporal distance between successive expeditions (2–4 weeks allows us to study their evolution. Sub-basin scale features are identified using contemporaneous sea surface temperature satellite images. The cross-transect geostrophic velocity field and corresponding volume fluxes for several sub-basin scale features of the Levantine Sea are estimated by exploiting monthly q / S diagrams from operational runs of the Princeton Ocean Model in use at NCMR. A southwestward transport in the proximity of the southeast tip of Crete was estimated between 1–3 Sv. The transport increases after the winter formation of dense intermediate water in the Cretan Sea strengthens the pressure gradient across the Cretan Straits. The Mersah-Matruh anticyclone was identified as a closed gyre carrying about 2–6 Sv. This feature was stable throughout the stratified period and disappeared from our records in March 2000. Finally, our data reveal the existence of an eastward-flowing coastal current along the North African coast, transporting a minimum of 1–2 Sv.

    Key words. Oceanography: physical (eddies and mesoscale processes; currents; marginal and semi-closed seas

  6. Biodiversity of deep-sea demersal megafauna in western and central Mediterranean basins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuele Tecchio

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abundance, biomass and diversity patterns of bathyal and abyssal Mediterranean megafauna (fishes and invertebrates were analyzed in the western Balearic Sea, the western Ionian Sea and the eastern Ionian Sea. Sampling was conducted with a Otter-trawl Maireta System (OTMS at depths ranging from 600 to 4000 m. A series of ecological indicators were computed: total abundance and biomass, Margalef species richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity and Pielou’s index of evenness. A multidimensional scaling was applied, indicating that the megafauna communities were grouped by depth, while geographic area had a less defined influence. Margalef richness declined with depth in all three areas, but more steeply in the western Ionian Sea. Pielou’s evenness behaved differently in the three zones, showing a V-shaped curve in the eastern Ionian while showing a decreasing pattern in the other two areas. At lower slope depths, massive presence of the fishes Alepocephalus rostratus in the western basin and Bathypterois mediterraneus in the central basin caused a sharp reduction in evenness.

  7. A quantitative reconstruction of organic matter and nutrient diagenesis in Mediterranean Sea sediments over the Holocene

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reed, D.C.; Slomp, C.P.; Lange, G.J. de

    2011-01-01

    A multicomponent diagenetic model was developed and applied to reconstruct the conditions under which the most recent sapropel, S1, was deposited in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Simulations demonstrate that bottom waters must have been anoxic and sulphidic during the formation of S1 and that

  8. Fin whales and microplastics: The Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Cortez scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fossi, Maria Cristina; Marsili, Letizia; Baini, Matteo; Giannetti, Matteo; Coppola, Daniele; Guerranti, Cristiana; Caliani, Ilaria; Minutoli, Roberta; Lauriano, Giancarlo; Finoia, Maria Grazia; Rubegni, Fabrizio; Panigada, Simone; Bérubé, Martine; Urbán Ramírez, Jorge; Panti, Cristina

    2016-01-01

    The impact that microplastics have on baleen whales is a question that remains largely unexplored. This study examined the interaction between free-ranging fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and microplastics by comparing populations living in two semi-enclosed basins, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California, Mexico). The results indicate that a considerable abundance of microplastics and plastic additives exists in the neustonic samples from Pelagos Sanctuary of the Mediterranean Sea, and that pelagic areas containing high densities of microplastics overlap with whale feeding grounds, suggesting that whales are exposed to microplastics during foraging; this was confirmed by the observation of a temporal increase in toxicological stress in whales. Given the abundance of microplastics in the Mediterranean environment, along with the high concentrations of Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) chemicals, plastic additives and biomarker responses detected in the biopsies of Mediterranean whales as compared to those in whales inhabiting the Sea of Cortez, we believe that exposure to microplastics because of direct ingestion and consumption of contaminated prey poses a major threat to the health of fin whales in the Mediterranean Sea. - Highlights: • Microplastics and phthalates were higher in the Mediterranean Sea than in the Sea of Cortez. • The overlap between the whale feeding areas and high microplastic density shows the risk of interaction. • Data suggest an increasing risk of chemical transfer from microplastic to whales during the foraging. • Mediterranean whales are exposed to higher ecotoxicological threat of than Sea of Cortez whales. - This study identified temporal and regional ecotoxicological variations in free-ranging fin whales inhabiting two seas different characterized by different microplastic abundance.

  9. Pre-collisional geodynamics of the Mediterranean Sea: the Mediterranean Ridge and the Tyrrhenian Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Chaumillon

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available Today the Mediterranean Sea consists of a series of small-sized and almost geographically disconnected oceanic or continental crust rooted marine basins. It is also an area almost totally surrounded by mountain ranges, which chiefly belong to the alpine realm. This overall geodynamic setting results from a long term convergence between the two major, African and European, plates. Previous collisions have led to the edification of surrounding chains, while subduction and new-collisional processes tend to create new extensional back-arc basins and wide tectonized accretionary prisms. In this paper we briefly outline the most recent and almost land-locked back-arc basin that has developed in the Mediterranean,i.e., the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Mediterranean Ridge, which may be regarded as a collisional sedimentary wedge predating a future mountain chain.

  10. Revealing the meteorological drivers of the September 2015 severe dust event in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Gasch

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In September 2015 one of the severest and most unusual dust events on record occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean. Surprisingly, operational dust transport models were unable to forecast the event. This study details the reasons for this failure and presents simulations of the event at convection-permitting resolution using the modelling system ICON-ART. The results allow for an in-depth analysis of the influence of the synoptic situation, the complex interaction of multiple driving atmospheric systems and the mineral dust radiative effect on the dust event. A comparison of the results with observations reveals the quality of the simulation results with respect to structure and timing of the dust transport. The forecast of the dust event is improved decisively. The event is triggered by the unusually early occurrence of an active Red Sea trough situation with an easterly axis over Mesopotamia. The connected sustained organized mesoscale convection produces multiple cold-pool outflows responsible for intense dust emissions. Complexity is added by the interaction with an intense heat low, the inland-penetrating Eastern Mediterranean sea breeze and the widespread occurrence of supercritical flow conditions and subsequent hydraulic jumps in the vicinity of the Dead Sea Rift Valley. The newly implemented mineral dust radiation interaction leads to systematically more intense and faster propagating cold-pool outflows.

  11. Erosion of continental margins in the Western Mediterranean due to sea-level stagnancy during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Just, Janna; Hübscher, Christian; Betzler, Christian; Lüdmann, Thomas; Reicherter, Klaus

    2011-02-01

    High-resolution multi-channel seismic data from continental slopes with minor sediment input off southwest Mallorca Island, the Bay of Oran (Algeria) and the Alboran Ridge reveal evidence that the Messinian erosional surface is terraced at an almost constant depth interval between 320 and 380 m below present-day sea level. It is proposed that these several hundred- to 2,000-m-wide terraces were eroded contemporaneously and essentially at the same depth. Present-day differences in these depths result from subsidence or uplift in the individual realms. The terraces are thought to have evolved during one or multiple periods of sea-level stagnancy in the Western Mediterranean Basin. According to several published scenarios, a single or multiple periods of relative sea-level stillstand occurred during the Messinian desiccation event, generally known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Some authors suggest that the stagnancy started during the refilling phase of the Mediterranean basins. When the rising sea level reached the height of the Sicily Sill, the water spilled over this swell into the eastern basin. The stagnancy persisted until sea level in the eastern basin caught up with the western Mediterranean water level. Other authors assigned periods of sea-level stagnancy to drawdown phases, when inflowing waters from the Atlantic kept the western sea level constant at the depth of the Sicily Sill. Our findings corroborate all those Messinian sea-level reconstructions, forwarding that a single or multiple sea-level stagnancies at the depth of the Sicily Sill lasted long enough to significantly erode the upper slope. Our data also have implications for the ongoing debate of the palaeo-depth of the Sicily Sill. Since the Mallorcan plateau experienced the least vertical movement, the observed terrace depth of 380 m there is inferred to be close to the Messinian depth of this swell.

  12. Plastic accumulation in the Mediterranean sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Cózar

    Full Text Available Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2, as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled, are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the affects of plastic pollution on marine and human life are expected to be particularly frequent in this plastic accumulation region.

  13. Plastic Accumulation in the Mediterranean Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Có zar, André s; Sanz-Martí n, Marina; Martí , Elisa; Gonzá lez-Gordillo, J. Ignacio; Ubeda, Bá rbara; Gá lvez, José Á .; Irigoien, Xabier; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2015-01-01

    Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons) is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the affects of plastic pollution on marine and human life are expected to be particularly frequent in this plastic accumulation region.

  14. Plastic Accumulation in the Mediterranean Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Cózar, Andrés

    2015-04-01

    Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons) is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the affects of plastic pollution on marine and human life are expected to be particularly frequent in this plastic accumulation region.

  15. Plastic accumulation in the Mediterranean sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cózar, Andrés; Sanz-Martín, Marina; Martí, Elisa; González-Gordillo, J Ignacio; Ubeda, Bárbara; Gálvez, José Á; Irigoien, Xabier; Duarte, Carlos M

    2015-01-01

    Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons) is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the affects of plastic pollution on marine and human life are expected to be particularly frequent in this plastic accumulation region.

  16. Plastic Accumulation in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cózar, Andrés; Sanz-Martín, Marina; Martí, Elisa; González-Gordillo, J. Ignacio; Ubeda, Bárbara; Gálvez, José Á.; Irigoien, Xabier; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2015-01-01

    Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons) is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the affects of plastic pollution on marine and human life are expected to be particularly frequent in this plastic accumulation region. PMID:25831129

  17. Genetic connectivity between land and sea: the case of the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavesi, Laura; Tiedemann, Ralph; De Matthaeis, Elvira; Ketmaier, Valerio

    2013-04-25

    We examined patterns of genetic divergence in 26 Mediterranean populations of the semi-terrestrial beachflea Orchestia montagui using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I), microsatellite (eight loci) and allozymic data. The species typically forms large populations within heaps of dead seagrass leaves stranded on beaches at the waterfront. We adopted a hierarchical geographic sampling to unravel population structure in a species living at the sea-land transition and, hence, likely subjected to dramatically contrasting forces. Mitochondrial DNA showed historical phylogeographic breaks among Adriatic, Ionian and the remaining basins (Tyrrhenian, Western and Eastern Mediterranean Sea) likely caused by the geological and climatic changes of the Pleistocene. Microsatellites (and to a lesser extent allozymes) detected a further subdivision between and within the Western Mediterranean and the Tyrrhenian Sea due to present-day processes. A pattern of isolation by distance was not detected in any of the analyzed data set. We conclude that the population structure of O. montagui is the result of the interplay of two contrasting forces that act on the species population genetic structure. On one hand, the species semi-terrestrial life style would tend to determine the onset of local differences. On the other hand, these differences are partially counter-balanced by passive movements of migrants via rafting on heaps of dead seagrass leaves across sites by sea surface currents. Approximate Bayesian Computations support dispersal at sea as prevalent over terrestrial regionalism.

  18. Ecology of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria along an oligotrophic gradient in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Lamy

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP bacteria are photoheterotrophic prokaryotes able to use both light and organic substrates for energy production. They are widely distributed in coastal and oceanic environments and may contribute significantly to the carbon cycle in the upper ocean. To better understand questions regarding links between the ecology of these photoheterotrophic bacteria and the trophic status of water masses, we examined their horizontal and vertical distribution and the effects of nutrient additions on their growth along an oligotrophic gradient in the Mediterranean Sea. Concentrations of bacteriochlorophyll-a (BChl-a and AAP bacterial abundance decreased from the western to the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea and were linked with concentrations of chlorophyll-a, nutrient and dissolved organic carbon. Inorganic nutrient and glucose additions to surface seawater samples along the oligotrophic gradient revealed that AAP bacteria were nitrogen- and carbon-limited in the ultraoligotrophic eastern basin. The intensity of the AAP bacterial growth response generally differed from that of the total bacterial growth response. BChl-a quota of AAP bacterial communities was significantly higher in the eastern basin than in the western basin, suggesting that reliance on phototrophy varied along the oligotrophic gradient and that nutrient and/or carbon limitation favors BChl-a synthesis.

  19. Trace elements in loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea: overview and evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Storelli, M.M.; Storelli, A.; D'Addabbo, R.; Marano, C.; Bruno, R.; Marcotrigiano, G.O.

    2005-01-01

    Concentrations of trace elements (Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, and Se) in different organs and tissues (liver, kidney, muscle tissue, spleen, heart, lung, and fat tissue) of loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta from eastern Mediterranean Sea were determined. The highest levels of mercury and cadmium were found in liver (Hg: 0.43 μg g -1 wet weight; Cd: 3.36 μg g -1 wet weight) and kidney (Hg: 0.16 μg g -1 wet weight; Cd: 8.35 μg g -1 wet weight). For lead the overall concentrations were low and often below the limit of detection. Copper and selenium tended to be higher in liver than in other tissues and organs, while for zinc the concentrations were quite homogenous in the different organs and tissues, except fat tissue (64.7 μg g -1 wet weight) which showed a higher accumulation of this element. For iron the greatest concentrations were observed in liver (409 μg g -1 wet weight) and spleen (221 μg g -1 wet weight). - Cadmium concentrations in samples from turtles may be high enough to affect their health

  20. Calculating the water and heat balances of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin using ocean modelling and available meteorological, hydrological and ocean data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anders Omstedt

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Eastern Mediterranean water and heat balances wereanalysed over 52 years. The modelling uses a process-orientedapproach resolving the one-dimensional equations of momentum,heat and salt conservation; turbulence is modelled using a two-equation model. The results indicate that calculated temperature and salinity follow the reanalysed data well. The water balance in the Eastern Mediterranean basin was controlled by the difference between inflows and outflows through the Sicily Channel and by net precipitation. The freshwater component displayed a negative trend over the study period, indicating increasing salinity in the basin.The heat balance was controlled by heat loss from the water surface, solar radiation into the sea and heat flow through the Sicily Channel. Both solar radiation and net heat loss displayed increasing trends, probably due to decreased total cloud cover. In addition, the heat balance indicated a net import of approximately 9 W m-2 of heat to the Eastern Mediterranean Basin from the Western Basin.

  1. Observing and simulating the impact of growing urbanization on air quality and climate in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanakidou, Maria; Myriokefalitakis, Stelios; Mihalopoulos, Nikos; Vrekoussis, Mihalis; Daskalakis, Nikos; Sfakianaki, Maria; Hatziannastassiou, Nikos; Im, Ulas

    2016-07-01

    The Mediterranean, and particularly its east basin, is a crossroad of air masses coming from Europe, Asia and Africa. Over this area, anthropogenic emissions, mainly from Europe, Balkans and the Black Sea, meet with natural emissions from Sahara (Saharan dust), vegetation and the ocean as well as from biomass burning, overall presenting a strong seasonal pattern. As a consequence of its unique location and emissions, the Mediterranean region is climatically very sensitive and often exposed to multiple stresses, such as a simultaneous water shortage and elevated air pollution exposure. During the last decades, the Eastern Mediterranean, following the general trend, has experienced a rapid growth in urbanization, including increased vehicle circulation, and industrialization, all impacting pollutant emissions in the atmosphere. Air pollution is one of the challenging environmental problems for Istanbul and Cairo megacities but also for the whole Eastern Mediterranean region. The recent financial crisis resulted in changes in human habits, energy production and subsequently air pollution. This resulted in changes in tropospheric composition that reflect changes in natural emissions and in human behavior have been detected by satellites and simulated by chemistry transport models. The results are presented and their robustness is discussed.

  2. Fin whales and microplastics: The Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Cortez scenarios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fossi, Maria Cristina; Marsili, Letizia; Baini, Matteo; Giannetti, Matteo; Coppola, Daniele; Guerranti, Cristiana; Caliani, Ilaria; Minutoli, Roberta; Lauriano, Giancarlo; Finoia, Maria Grazia; Rubegni, Fabrizio; Panigada, Simone; Bérubé, Martine; Urbán Ramírez, Jorge; Panti, Cristina

    2016-02-01

    The impact that microplastics have on baleen whales is a question that remains largely unexplored. This study examined the interaction between free-ranging fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and microplastics by comparing populations living in two semi-enclosed basins, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California, Mexico). The results indicate that a considerable abundance of microplastics and plastic additives exists in the neustonic samples from Pelagos Sanctuary of the Mediterranean Sea, and that pelagic areas containing high densities of microplastics overlap with whale feeding grounds, suggesting that whales are exposed to microplastics during foraging; this was confirmed by the observation of a temporal increase in toxicological stress in whales. Given the abundance of microplastics in the Mediterranean environment, along with the high concentrations of Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBT) chemicals, plastic additives and biomarker responses detected in the biopsies of Mediterranean whales as compared to those in whales inhabiting the Sea of Cortez, we believe that exposure to microplastics because of direct ingestion and consumption of contaminated prey poses a major threat to the health of fin whales in the Mediterranean Sea. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Fueling Plankton Production by a Meandering Frontal Jet: A Case Study for the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oguz, Temel; Macias, Diego; Garcia-Lafuente, Jesus; Pascual, Ananda; Tintore, Joaquin

    2014-01-01

    A three dimensional biophysical model was employed to illustrate the biological impacts of a meandering frontal jet, in terms of efficiency and persistency of the autotrophic frontal production, in marginal and semi-enclosed seas. We used the Alboran Sea of the Western Mediterranean as a case study. Here, a frontal jet with a width of 15–20 km, characterized by the relatively low density Atlantic water mass, flows eastward within the upper 100 m as a marked meandering current around the western and the eastern anticyclonic gyres prior to its attachment to the North African shelf/slope topography of the Algerian basin. Its inherent nonlinearity leads to the development of a strong ageostrophic cross-frontal circulation that supplies nutrients into the nutrient-starved euphotic layer and stimulates phytoplankton growth along the jet. Biological production is larger in the western part of the basin and decreases eastwards with the gradual weakening of the jet. The higher production at the subsurface levels suggests that the Alboran Sea is likely more productive than predicted by the satellite chlorophyll data. The Mediterranean water mass away from the jet and the interiors of the western and eastern anticyclonic gyres remain unproductive. PMID:25372789

  4. The Coupling of Back-arc Extension, Extrusion and Subduction Dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capitanio, Fabio A.

    2017-04-01

    Extension in the Aegean Sea and lateral Anatolian extrusion are contrasting and seemingly unrelated examples of continental tectonics In the Eastern Mediterranean. It is acknowledged that these must reconcile with the dynamics of Tethys closure and following continental collision along the convergent margin, however the underlying mechanisms have been difficult to pinpoint, thus far. Three-dimensional numerical modelling of the dynamics of subduction and coupling with the mantle and upper plates allows probing the evolution of similar areas, supporting inferences on the ultimate causes for the continental tectonics. I will present models that reproduce the force balance of subducting slabs' buoyancy, mantle flow and upper plate interiors, and emphasise the role of perturbations in the force balance that may have followed slab breakoff, collision and trench land-locking reconstructed during the oceanic closure in the Eastern Mediterranean. These perturbations lead to a range of different margin motions and strain regimes in the upper plate, from rollback and back-arc spreading, to indentation and extrusion along the collisional margin. Different spatial and temporal fingerprints are illustrated for these processes, and while the trench rollback and back-arc spreading are rather stable features, extrusion is transient. When these regimes overlap, rapid and complex rearrangements of the tectonics in the upper plate are the result. The remarkable similarity between the models' and the Eastern Mediterranean tectonic regimes and geophysical observable allows proposing viable driving mechanisms and support inferences on the Miocene-to-Pliocene evolution of this puzzling area.

  5. Assessment and intercomparison of numerical simulations in the Western Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juza, Mélanie; Mourre, Baptiste; Renault, Lionel; Tintoré, Joaquin

    2014-05-01

    The Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB, www.socib.es) is developing high resolution numerical simulations (hindcasts and forecasts) in the Western Mediterranean Sea (WMOP). WMOP uses a regional configuration of the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS, Shchepetkin and McWilliams, 2005) with a high spatial resolution of 1/50º (1.5-2km). Thus, theses simulations are able to reproduce mesoscale and in some cases sub-mesoscale features that are key in the Mediterranean Sea since they interact and modify the basin and sub-basin circulation. These simulations are initialized from and nested in either the Mediterranean Forecasting System (MFS, 1/16º) or Mercator-Océan simulations (MERCATOR, 1/12º). A repeated glider section in the Ibiza Channel, operated by SOCIB, has revealed significant differences between two WMOP simulations using either MFS or MERCATOR (hereafter WMOP-MFS and WMOP-MERC). In this study, MFS, MERCATOR, WMOP-MFS and WMOP-MERC are compared and evaluated using available multi-platform observations such as satellite products (Sea Level Anomaly, Sea Surface Temperature) and in situ measurements (temperature and salinity profiles from Argo floats, CTD, XBT, fixed moorings and gliders; velocity fields from HF radar and currentmeters). A quantitative comparison is necessary to evaluate the capacity of the simulations to reproduce observed ocean features, and to quantify the possible simulations biases. This will in turn allow to improve the simulations, so as to produce better ocean forecast systems, to study and better understand ocean processes and to address climate studies. Therefore, various statistical diagnostics have been developed to assess and intercompare the simulations at various spatial and temporal scales, in different sub-regions (Alboran Sea, Western and Eastern Algerian sub-basins, Balearic Sea, Gulf of Lion), in different dynamical zones (coastal areas, shelves and "open" sea), along key sections (Ibiza and

  6. The Rough-Toothed Dolphin, Steno bredanensis, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Relict Population?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerem, D; Goffman, O; Elasar, M; Hadar, N; Scheinin, A; Lewis, T

    Only recently included among the cetacean species thought to regularly occur in the Mediterranean, the rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) is an obscure and enigmatic member of this ensemble. Preliminary genetic evidence strongly indicates an Atlantic origin, yet the Mediterranean distribution for this species is conspicuously detached from the Atlantic, with all authenticated records during the last three decades being east of the Sicilian Channel and most within the bounds of the Levantine Basin. These dolphins are apparently a small, relict population, probably the remnant of a larger one, contiguous with that in the Atlantic and nowadays entrapped in the easternmost and warmest province. Abundance data are lacking for the species in the Mediterranean. Configuring acoustic detection software to recognise the apparently idiosyncratic vocalisations of rough-toothed dolphins in past and future acoustic recordings may prove useful for potential acoustic monitoring. Evidence accumulated so far, though scant, points to seasonal occupation of shallow coastal waters. Vulnerability to entanglement in gill-nets, contaminants in the region, and the occurrence of mass strandings (possibly in response to anthropogenic noise), are major conservation concerns for the population in the Mediterranean Sea. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Seasonal and geographic distribution of luminous bacteria in the eastern mediterranean sea and the gulf of elat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yetinson, T; Shilo, M

    1979-06-01

    Luminous bacteria in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba-Elat have different distribution patterns. In the Mediterranean Sea, Beneckea harveyi is present all year round, with different subtypes alternating in summer and winter; Photobacterium fischeri was only present during the winter. In the Gulf of Elat, P. leiognathi is present throughout the water column in similar densities during the entire year. This constancy in distribution is presumably due to the near-constancy in water temperature. In summer, Photobacterium leiognathi is replaced by B. harveyi in coastal surface waters. In the hypersaline Bardawil lagoon, only B. harveyi types are present. P. fischeri, a major component of the Mediterranean Sea winter communities, is absent from the lagoon. Luminous Beneckea strains show a great diversity in properties, e.g. temperature range for growth, sensitivity to infection by phages, sensitivity to attack by Bdellovibrio strains, and differences in tolerance to high-salinity shock. Therefore, subdivision of the taxonomic cluster of B. harveyi into subtypes is indicated. The composition of the luminous bacteria communities may serve as indicators of different marine water bodies. The symbiotic luminous bacteria of the light organ of the common Gulf of Elat fish, Photoblepharon palbebratus steinitzi, is different from any of the types described.

  8. Genetic differentiation and phylogeography of Mediterranean-North Eastern Atlantic blue shark (Prionace glauca, L. 1758 using mitochondrial DNA: panmixia or complex stock structure?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agostino Leone

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background The blue shark (Prionace glauca, Linnaeus 1758 is one of the most abundant epipelagic shark inhabiting all the oceans except the poles, including the Mediterranean Sea, but its genetic structure has not been confirmed at basin and interoceanic distances. Past tagging programs in the Atlantic Ocean failed to find evidence of migration of blue sharks between the Mediterranean and the adjacent Atlantic, despite the extreme vagility of the species. Although the high rate of by-catch in the Mediterranean basin, to date no genetic study on Mediterranean blue shark was carried out, which constitutes a significant knowledge gap, considering that this population is classified as “Critically Endangered”, unlike its open-ocean counterpart. Methods Blue shark phylogeography and demography in the Mediterranean Sea and North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean were inferred using two mitochondrial genes (Cytb and control region amplified from 207 and 170 individuals respectively, collected from six localities across the Mediterranean and two from the North-Eastern Atlantic. Results Although no obvious pattern of geographical differentiation was apparent from the haplotype network, Φst analyses indicated significant genetic structure among four geographical groups. Demographic analyses suggest that these populations have experienced a constant population expansion in the last 0.4–0.1 million of years. Discussion The weak, but significant, differences in Mediterranean and adjacent North-eastern Atlantic blue sharks revealed a complex phylogeographic structure, which appears to reject the assumption of panmixia across the study area, but also supports a certain degree of population connectivity across the Strait of Gibraltar, despite the lack of evidence of migratory movements observed by tagging data. Analyses of spatial genetic structure in relation to sex-ratio and size could indicate some level of sex/stage biased migratory behaviour.

  9. Caesium-137 in Marine Sediments of the Eastern Mediterranean from the Pre-Chernobyl Age to the Present

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florou, Heleny; Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Kritidis, Panagiotis

    2011-01-01

    Caesium-137 (half-life 30.2 years) was first introduced into the marine environment as a result of the atmospheric nuclear weapon testing during 1953-1963. The second and largest contamination was the fallout after the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. Since 1986 the radiological status of the Mediterranean has been changed. During 1986 the average deposition of 137 Cs from the fallout in the Aegean Sea has been estimated to be approximately 4 kBq m -2 , whereas the respective value for the Ionian Sea (the area of 24,300 km 2 along the coasts) was 2.5 kBq m -2 . The total caesium ( 137 Cs + 134 Cs) input from Chernobyl fallout has been estimated to be 2400 TBq for the Black Sea, 820 TBq for the Aegean Sea and 600 TBq in the Ionian Sea (60 TBq in the zone of 50 km across the coasts). Although, the residence time of 137 Cs in seawater is long, it has been observed that 137 Cs has reached the bottom sediments, as the remaining period is long enough if compared to the estimated sinking time for the Mediterranean environment. The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed marine area, exchanging water, salt, heat and other physicochemical properties through the strait of Gibraltar with the Atlantic Ocean.The basin is characterized by low precipitation and high evaporation, which causes accumulation of contaminants in seawater and sediment. Taking into account the topography,one could note the importance of the eastern part of the Mediterranean,since it comprises a continuous source of interregional input (Black Sea). However,the motive of determining 137 Cs in the Greek marine territory was basic research (pre-Chernobyl age) and monitoring reasons (after Chernobyl accident). Several Greek marine systems have been examined throughout these years and the results are evaluated in the present study.

  10. Establishing the identity and assessing the dynamics of invasion in the Mediterranean Sea by the dusky sweeper, Pempheris rhomboidea Kossmann & Räuber, 1877 (Pempheridae, Perciformes)

    KAUST Repository

    Azzurro, Ernesto

    2014-12-30

    © 2014, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. We investigate the genetic diversity of the sweeper Pempheris, a biological invader that entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. Two mitochondrial regions and one nuclear region were sequenced and topological reconstructions investigated from samples collected from the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and three Indo-Pacific localities. Morphological and molecular analyses assigned samples from this study to three distinct species of Pempheris in the Red Sea (P. flavicyla, P. rhomboidea, and P. tominagai) and confirmed a misidentification of the Mediterranean sweepers, previously identified as P. vanicolensis and now recognized as P.rhomboidea. Pempheris rhomboidea clustered in a single clade including specimens from Madagascar and South Africa. Similarly to most other studied Lessepsian bioinvaders, no evidence of a genetic bottleneck in its invasive Mediterranean population was found. Yet, lowered gene flow levels were observed between Red Sea and Mediterranean populations in this species. These findings highlight the importance of molecular tools to the proper identification of morphologically challenging alien organisms and contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of Lessepsian invasions.

  11. The gill microbiota of invasive and indigenous Spondylus oysters from the Mediterranean Sea and northern Red Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roterman, Yahala Rina; Benayahu, Yehuda; Reshef, Lea; Gophna, Uri

    2015-12-01

    The gill tissue of bivalve mollusks hosts rich symbiotic microbial communities that may contribute to the animal's metabolism. Spondylus spinosus is an invasive oyster that has become highly abundant along the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) coastline, but is scarce in the northern Red Sea (NRS), its indigenous region. The composition and seasonal dynamics of the gill microbial communities of S. spinosus were examined in both regions, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Additionally, two Red Sea Spondylus species, S. avramsingeri and S. pickeringae, were investigated using the same approach. Significant differences were found between microbial communities of the EMS S. spinosus and the three NRS species. Bacteria from the family Hahellaceae dominated the communities of the EMS S. spinosus and the NRS S. avramsingeri, oysters that are dominant in their habitat, yet were rare in the NRS S. spinosus and S. pickeringae, which are only seldom encountered. Bacterial communities of EMS S. spinosus were more similar to those of NRS S. spinosus than to those of other NRS Spondylus species, indicating that either part of the microbiota had co-invaded with their host into the Mediterranean Sea, or that there are species-specific selective constraints on microbial composition. © 2015 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Marine Caves of the Mediterranean Sea: A Sponge Biodiversity Reservoir within a Biodiversity Hotspot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Voultsiadou, Eleni

    2012-01-01

    Marine caves are widely acknowledged for their unique biodiversity and constitute a typical feature of the Mediterranean coastline. Herein an attempt was made to evaluate the ecological significance of this particular ecosystem in the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered a biodiversity hotspot. This was accomplished by using Porifera, which dominate the rocky sublittoral substrata, as a reference group in a meta-analytical approach, combining primary research data from the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean) with data derived from the literature. In total 311 species from all poriferan classes were recorded, representing 45.7% of the Mediterranean Porifera. Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha are highly represented in marine caves at the family (88%), generic (70%), and species level (47.5%), the latter being the most favored group along with Dictyoceratida and Lithistida. Several rare and cave-exclusive species were reported from only one or few caves, indicating the fragmentation and peculiarity of this unique ecosystem. Species richness and phylogenetic diversity varied among Mediterranean areas; the former was positively correlated with research effort, being higher in the northern Mediterranean, while the latter was generally higher in caves than in the overall sponge assemblages of each area. Resemblance analysis among areas revealed that cavernicolous sponge assemblages followed a pattern quite similar to that of the overall Mediterranean assemblages. The same pattern was exhibited by the zoogeographic affinities of cave sponges: species with Atlanto-Mediterranean distribution and Mediterranean endemics prevailed (more than 40% each), 70% of them having warm-water affinities, since most caves were studied in shallow waters. According to our findings, Mediterranean marine caves appear to be important sponge biodiversity reservoirs of high representativeness and great scientific interest, deserving further detailed study and protection. PMID:22808070

  13. On the Mediterranean Sea inter-basin exchanges and nutrient dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rupolo, V.; Ribera D'Alcalà, M.; Iudicone, D.; Artale, V.

    2009-04-01

    The Mediterranean Sea is an evaporative basin in which the deficit of water is supplied by the inflow from the Gibraltar Strait of Atlantic Water. The net result of the air sea interactions in the entire basin is an outflow at Gibraltar of a salty water that is mainly constituted by the Levantin Intermediate Water, formed in the eastern part of the basin. Despite this simplified pattern, the circulation in the Mediterranean is rather complex. Most of the Mediterranean sub-basins are characterized by water mass formation processes and the presence of sills and straits strongly influence both the spreading and the mixing of intermediate and deep waters. In this context a Lagrangian diagnostics applied to numerical results was used to quantify mass transport in the main pathways of the upper and lower cells of the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation as they results from OGCM simulations. Lagrangian diagnostics reveals to be very useful to quantify both transports between different regions and the associated spectrum of transit times by means of pdf distribution of particles transit times between the different regions of the basin. This method is very effective to estimate the contribution of different water masses in isopycnal and diapycnal transformation processes and in reconstructing the fate of tracers. We use here these previous results on the basin circulation for better understanding the nutrient dynamics within the basin where the inputs from the different sources (atmosphere, runoff and open ocean) have similar order of magnitude. This, to the aim of building scenarios on the impact of climate driven changes in elemental fluxes to the basin on the internal nutrient dynamics.

  14. Local diffusion coefficient determination: Mediterranean Sea experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacciola, D.; Borghini, M.; Cannarsa, S.

    1993-10-01

    The Mediterranean is a semi/enclosed basin characterized by the presence of channels and straits influencing the circulation, temperature and salinity fields. The tides generally have amplitudes of the order of 10 cm and velocities of few cm/s. Conversely, the wind forced circulation is very strong and can assume velocity values of 1 m/s at the sea surface. The temperature and salinity fields have a high temporal and spatial variability, because of many mixing processes existing in the sea. For example, the waters coming from the Provencal basin meet those waters coming from the Tyrrhenian Sea in the eastern Ligurian Sea, creating meanders and eddies. Local runoff influences significantly the coastal circulation. This paper describes diffusion experiments carried out in this complex environment. The experimental apparatus for the detection of the fluorescine released at sea was composed by two Turner mod. 450 fluorometres. During the experiments, temperature and salinity vertical profiles were measured by using a CTD; meteorological data were acquired on a dinghy. The positioning was obtained by means of a Motorola system, having a precision of about 1 meter. The experiments were carried out under different stratification and wind conditions. From data analysis it was found that the horizontal diffusion coefficient does not depend on time or boundary conditions. The role of stratification is important with regard to vertical displacement of the dye. However, its role with regard to vertical diffusion cannot be assessed with the actual experimental apparatus

  15. Climate Data Homogenization and its Impact on Heatwave Changes in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuglitsch, F. G.; Toreti, A.; Xoplaki, E.; Della-Marta, P. M.; Zerefos, C. S.; Turkes, M.; Luterbacher, J.

    2010-12-01

    Heatwaves have discernible impacts on mortality and morbidity, infrastructure, agricultural resources, the retail industry, ecosystem and tourism and consequently affect human societies. A new definition of socially relevant heatwaves is presented and applied to new data sets of high-quality homogenized daily maximum and minimum summer air temperature series from 246 stations in the eastern Mediterranean region (including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey). Changes in heatwave number, length and intensity between 1960 and 2006 are quantified before and after data homogenization. Daily temperature homogeneity analyses suggest that many instrumental measurements in the 1960s are warm-biased, correcting for these biases regionally averaged heatwave trends are up to 8% higher. We find significant changes across the western Balkans, southwestern and western Turkey, and along the southern Black Sea coastline. Since the 1960s, the mean heatwave intensity, heatwave length and heatwave number across the eastern Mediterranean region have increased by a factor of 7.6 ± 1.3, 7.5 ± 1.3 and 6.2 ± 1.1, respectively. These findings suggest that the heatwave increase in this region is higher than previously reported.

  16. Relationships between otolith and fish size from Mediterranean and north-eastern Atlantic species to be used in predator-prey studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giménez, J; Manjabacas, A; Tuset, V M; Lombarte, A

    2016-10-01

    Regressions between fish length and otolith size are provided for 40 species from the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and 142 species from the Mediterranean Sea. Regressions were also estimated at genus level. Most of the regressions (c. 84%) explained a high percentage of the deviance (>75%). © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  17. Footprints of climate change on Mediterranean Sea biota

    KAUST Repository

    Marbà, Núria

    2015-08-13

    The Mediterranean Sea ranks among the ocean regions warming fastest. There is evidence for impacts of climate change on marine Mediterranean organisms but a quantitative assessment is lacking. We compiled the impacts of warming reported in the literature to provide a quantitative assessment for the Mediterranean Sea. During the last three decades the summer surface temperature has increased 1.15°C. Strong heat wave events have occurred in years 1994, 2003, and 2009. Impacts of warming are evident on growth, survival, fertility, migration and phenology of pelagic and benthic organisms, from phytoplankton to marine vegetation, invertebrates and vertebrates. Overall, 50% of biological impacts in the Mediterranean Sea occur at summer surface temperature anomaly ≤ 4.5°C and at summer surface temperature of 27.5°C. The activation energy (geometric mean 1.58 ± 0.48 eV), the slope of the Arrhenius equation describing the temperature-dependence of biological processes, for the response of Mediterranean marine biota to warming reveals that these responses in the Mediterranean are far steepest than possibly explained by the direct effect of warming alone. The observations are biased toward the northern and western sectors of the basin, likely underestimating the impacts of warming in areas where warming is particularly intense.

  18. Footprints of climate change on Mediterranean Sea biota

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Núria eMarbà

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The Mediterranean Sea ranks among the ocean regions warming fastest. There is evidence for impacts of climate change on marine Mediterranean organisms but a quantitative assessment is lacking. We compiled the impacts of warming reported in the literature to provide a quantitative assessment for the Mediterranean Sea. During the last three decades the summer surface temperature has increased 1.15 oC. Strong heat wave events have occurred in years 1994, 2003 and 2009. Impacts of warming are evident on growth, survival, fertility, migration and phenology of pelagic and benthic organisms, from phytoplankton to marine vegetation, invertebrates and vertebrates. Overall, 50 % of biological impacts in the Mediterranean Sea occur at summer surface temperature anomaly ≤ 4.5 ºC and at summer surface temperature of 27.5 ºC. The activation energy (geometric mean 1.58 ± 0.48 eV, the slope of the Arrhenius equation describing the temperature-dependence of biological processes, for the response of Mediterranean marine biota to warming reveals that these responses in the Mediterranean are far steepest than possibly explained by the direct effect of warming alone. The observations are biased toward the northern and western sectors of the basin, likely underestimating the impacts of warming in areas where warming is particularly intense.

  19. New techniques on oil spill modelling applied in the Eastern Mediterranean sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zodiatis, George; Kokinou, Eleni; Alves, Tiago; Lardner, Robin

    2016-04-01

    Small or large oil spills resulting from accidents on oil and gas platforms or due to the maritime traffic comprise a major environmental threat for all marine and coastal systems, and they are responsible for huge economic losses concerning the human infrastructures and the tourism. This work aims at presenting the integration of oil-spill model, bathymetric, meteorological, oceanographic, geomorphological and geological data to assess the impact of oil spills in maritime regions such as bays, as well as in the open sea, carried out in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea within the frame of NEREIDs, MEDESS-4MS and RAOP-Med EU projects. The MEDSLIK oil spill predictions are successfully combined with bathymetric analyses, the shoreline susceptibility and hazard mapping to predict the oil slick trajectories and the extend of the coastal areas affected. Based on MEDSLIK results, oil spill spreading and dispersion scenarios are produced both for non-mitigated and mitigated oil spills. MEDSLIK model considers three response combating methods of floating oil spills: a) mechanical recovery using skimmers or similar mechanisms; b) destruction by fire, c) use of dispersants or other bio-chemical means and deployment of booms. Shoreline susceptibility map can be compiled for the study areas based on the Environmental Susceptibility Index. The ESI classification considers a range of values between 1 and 9, with level 1 (ESI 1) representing areas of low susceptibility, impermeable to oil spilt during accidents, such as linear shorelines with rocky cliffs. In contrast, ESI 9 shores are highly vulnerable, and often coincide with natural reserves and special protected areas. Additionally, hazard maps of the maritime and coastal areas, possibly exposed to the danger on an oil spill, evaluate and categorize the hazard in levels from low to very high. This is important because a) Prior to an oil spill accident, hazard and shoreline susceptibility maps are made available to design

  20. Alkalinity of the Mediterranean Sea

    OpenAIRE

    Schneider, Anke; Wallace, Douglas W.R.; Körtzinger, Arne

    2007-01-01

    Total alkalinity (AT) was measured during the Meteor 51/2 cruise, crossing the Mediterranean Sea from west to east. AT concentrations were high (∼2600 μmol kg−1) and alkalinity-salinity-correlations had negative intercepts. These results are explained by evaporation coupled with high freshwater AT inputs into coastal areas. Salinity adjustment of AT revealed excess alkalinity throughout the water column compared to mid-basin surface waters. Since Mediterranean waters are supersaturated with r...

  1. Geological evidence of tsunamis and earthquakes at the Eastern Hellenic Arc: correlation with historical seismicity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerassimos Papadopoulos

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Sedimentary stratigraphy determined by trenching in Dalaman, south-western Turkey, revealed three sand layers at a distance of approximately 240 m from the shoreline and at elevations of +0.30, +0.55 and +0.90 cm. Storm surge action does not explain the features of these deposits that show instead typical characteristics of tsunami deposition. The sand layers correlate with historical tsunamis generated by large earthquakes which ruptured the eastern Hellenic Arc and Trench in 1303, 1481 and 1741. Accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating of a wood sample from layer II indicated deposition in AD 1473±46, which fits the 1481 event. From an estimated average alluvium deposition rate of approximately 0.13 cm/year, layers I and III were dated at 1322 and 1724, which may represent the large 1303 and 1741 tsunamis. The geological record of the 1303 key event is very poor; therefore, sand layer I perhaps represents an important geological signature of the 1303 tsunami. However, the strong tsunami reported to have been generated by the 1609 earthquake is missing from Dalaman stratigraphy: this underlines the sensitivity of tsunami geological signatures to various local factors. The 1303 earthquake ruptured the trench between the islands of Crete and Rhodes. For the earthquakes of 1481, 1609 and 1741 we suggested that they were very likely generated in the Rhodes Abyssal Plain where sea depths of up to approximately 4200 m, together with the thrust component of seismotectonics, favor tsunami generation. Sand dykes directed upwards from layer I to layer II indicated that the 1481 earthquake triggered liquefaction of sand layer I. The results substantially widen our knowledge about the historical earthquake and tsunami activity in the eastern Mediterranean basin.

  2. Early Spring Dust over the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) observed this large cloud of dust (brownish pixels) blowing from northern Africa across the Mediterranean Sea on March 4, 2002. The dust can be seen clearly blowing across Southern Italy, Albania, Greece, and Turkey-all along the Mediterranean's northeastern shoreline. Notice that there also appears to be human-made aerosol pollution (greyish pixels) pooling in the air just south of the Italian Alps and blowing southeastward over the Adriatic Sea. The Alps can be easily identified as the crescent-shaped, snow-capped mountain range in the top center of this true-color scene. There also appears to be a similar haze over Austria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia to the north and east of Italy. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE

  3. Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Christiane; Morard, Raphael; Almogi-Labin, Ahuva; Weinmann, Anna E; Titelboim, Danna; Abramovich, Sigal; Kucera, Michal

    2015-01-01

    The eastern Mediterranean is a hotspot of biological invasions. Numerous species of Indo-pacific origin have colonized the Mediterranean in recent times, including tropical symbiont-bearing foraminifera. Among these is the species Pararotalia calcariformata. Unlike other invasive foraminifera, this species was discovered only two decades ago and is restricted to the eastern Mediterranean coast. Combining ecological, genetic and physiological observations, we attempt to explain the recent invasion of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. Using morphological and genetic data, we confirm the species attribution to P. calcariformata McCulloch 1977 and identify its symbionts as a consortium of diatom species dominated by Minutocellus polymorphus. We document photosynthetic activity of its endosymbionts using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Fluorometry and test the effects of elevated temperatures on growth rates of asexual offspring. The culturing of asexual offspring for 120 days shows a 30-day period of rapid growth followed by a period of slower growth. A subsequent 48-day temperature sensitivity experiment indicates a similar developmental pathway and high growth rate at 28°C, whereas an almost complete inhibition of growth was observed at 20°C and 35°C. This indicates that the offspring of this species may have lower tolerance to cold temperatures than what would be expected for species native to the Mediterranean. We expand this hypothesis by applying a Species Distribution Model (SDM) based on modern occurrences in the Mediterranean using three environmental variables: irradiance, turbidity and yearly minimum temperature. The model reproduces the observed restricted distribution and indicates that the range of the species will drastically expand westwards under future global change scenarios. We conclude that P. calcariformata established a population in the Levant because of the recent warming in the region. In line with observations from other groups of organisms

  4. Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christiane Schmidt

    Full Text Available The eastern Mediterranean is a hotspot of biological invasions. Numerous species of Indo-pacific origin have colonized the Mediterranean in recent times, including tropical symbiont-bearing foraminifera. Among these is the species Pararotalia calcariformata. Unlike other invasive foraminifera, this species was discovered only two decades ago and is restricted to the eastern Mediterranean coast. Combining ecological, genetic and physiological observations, we attempt to explain the recent invasion of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. Using morphological and genetic data, we confirm the species attribution to P. calcariformata McCulloch 1977 and identify its symbionts as a consortium of diatom species dominated by Minutocellus polymorphus. We document photosynthetic activity of its endosymbionts using Pulse Amplitude Modulated Fluorometry and test the effects of elevated temperatures on growth rates of asexual offspring. The culturing of asexual offspring for 120 days shows a 30-day period of rapid growth followed by a period of slower growth. A subsequent 48-day temperature sensitivity experiment indicates a similar developmental pathway and high growth rate at 28°C, whereas an almost complete inhibition of growth was observed at 20°C and 35°C. This indicates that the offspring of this species may have lower tolerance to cold temperatures than what would be expected for species native to the Mediterranean. We expand this hypothesis by applying a Species Distribution Model (SDM based on modern occurrences in the Mediterranean using three environmental variables: irradiance, turbidity and yearly minimum temperature. The model reproduces the observed restricted distribution and indicates that the range of the species will drastically expand westwards under future global change scenarios. We conclude that P. calcariformata established a population in the Levant because of the recent warming in the region. In line with observations from other

  5. Changes in the Adriatic oceanographic properties induced by the Eastern Mediterranean Transient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Vilibić

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Long-term time series of physical and chemical parameters collected between 1960 and 2010 along the Palagruža Sill transect, Middle Adriatic Sea, have been investigated in terms of average water properties and their variability. Nutrients, especially orthophosphates, reached rather high levels of concentration below the euphotic zone between 1991 and 1998, the highest levels in the investigated period. Simultaneously, the N:P ratio, which is normally higher than 25:1, decreased to values less than 16:1 in the euphotic zone, indicating a switch from typical phosphorus to nitrogen- limited preconditioning for the primary production. Higher-than-usual nutrient levels peaking in the mid-1990s, coupled with lower-than-usual temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH values, are presumably related to the flow of the nutrient richer Western Mediterranean waters to the Adriatic below the euphotic layer. These waters, which keep their footprint in the N:P ratio, enter the Adriatic during the anticyclonic phase of the Bimodal Adriatic-Ionian Oscillation (BiOS, which has been uniquely strengthened by the Eastern Mediterranean Transient occurring in the early 1990s. This hypothesis should be confirmed through targeted research and modelling exercises, as it is highly relevant for the biogeochemistry of the Adriatic Sea.

  6. Dioxin compounds in the deep-sea rose shrimp Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816) throughout the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotllant, Guiomar; Abad, Esteban; Sardà, Francisco; Ábalos, Manuela; Company, Joan B.; Rivera, Josep

    2006-12-01

    ,3,7,8-substituted congeners bioaccumulated in this species, as observed in shallow-water crustaceans. PCDD/Fs were found in the shrimp A. antennatus throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Total PCDD/Fs burdens were higher in shrimps caught in the western Mediterranean than in those caught at eastern Mediterranean sites. There was a tendency for higher levels of PCDD/F contamination in samples obtained from deeper (2500 m) than from shallower sites (600 m).

  7. Risk of influenza A(nrH7N9) pandemic in the eastern Mediterranean ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    nrH7N9) infection in humans (1). Countries from the eastern Mediterranean region have high rates of viral hepatitis infection. The World Health. Organization (WHO) estimates that the HBsAg preva- lence in the eastern Mediterranean region ...

  8. Saurida lessepsianus a new species of lizardfish (Pisces: Synodontidae) from the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, with a key to Saurida species in the Red Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Barry C; Golani, Daniel; Tikochinski, Yaron

    2015-05-12

    Saurida lessepsianus n. sp., a lizardfish (Aulopiformes: Synodontidae) from the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, previously misidentified as S. undosquamis (Richardson) and more recently as S. macrolepis Tanaka, is described as a new species. It is characterised by the following combination of characters: dorsal fin with 11-12 rays; pectoral fins with 13-15 rays; lateral-line scales 47-51; transverse scale rows above lateral line 4½, below lateral line 5½; pectoral fins moderately long (extending to between just before or just beyond a line from origin of pelvic fins to origin of dorsal fin); 2 rows of teeth on outer palatines; 0-2 teeth on vomer; tongue with 3-6 rows of teeth posteriorly; caudal peduncle slightly compressed (depth a little more than width); upper margin of caudal fin with row of 3-8 (usually 6 or 7) small black spots; stomach pale grey to blackish anteriorly; intestine whitish. The species is common in the Red Sea and as a result of Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal, it is now widely distributed in the eastern Mediterranean. The taxonomic status of two other Red Sea nominal species, Saurus badimottah Rüppell [= Saurida tumbil (Bloch)] and Saurida sinaitica Dollfus in Gruvel (a nomen nudum), is clarified. A key is provided for the species of Saurida in the Red Sea.

  9. Recent findings of Ommastrephes bartramii (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae in the eastern Mediterranean and the implication on its range expansion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. LEFKADITOU

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii is found circumglobally in subtropical, temperate waters and sustains important fisheries in the North Pacific, but it is rarely encountered in the Mediterranean Sea. During the last decade, and particularly since 2004, the frequency of its presence in the Aegean Sea and nearby regions has increased, raising a question about a change in the species distribution and abundance in this area. In this study, we reviewed the literature on O. bartramii findings in the Mediterranean Sea and present new data describing body and beak morphometry, diet and the maturity of specimens recently collected from the easternmost basins. According to data from the entire Mediterranean Sea, collected individuals reached 66 cm in mantle length (ML, wherein only females were larger than 32 cm in ML. An isometric growth in body weight (BW was shown, whereas the lower beak rostral length (LRL was allometrically positive in relation to the ML. Occasional catches by jigs during experimental cruises provided most of the individuals recorded in the period from 1982-1992. In contrast, the most recent records are primarily comprised of mature females collected on or near the shore in the eastern basin and of predominantly smaller individuals from the western basin caught by professional jigging fisheries. The distribution of the specimen recorded from the Aegean Sea indicates an association between the species distribution and the circulation of the warm Levantine Intermediate Water. The more frequent observations of moribund spawning females at the periphery of the Cretan Sea are indicative of a spawning ground at this area. The suspected recent increase of O. bartramii abundance in both the northeastern and northwestern basins might be due to the warming of upper sea layers, which has been observed since the mid-1980s and is considered to be the main factor driving the northward expansion of the warm-water species’ range within

  10. Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the eastern and western Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dayan, U.; Nissen, K.; Ulbrich, U.

    2015-11-01

    This review discusses published studies of heavy rainfall events over the Mediterranean Basin, combining them in a more general picture of the dynamic and thermodynamic factors and processes that produce heavy rain storms. It distinguishes the western and eastern Mediterranean in order to point out specific regional peculiarities. The crucial moisture for developing intensive convection over these regions can be originated not only from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea but also from distant upwind sources. Transport from remote sources is usually in the mid-tropospheric layers and associated with specific features and patterns of the larger-scale circulations. The synoptic systems (tropical and extratropical) that account for most of the major extreme precipitation events and the coupling of circulation and extreme rainfall patterns are presented. Heavy rainfall over the Mediterranean Basin is caused at times in concert by several atmospheric processes working at different atmospheric scales, such as local convection, upper synoptic-scale-level troughs, and mesoscale convective systems. Under tropical air-mass intrusions, convection generated by static instability seems to play a more important role than synoptic-scale vertical motions. Locally, the occurrence of torrential rains and their intensity is dependent on factors such as temperature profiles and implied instability, atmospheric moisture, and lower-level convergence.

  11. New Mediterranean Marine biodiversity records (December, 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. BILECENOGLU

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Based on recent biodiversity studies carried out in different parts of the Mediterranean, the following 19 species are included as new records on the floral or faunal lists of the relevant ecosystems: the green algae Penicillus capitatus (Maltese waters; the nemertean Amphiporus allucens (Iberian Peninsula, Spain; the salp Salpa maxima (Syria; the opistobranchs Felimida britoi and Berghia coerulescens (Aegean Sea, Greece; the dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus (central-west Mediterranean and Ionian Sea, Italy; Randall’s threadfin bream Nemipterus randalli, the broadbanded cardinalfish Apogon fasciatus and the goby Gobius kolombatovici (Aegean Sea, Turkey; the reticulated leatherjack Stephanolepis diaspros and the halacarid Agaue chevreuxi (Sea of Marmara, Turkey; the slimy liagora Ganonema farinosum, the yellowstripe barracuda Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata radiata and the Persian conch Conomurex persicus (south-eastern Crete, Greece; the blenny Microlipophrys dalmatinus and the bastard grunt Pomadasys incisus (Ionian Sea, Italy; the brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey; the blue-crab Callinectes sapidus (Corfu, Ionian Sea, Greece. In addition, the findings of the following rare species improve currently available biogeographical knowledge: the oceanic pufferfish Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Malta; the yellow sea chub Kyphosus incisor (Almuñécar coast of Spain; the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus and the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey.

  12. Ozone and carbon monoxide budgets over the Eastern Mediterranean

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Myriokefalitakis, S.; Daskalakis, N.; Fanourgakis, G.S.; Voulgarakis, A.; Krol, M.C.; Brugh, Aan de J.M.J.; Kanakidou, M.

    2016-01-01

    The importance of the long-range transport (LRT) on O3 and CO budgets over the Eastern Mediterranean has been investigated using the state-of-the-art 3-dimensional global chemistry-transport model TM4-ECPL. A 3-D budget analysis has been performed separating the Eastern from the

  13. Palaeoceanography of the interglacial eastern Mediterranean Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marino, G.

    2008-01-01

    The sensitivity of the present interglacial climate to the ongoing anthropogenic-driven increase of atmospheric greenhouse gas poses a fundamental concern to modern society. The Mediterranean region is responding with a distinct change towards drier and warmer conditions, which affects also the

  14. Continuous sea-level reconstructions beyond the Pleistocene: improving the Mediterranean sea-level method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, K.; Rohling, E. J.; Amies, J.

    2017-12-01

    Sea-level (SL) reconstructions over glacial-interglacial timeframes are critical for understanding the equilibrium response of ice sheets to sustained warming. In particular, continuous and high-resolution SL records are essential for accurately quantifying `natural' rates of SL rise. Global SL changes are well-constrained since the last glacial maximum ( 20,000 years ago, ky) by radiometrically-dated corals and paleoshoreline data, and fairly well-constrained over the last glacial cycle ( 150 ky). Prior to that, however, studies of ice-volume:SL relationships tend to rely on benthic δ18O, as geomorphological evidence is far more sparse and less reliably dated. An alternative SL reconstruction method (the `marginal basin' approach) was developed for the Red Sea over 500 ky, and recently attempted for the Mediterranean over 5 My (Rohling et al., 2014, Nature). This method exploits the strong sensitivity of seawater δ18O in these basins to SL changes in the relatively narrow and shallow straits which connect the basins with the open ocean. However, the initial Mediterranean SL method did not resolve sea-level highstands during Northern Hemisphere insolation maxima, when African monsoon run-off - strongly depleted in δ18O - reached the Mediterranean. Here, we present improvements to the `marginal basin' sea-level reconstruction method. These include a new `Med-Red SL stack', which combines new probabilistic Mediterranean and Red Sea sea-level stacks spanning the last 500 ky. We also show how a box model-data comparison of water-column δ18O changes over a monsoon interval allows us to quantify the monsoon versus SL δ18O imprint on Mediterranean foraminiferal carbonate δ18O records. This paves the way for a more accurate and fully continuous SL reconstruction extending back through the Pliocene.

  15. A survey of 137Cs in sediments of the eastern mediterranean marine environment from the pre-Chernobyl age to the present

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Florou, Heleny; Kritidis, Panayotis

    2014-01-01

    A survey of 137 Cs in sediments from the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Aegean and Ionian Seas) during the period from 1984 to 2007 is presented. Data have been collected and analyzed in the framework of the monitoring system of Greece performed by the Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory (NCSR 'Demokritos') over the past 30 years. Sediment activities reflect the impact from the Chernobyl accident one year later (1987). It is evident that sediment acts as the final receptor of 137 Cs, showing that fast depollution of the Mediterranean still remains a utopia. Radioactive 'hot spots' were observed in the northern Aegean Sea and lower values in the southern Aegean Sea and Ionian Sea. Finally, an effort to evaluate the risk of ionizing radiation (from 137 Cs) to the biota inhabiting sediments was made using ERICA. The respective dose rates for two reference organisms (benthic fish and mollusks) were estimated to be far below the screening dose, at which the radiological impact on the abundance of the population begins. (authors)

  16. Estimating the Mediterranean Sea Water Budget: impact of RCM design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somot, S.; Elguindi, N.; Sanchez-Gomez, E.; Herrmann, M.; Déqué, M.

    2009-09-01

    The Mediterranean Sea can be considered as a thermodynamic machine that exchanges water and heat with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar and with the atmosphere through its surface. Considering the Mediterranean Sea Water Budget (MSWB) multi-year mean, the Mediterranean basin looses water at the surface due to an excess of evaporation over freshwater input (precipitation, river runoff, Black Sea input). Moreover the MSWB largely drives the Mediterranean Sea water mass formation and therefore a large part of its thermohaline circulation. This could even have an impact on the characteristics of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation through the Mediterranean Outflow Waters that flow into the Atlantic at a depth of about 1000 m. From a climate point of view, the MSWB acts as a water source for the Mediterranean countries and therefore plays an important role on the water resources of the region. The regional physical characteristics of the Mediterranean basin (complex orography, strong land-sea contrast, land-atmosphere coupling, air-sea coupling, river inflow, Gibraltar Strait constraint and complex ocean bathymetry) strongly influence the various components of the MSWB. Moreover extreme precipitation events over land and strong evaporation events over the sea due to local winds can play a non-negligible role on the mean MSWB despite their small spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, modelling the mean behaviour, the interannual variability and the trends of the MSWB is a challenging task of the Regional Climate Model community in the context of climate change. It is actually one of the highlighted issues of the HyMex project planned for the 2010-2020 period. We propose here to start investigating some key scientific issues of the regional modelling of the Mediterranean Sea Water Budget using a wide range of regional climate simulations performed at Météo-France or in the framework of FP6 European projects (ENSEMBLES, CIRCE). The addressed

  17. Developing a Virtual Museum for the Ancient Wine Trade in Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazanis, S.; Kontogianni, G.; Chliverou, R.; Georgopoulos, A.

    2017-08-01

    Digital technologies for representing cultural heritage assets of any size are already maturing. Technological progress has greatly enhanced the art of virtual representation and, as a consequence, it is all the more appealing to the general public and especially to younger generations. The game industry has played a significant role towards this end and has led to the development of edutainment applications. The digital workflow implemented for developing such an application is presented in this paper. A virtual museum has been designed and developed, with the intention to convey the history of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean area, focusing on the Aegean Sea and five productive cities-ports, during a period of more than 500 years. Image based modeling methodology was preferred to ensure accuracy and reliability. The setup in the museum environment, the difficulties encountered and the solutions adopted are discussed, while processing of the images and the production and finishing of the 3D models are described in detail. The virtual museum and edutainment application, MEDWINET, has been designed and developed with the intention to convey the essential information of the wine production and trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean basin. The user is able to examine the 3D models of the amphorae, while learning about their production and use for trade during the centuries. The application has been evaluated and the results are also discussed.

  18. Estimation of directional sea wave spectra from radar images. A Mediterranean Sea case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corsini, G.; Grasso, R.; Manara, G.; Monorchio, A.

    2001-01-01

    An inversion technique for estimating sea wave directional spectra from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images is applied to a set of ERS-1 data relevant to selected Mediterranean areas. The approach followed is based on the analytical definition of the transform which maps the sea wave spectrum onto the corresponding SAR image spectrum. The solution of the inverse problem is determined through a numerical procedure which minimises a proper functional. A suitable iterative scheme is adopted, involving the use of the above transform. Although widely applied to the ocean case, the method has not been yet extensively tested widely applied to the ocean case, the method has not been yet extensively tested in smaller scale basins, as for instance the Mediterranean sea. The results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of the numerical procedure discussed for retrieving the sea wave spectrum from SAR images. This work provides new experimental data relevant to the Mediterranean Sea, discusses the results obtained by the above inversion technique and compares them with buoy derived sea truth measurements

  19. Comparative Reproduction Aspects of the Deep-water Shrimps Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus (Decapoda, Aristeidae in the Greek Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Kapiris

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In the eastern Ionian Sea, the deep-water shrimps Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus constitute a virgin fishing resource, since their maximum abundance depth exceeds commercial exploitation depths. The two sympatric species share a number of common reproductive features, such as summer reproduction. A slight temporal shift in mating activity, ovarian maturation, and spawning period was observed between species. The most notable difference was the more pronounced seasonality in reproductive activity of Aristeus antennatus compared to that of A. foliacea as evidenced by the frequency of inseminated females and functionally mature males, as well as by the shorter ovarian maturation period. Nevertheless, regarding the whole life span, both sexes of Aristeus antennatus exhibit a more extended reproductive activity in comparison to A. foliacea. No notable differentiation of both species existed in comparison to other Mediterranean regions.

  20. Circulation and oxygen cycling in the Mediterranean Sea: Sensitivity to future climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powley, Helen R.; Krom, Michael D.; Van Cappellen, Philippe

    2016-11-01

    Climate change is expected to increase temperatures and decrease precipitation in the Mediterranean Sea (MS) basin, causing substantial changes in the thermohaline circulation (THC) of both the Western Mediterranean Sea (WMS) and Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS). The exact nature of future circulation changes remains highly uncertain, however, with forecasts varying from a weakening to a strengthening of the THC. Here we assess the sensitivity of dissolved oxygen (O2) distributions in the WMS and EMS to THC changes using a mass balance model, which represents the exchanges of O2 between surface, intermediate, and deep water reservoirs, and through the Straits of Sicily and Gibraltar. Perturbations spanning the ranges in O2 solubility, aerobic respiration kinetics, and THC changes projected for the year 2100 are imposed to the O2 model. In all scenarios tested, the entire MS remains fully oxygenated after 100 years; depending on the THC regime, average deep water O2 concentrations fall in the ranges 151-205 and 160-219 µM in the WMS and EMS, respectively. On longer timescales (>1000 years), the scenario with the largest (>74%) decline in deep water formation rate leads to deep water hypoxia in the EMS but, even then, the WMS deep water remains oxygenated. In addition, a weakening of THC may result in a negative feedback on O2 consumption as supply of labile dissolved organic carbon to deep water decreases. Thus, it appears unlikely that climate-driven changes in THC will cause severe O2 depletion of the deep water masses of the MS in the foreseeable future.

  1. Environmental control on Emiliania huxleyi coccolithophore calcification in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Amario, Barbara; Grelaud, Michael; Ziveri, Patrizia

    2016-04-01

    The Mediterranean Sea, a "natural laboratory" characterized by strong environmental gradients, is likely to undergo serious alterations due to climate change and ocean acidification. These processes are expected to affect also phytoplankton distribution. Coccolithophores are the only phytoplankton calcifying group and laboratory studies on E. huxleyi, the most abundant and widely distributed species of coccolithophores worldwide, yield strain-specific results. Culture experiments must be integrated with observations in the natural environment to understand existing interactions between drivers, and to verify population structures in different areas. Two transects spanning the south-western and south-eastern basins have been investigated, combining data from April 2011 (Meteor cruise M84/3) and May 2013 (MedSeA cruise). E. huxleyi coccolith morphometry was analyzed to determine average mass and length. These results were then compared with morphological observations performed on the largely dominant E. huxleyi Type A through scanning electron microscope (SEM). We distinguished four main calcification morphologies within E. huxleyi Type A: low-calcified (A1), medium-calcified (A2), high-calcified with closed central area (A3a), and open central area (A3b). E. huxleyi coccolith mass was strongly and positively correlated with the relative abundance of a particular morphology. Moreover, the calcification morphologies were preferentially distributed in the Mediterranean according to specific combinations of environmental variables, which included the carbonate chemistry system. The distribution of E. huxleyi Type A calcification morphologies in the Mediterranean is likely to be influenced by climate changes. Coccolithophore calcification degree is connected to the carbon cycle through photosynthesis / calcification ratio and sedimentation (particulate inorganic and organic carbon reaching the seafloor). This study aims to provide a basis for future investigations on the

  2. Effects of habitat and substrate complexity on shallow sublittoral fish assemblages in the Cyclades Archipelago, North-eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. GIAKOUMI

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This is the first study to explore fish community structure and its relations to habitat and topographic complexity in the shallow coastal waters of the Cyclades Archipelago, North-eastern Mediterranean Sea. In situ visual surveys were carried out at 233 sampling sites in 26 islands of the Cyclades Archipelago. Fish community parameters and biomass were estimated across seven substrate types: sand, seagrass, vertical walls, boulders, horizontal/subhorizontal continuous rock, rocky substrate with patches of sand, and rocky substrate with patches of sand and Posidonia oceanica. Topographic complexity and percentage of algal cover were estimated on hard substrate. Substrate type was found to be a determining factor affecting the structure and composition of fish assemblages. Species number, abundance and biomass were significantly lower in sandy areas and always higher on hard substrates, with seagrass habitats presenting intermediate values. Topographic complexity in rocky bottoms did not seem to affect species richness, density or biomass. This study provides a baseline for future evaluation of changes produced by potential management actions such as the creation of marine protected areas in the study region.

  3. The Presence of the invasive Lionfish Pterois miles in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. BARICHE

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Here we report the occurrence of Pterois miles in the Mediterranean Sea, based on the capture of two specimens along the coast of Lebanon. Previously, only one record of the species from the Mediterranean Sea had been documented. The new records highlight the arrival of new propagules of P. miles, more than two decades later, hinting to a future potential invasion of the Mediterranean Sea.

  4. Simulated anthropogenic CO2 storage and acidification of the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Palmiéri

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Constraints on the Mediterranean Sea's storage of anthropogenic CO2 are limited, coming only from data-based approaches that disagree by more than a factor of two. Here we simulate this marginal sea's anthropogenic carbon storage by applying a perturbation approach in a high-resolution regional model. Our model simulates that, between 1800 and 2001, basin-wide CO2 storage by the Mediterranean Sea has increased by 1.0 Pg C, a lower limit based on the model's weak deep-water ventilation, as revealed by evaluation with CFC-12. Furthermore, by testing a data-based approach (transit time distribution in our model, comparing simulated anthropogenic CO2 to values computed from simulated CFC-12 and physical variables, we conclude that the associated basin-wide storage of 1.7 Pg, published previously, must be an upper bound. Out of the total simulated storage of 1.0 Pg C, 75% comes from the air–sea flux into the Mediterranean Sea and 25% comes from net transport from the Atlantic across the Strait of Gibraltar. Sensitivity tests indicate that the Mediterranean Sea's higher total alkalinity, relative to the global-ocean mean, enhances the Mediterranean's total inventory of anthropogenic carbon by 10%. Yet the corresponding average anthropogenic change in surface pH does not differ significantly from the global-ocean average, despite higher total alkalinity. In Mediterranean deep waters, the pH change is estimated to be between −0.005 and −0.06 pH units.

  5. Bacterial community composition in different sediments from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: a comparison of four 16S ribosomal DNA clone libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polymenakou, Paraskevi N; Bertilsson, Stefan; Tselepides, Anastasios; Stephanou, Euripides G

    2005-10-01

    The regional variability of sediment bacterial community composition and diversity was studied by comparative analysis of four large 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) clone libraries from sediments in different regions of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (Thermaikos Gulf, Cretan Sea, and South lonian Sea). Amplified rDNA restriction analysis of 664 clones from the libraries indicate that the rDNA richness and evenness was high: for example, a near-1:1 relationship among screened clones and number of unique restriction patterns when up to 190 clones were screened for each library. Phylogenetic analysis of 207 bacterial 16S rDNA sequences from the sediment libraries demonstrated that Gamma-, Delta-, and Alphaproteobacteria, Holophaga/Acidobacteria, Planctomycetales, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia were represented in all four libraries. A few clones also grouped with the Betaproteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Spirochaetales, Chlamydiae, Firmicutes, and candidate division OPl 1. The abundance of sequences affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria was higher in libraries from shallow sediments in the Thermaikos Gulf (30 m) and the Cretan Sea (100 m) compared to the deeper South Ionian station (2790 m). Most sequences in the four sediment libraries clustered with uncultured 16S rDNA phylotypes from marine habitats, and many of the closest matches were clones from hydrocarbon seeps, benzene-mineralizing consortia, sulfate reducers, sulk oxidizers, and ammonia oxidizers. LIBSHUFF statistics of 16S rDNA gene sequences from the four libraries revealed major differences, indicating either a very high richness in the sediment bacterial communities or considerable variability in bacterial community composition among regions, or both.

  6. Mediterranean climate and some tropical teleconnections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alpert, P.; Price, C.; Krichak, S.; Saaroni, H.; Osetinsky, I.; Barkan, J.; Kishcha, P.; Ziv, B.

    2006-01-01

    Some strong natural fluctuations of climate in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) region are shown to be connected to the major tropical systems, e.g., El Ni no Southern Oscillation, South Asian Monsoon and hurricanes. Modelling of the severe floods suggests a relation to tropical hurricanes. For a specific event, high-resolution modelling of the severe flood on December 3-5, 2001 in Israel suggests a relation to hurricane Olga. In order to understand the factors governing the Eastern Mediterranean climate variability in the summer season, the relationship between extreme summer temperatures and the South Asian Monsoon was examined. Other tropical factors, like the Red Sea Trough system and the Saharan dust, also contribute to the Mediterranean climate variability

  7. Sound speed in the Mediterranean Sea: an analysis from a climatological data set

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Salon

    2003-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of sound speed distribution in the Mediterranean Sea based on climatological temperature and salinity data. In the upper layers, propagation is characterised by upward refraction in winter and an acoustic channel in summer. The seasonal cycle of the Mediterranean and the presence of gyres and fronts create a wide range of spatial and temporal variabilities, with relevant differences between the western and eastern basins. It is shown that the analysis of a climatological data set can help in defining regions suitable for successful monitoring by means of acoustic tomography. Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF decomposition on the profiles, performed on the seasonal cycle for some selected areas, demonstrates that two modes account for more than 98% of the variability of the climatological distribution. Reduced order EOF analysis is able to correctly represent sound speed profiles within each zone, thus providing the a priori knowledge for Matched Field Tomography. It is also demonstrated that salinity can affect the tomographic inversion, creating a higher degree of complexity than in the open oceans.Key words. Oceanography: general (marginal and semi-enclosed seas; ocean acoustics

  8. Isolation By Distance (IBD) signals in the deep-water rose shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) (Decapoda, Panaeidae) in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo Brutto, S; Maggio, T; Arculeo, M

    2013-09-01

    The identification of boundaries of genetic demes is one of the major goals for fishery management, and few Mediterranean commercial species have not been studied from a genetic point of view yet. The deep-water rose shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) is one of the most important components of commercial landings in Mediterranean, its fishery aspects have received much attention, regrettably without any concern for the genetic architecture of its populations. The population structure in the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea (captures from six Italian and two Greek landings) has been analysed on the basis of surveys carried out with mitochondrial and AFLP markers. Data revealed the presence of a gradual discrepancy along a west-east axis. This species, occurring mainly at a depth of between 100 and 400 m, is not strongly confined in isolated demes, but it demonstrates an 'Isolation By Distance' model, within the Mediterranean Sea, which includes geographical areas with a some degree of isolation. The role of hydrodynamic forces, such as currents, water fronts, is discussed; and a further evidence of the 'Levantine isolation' within Mediterranean basin is shown. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Atmospheric Deposition Effects on Plankton Communities in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Mesocosm Experimental Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana M. Tsagaraki

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The effects of atmospheric deposition on plankton community structure were examined during a mesocosm experiment using water from the Cretan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean, an area with a high frequency of atmospheric aerosol deposition events. The experiment was carried out under spring-summer conditions (May 2012. The main objective was to study the changes induced from a single deposition event, on the autotrophic and heterotrophic surface microbial populations, from viruses to zooplankton. To this end, the effects of Saharan dust addition were compared to the effects of mixed aerosol deposition on the plankton community over 9 days. The effects of the dust addition seemed to propagate throughout the food-web, with changes observed in nearly all of the measured parameters up to copepods. The dust input stimulated increased productivity, both bacterial and primary. Picoplankton, both autotrophic and heterotrophic capitalized on the changes in nutrient availability and microzooplankton abundance also increased due to increased availability of prey. Five days after the simulated deposition, copepods also responded, with an increase in egg production. The results suggest that nutrients were transported up the food web through autotrophs, which were favored by the Nitrogen supplied through both treatments. Although, the effects of individual events are generally short lived, increased deposition frequency and magnitude of events is expected in the area, due to predicted reduction in rainfall and increase in temperature, which can lead to more persistent changes in plankton community structure. Here we demonstrate how a single dust deposition event leads to enhancement of phytoplankton and microzooplankton and can eventually, through copepods, transport more nutrients up the food web in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

  10. End-member modelling as a tool for climate reconstruction-An Eastern Mediterranean case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beuscher, Sarah; Krüger, Stefan; Ehrmann, Werner; Schmiedl, Gerhard; Milker, Yvonne; Arz, Helge; Schulz, Hartmut

    2017-01-01

    The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is a sink for terrigenous sediments from North Africa, Europe and Asia Minor. Its sediments therefore provide valuable information on the climate dynamics in the source areas and the associated transport processes. We present a high-resolution dataset of sediment core M40/4_SL71, which was collected SW of Crete and spans the last ca. 180 kyr. We analysed the clay mineral composition, the grain size distribution within the silt fraction, and the abundance of major and trace elements. We tested the potential of end-member modelling on these sedimentological datasets as a tool for reconstructing the climate variability in the source regions and the associated detrital input. For each dataset, we modelled three end members. All end members were assigned to a specific provenance and sedimentary process. In total, three end members were related to the Saharan dust input, and five were related to the fluvial sediment input. One end member was strongly associated with the sapropel layers. The Saharan dust end members of the grain size and clay mineral datasets generally suggest enhanced dust export into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during the dry phases with short-term increases during Heinrich events. During the African Humid Periods, dust export was reduced but may not have completely ceased. The loading patterns of two fluvial end members show a strong relationship with the Northern Hemisphere insolation, and all fluvial end members document enhanced input during the African Humid Periods. The sapropel end member most likely reflects the fixation of redox-sensitive elements within the anoxic sapropel layers. Our results exemplify that end-member modelling is a valuable tool for interpreting extensive and multidisciplinary datasets.

  11. Rising Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperatures Amplify Extreme Summer Precipitation in Central Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volosciuk, Claudia; Maraun, Douglas; Semenov, Vladimir A.; Tilinina, Natalia; Gulev, Sergey K.; Latif, Mojib

    2016-08-01

    The beginning of the 21st century was marked by a number of severe summer floods in Central Europe associated with extreme precipitation (e.g., Elbe 2002, Oder 2010 and Danube 2013). Extratropical storms, known as Vb-cyclones, cause summer extreme precipitation events over Central Europe and can thus lead to such floodings. Vb-cyclones develop over the Mediterranean Sea, which itself strongly warmed during recent decades. Here we investigate the influence of increased Mediterranean Sea surface temperature (SST) on extreme precipitation events in Central Europe. To this end, we carry out atmosphere model simulations forced by average Mediterranean SSTs during 1970-1999 and 2000-2012. Extreme precipitation events occurring on average every 20 summers in the warmer-SST-simulation (2000-2012) amplify along the Vb-cyclone track compared to those in the colder-SST-simulation (1970-1999), on average by 17% in Central Europe. The largest increase is located southeast of maximum precipitation for both simulated heavy events and historical Vb-events. The responsible physical mechanism is increased evaporation from and enhanced atmospheric moisture content over the Mediterranean Sea. The excess in precipitable water is transported from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Europe causing stronger precipitation extremes over that region. Our findings suggest that Mediterranean Sea surface warming amplifies Central European precipitation extremes.

  12. A nested Atlantic-Mediterranean Sea general circulation model for operational forecasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Oddo

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available A new numerical general circulation ocean model for the Mediterranean Sea has been implemented nested within an Atlantic general circulation model within the framework of the Marine Environment and Security for the European Area project (MERSEA, Desaubies, 2006. A 4-year twin experiment was carried out from January 2004 to December 2007 with two different models to evaluate the impact on the Mediterranean Sea circulation of open lateral boundary conditions in the Atlantic Ocean. One model considers a closed lateral boundary in a large Atlantic box and the other is nested in the same box in a global ocean circulation model. Impact was observed comparing the two simulations with independent observations: ARGO for temperature and salinity profiles and tide gauges and along-track satellite observations for the sea surface height. The improvement in the nested Atlantic-Mediterranean model with respect to the closed one is particularly evident in the salinity characteristics of the Modified Atlantic Water and in the Mediterranean sea level seasonal variability.

  13. Diversity of cultivated and metabolically active aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria along an oligotrophic gradient in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Jeanthon

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP bacteria play significant roles in the bacterioplankton productivity and biogeochemical cycles of the surface ocean. In this study, we applied both cultivation and mRNA-based molecular methods to explore the diversity of AAP bacteria along an oligotrophic gradient in the Mediterranean Sea in early summer 2008. Colony-forming units obtained on three different agar media were screened for the production of bacteriochlorophyll-a (BChl-a, the light-harvesting pigment of AAP bacteria. BChl-a-containing colonies represented a low part of the cultivable fraction. In total, 54 AAP strains were isolated and the phylogenetic analyses based on their 16S rRNA and pufM genes showed that they were all affiliated to the Alphaproteobacteria. The most frequently isolated strains belonged to Citromicrobium bathyomarinum, and Erythrobacter and Roseovarius species. Most other isolates were related to species not reported to produce BChl-a and/or may represent novel taxa. Direct extraction of RNA from seawater samples enabled the analysis of the expression of pufM, the gene coding for the M subunit of the reaction centre complex of aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis. Clone libraries of pufM gene transcripts revealed that most phylotypes were highly similar to sequences previously recovered from the Mediterranean Sea and a large majority (~94 % was affiliated to the Gammaproteobacteria. The most abundantly detected phylotypes occurred in the western and eastern Mediterranean basins. However, some were exclusively detected in the eastern basin, reflecting the highest diversity of pufM transcripts observed in this ultra-oligotrophic region. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document extensively the diversity of AAP isolates and to unveil the active AAP community in an oligotrophic marine environment. By pointing out the discrepancies

  14. Plastic Accumulation in the Mediterranean Sea

    OpenAIRE

    C?zar, Andr?s; Sanz-Mart?n, Marina; Mart?, Elisa; Gonz?lez-Gordillo, J. Ignacio; Ubeda, B?rbara; G?lvez, Jos? ?.; Irigoien, Xabier; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2015-01-01

    Copyright: © 2015 Cózar et al. Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by ...

  15. Neogene Tectonics of Part of the Junction of Cyprus and Hellenic Arcs in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Küçük, H. M.; Dondurur, D.; ćifçi, G.; Gürçay, S.; Hall, J.; Yaltırak, C.; Aksu, A. E.

    2012-04-01

    the Finike Basin is puzzling and requires that the Finike Basin either remained above the depositional surface during the Messinian or was isolated from the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

  16. Relationships between fish, sea urchins and macroalgae: The structure of shallow rocky sublittoral communities in the Cyclades, Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Cebrian, Emma; Kokkoris, Giorgos D.; Ballesteros, Enric; Sala, Enric

    2012-08-01

    Historical overfishing is the most likely explanation for the depletion of the shallow sublittoral communities in many areas not least in the Cyclades Archipelago, Greece. The present study is the first quantitative study of the shallow rocky sublittoral of the Cyclades based on in situ underwater surveys of algal cover, and fish and sea urchin abundance at 181 sampling sites in 25 islands to provide a baseline and investigate the relationship between these communities. Algal turf was the most abundant algal functional group, and canopy algae of the genus Cystoseira were more abundant at the northern islands. A range in fish biomass of almost two orders of magnitude was found across islands, but overall the Cyclades displayed much lower values than fished areas of the Western Mediterranean. We observed apex predators only in 25% of our sampling sites, and their biomass was uncorrelated to total fish biomass, indicating a depleted ecosystem. Sea urchin biomass was also low but similar to values found in other Mediterranean islands and was positively correlated with barrens. We observed a gradient of benthic community complexity from sea urchin barrens to communities dominated by Cystoseira spp. There was no correlation between sea urchins and their predators Diplodus spp., which presented extremely low densities.

  17. The Mediterranean Sea Mollusks - a school shell collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcu, Delia

    2017-04-01

    School: 1. "Ana Aslan" Technical College, Street Decebal 1, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2. Orthodox Theological Seminary, Avram Iancu Square No.18, Cluj-Napoca, Romania The aim of the present project is to develop the students awareness of human activities impact on mollusks population in the Mediterranean Sea. Students have studied about the Geography of the Mediterranean Sea and they have the theoretical knowledge related to the its specific flora and fauna. One of the main fears related to the Mediterranean Sea is the loss of marine and coastal biodiversity due to biological disturbance, climate change and human activities. Out of all reasons, the human impact is considered to be the major cause of habitat loss, degradation and extinction. Regarding the Phylum Mollusca a major threat is represented by unregulated fisheries and shell traffic. In order to enable the students possibility to observe the great diversity of the Phylum Mollusca in the Mediterranean Sea, a school shell collection was made. The shells were brought by the students and they had to mention if the shells were bought, received as a souvenir or picked from their environment. Further, the students learned how to prepare the shells for the collection. The next step involved the shell classification and by this activity the students learned how to use the IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature database to identify the threatened species, as well as the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) for a correct identification of the species. As Romania romania bordering the Black Sea, the students had the opportunity to identify the mollusks species common for both the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The objectives of this study were to highlight the human-environment relation and the interconnection between environment conditions and life quality, to develop the students research, exploration and investigation skills, to be able to identify the causes of species extinction and methods

  18. Ozone climatology over western Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pibiri, G.; Randaccio, P.; Serra, A.; Sollai, A.

    1984-01-01

    A preliminary climatology of atmospheric ozone over Western Mediterranean Sea is given by analysis of the upper observations of O 3 carried out at Cagliari-Elmas station from 1968 to 1976. Some peculiarities are here illustrated and discussed

  19. Genetic structure of Octopus vulgaris (Cephalopoda, Octopodidae) in the central Mediterranean Sea inferred from the mitochondrial COIII gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadhlaoui-Zid, Karima; Knittweis, Leyla; Aurelle, Didier; Nafkha, Chaala; Ezzeddine, Soufia; Fiorentino, Fabio; Ghmati, Hisham; Ceriola, Luca; Jarboui, Othman; Maltagliati, Ferruccio

    2012-01-01

    The polymorphism of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase III was studied in the Mediterranean octopus, Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797. A total of 202 specimens from seven sampling sites were analysed with the aim of elucidating patterns of genetic structure in the central Mediterranean Sea and to give an insight into the phylogeny of the Octopus genus. Phylogenetic analyses showed that individuals from the central Mediterranean belong to the O. vulgaris species whose limits should nevertheless be clarified. Concerning genetic structure, two high-frequency haplotypes were present in all locations. The overall genetic divergence (Φ(ST)=0.05, P<0.05) indicated a significant genetic structuring in the study area and an AMOVA highlighted a significant break between western and eastern Mediterranean basins (Φ(CT)=0.094, P<0.05). Possible explanations for the observed patterns of genetic structuring are discussed with reference to their relevance for fisheries management. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  20. A Review of Plastic-Associated Pressures: Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Australian Shearwaters as Case Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cristina Fossi

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Impacts of debris on marine fauna occur throughout the marine ecosystems, with adverse impacts documented on over 1,400 species; impacts can be divided into those arising from entanglement, and those from ingestion. Ingestion of, and entanglement in, debris has been documented in over 60% of all cetacean species. Seabirds are also impacted by debris predominately through entanglement and ingestion, with the number of species negatively impacted increasing from 138 to 174 over the past two decades. In the marine environment, cetaceans and seabirds are widely regarded as reliable sentinels due to their position near the top of the marine food web, conspicuous nature, and reliance on marine resources; for this reason, this paper is focused on seabirds and cetaceans as sentinels of ocean change. In particular, two case studies are considered in relation to different levels of environmental anthropogenic impact: the cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea and seabirds of eastern Australia. Here we describe two recent studies used to diagnose the toxicological stress related to debris-associated pressures in cetaceans and seabirds. These studies highlight the diversity and scale of impacts being felt by marine species and the role these organisms can play in our society as charismatic sentinels of ocean health. Seabirds and marine mammals are exposed, in these key areas, to a variety of adversities that potentially decrease their survival or reproductive success. These include weather, food shortages, predators, competitors, parasites, disease, and human-induced effects and plastic pollution. Each factor affects seabirds and marine mammals in a different way, but more importantly, factors can also interact and create impacts far greater than any one factor alone. The Australian and Mediterranean case studies presented here emphasize the need to consider multiple sources of mortality when developing management plans for the conservation of vulnerable

  1. A new squat lobster of the genus Munidopsis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Munidopsidae from the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrique Macpherson

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available A new species of Munidopsis Whiteaves, 1874 is reported from the south of Crete, at 2046-2104 m, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The species (M. ariadne is morphologically closely related to M. maunga Schnabel and Bruce, 2006, from New Zealand. The species is also close to M. polymorpha Koelbel, 1892, from Lanzarote, Canary Islands, and M. talismani A. Milne Edwards and Bouvier, 1894, from the NW Africa. The new species is described and illustrated and a diagnosis along with full illustration is provided for the latter 2 species.

  2. Environmental Assessment for Selected Regions in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

    7-23. Finetti, I. and C. Morelli (1972). Wide scale digital seismic exploration of the Mediterranean Sea. Bollettino Di Geofisica Teorica Applicata 14...291-342. Finetti, I. and C. Morelli (1973). Geophysical exploration of the Mediterranean. Bollettino Di Geofisica Teorica Applicata 15: 263-341

  3. Particle fluxes in the deep Eastern Mediterranean basins: the role of ocean vertical velocities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Patara

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the relationship between deep sedimentary fluxes and ocean current vertical velocities in an offshore area of the Ionian Sea, the deepest basin of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Sediment trap data are collected at 500 m and 2800 m depth in two successive moorings covering the period September 1999–May 2001. A tight coupling is observed between the upper and deep traps and the estimated particle sinking rates are more than 200 m day−1. The current vertical velocity field is computed from a 1/16°×1/16° Ocean General Circulation Model simulation and from the wind stress curl. Current vertical velocities are larger and more variable than Ekman vertical velocities, yet the general patterns are alike. Current vertical velocities are generally smaller than 1 m day−1: we therefore exclude a direct effect of downward velocities in determining high sedimentation rates. However we find that upward velocities in the subsurface layers of the water column are positively correlated with deep particle fluxes. We thus hypothesize that upwelling would produce an increase in upper ocean nutrient levels – thus stimulating primary production and grazing – a few weeks before an enhanced vertical flux is found in the sediment traps. High particle sedimentation rates may be attained by means of rapidly sinking fecal pellets produced by gelatinous macro-zooplankton. Other sedimentation mechanisms, such as dust deposition, are also considered in explaining large pulses of deep particle fluxes. The fast sinking rates estimated in this study might be an evidence of the efficiency of the biological pump in sequestering organic carbon from the surface layers of the deep Eastern Mediterranean basins.

  4. Dinoflagellate cysts from surface sediments of Syracuse Bay (Western Ionian Sea, Mediterranean)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubino, Fernando; Belmonte, Manuela; Caroppo, Carmela; Giacobbe, Mariagrazia

    2010-02-01

    The occurrence and abundance of dinoflagellate cysts were investigated for the first time at an Ionian locality along the south-eastern coast of Sicily, subject to spring-summer harmful algal events. Thirty-four cyst morphotypes were recognized belonging to 24 taxa identified at least at the genus level. Cyst abundance in surface sediments ranged from 43 to 828 cysts g -1 dry weight, with the highest numbers recorded at the most restricted station. Germination experiments allowed confirmation of species identification determined by cyst analysis and provided clonal cultures of Alexandrium minutum and Gymnodinium nolleri, two of the bloom-forming species in the area. This represents the first record of G. nolleri for the Mediterranean Sea.

  5. Genetics reveal the identity and origin of the lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bariche, Michel; Kleitou, Periklis; Kalogirou, Stefanos; Bernardi, Giacomo

    2017-07-28

    Following aquarium releases, invasive lionfishes have colonized large areas of the Caribbean and western Atlantic, resulting in an immense ecological damage. The early stages of that invasion are poorly known. Indeed, a lag of time between the introduction and detection often preclude genetic characterization of that crucial phase. With elevated awareness, the recent invasion of Pterois miles was quickly detected in the Mediterranean Sea. We hereby show that the very first individuals establishing populations in the Mediterranean Sea display haplotypes that nest within the large genetic diversity of Red Sea individuals, thus indicating an invasion via the Suez Canal. We also show that only two haplotypes are detected in the Mediterranean Sea, suggesting that few individuals may have been involved in the invasion. Thus, we conclude that the Mediterranean invasion is the result of a movement of individuals from the Red Sea, rather than from other means, and that low genetic diversity does not seem to have a negative effect on the success and spread of lionfish into the Mediterranean Sea.

  6. 137Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: A cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thebault, Herve; Rodriguez y Baena, Alessia M.; Andral, Bruno; Barisic, Delko; Albaladejo, Jose Benedicto; Bologa, Alexandru S.; Boudjenoun, Redouane; Delfanti, Roberta; Egorov, Victor N.; El Khoukhi, Tahar; Florou, Heleni; Kniewald, Goran; Noureddine, Abdelkader

    2008-01-01

    The common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was selected as unique biomonitor species to implement a regional monitoring programme, the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW), in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As of today, and upon standardization of the methodological approach, the MMW Network has been able to quantify 137 Cs levels in mussels from 60 coastal stations and to produce the first distribution map of this artificial radionuclide at the scale of the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas. While measured 137 Cs levels were found to be very low (usually -1 wet wt) 137 Cs activity concentrations in the Black Sea and North Aegean Sea were up to two orders of magnitude higher than those in the western Mediterranean Basin. Such effects, far from representing a threat to human populations or the environment, reflect a persistent signature of the Chernobyl fallout in this area

  7. Improving SMOS Sea Surface Salinity in the Western Mediterranean Sea through Multivariate and Multifractal Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Estrella Olmedo

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A new methodology using a combination of debiased non-Bayesian retrieval, DINEOF (Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions and multifractal fusion has been used to obtain Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS Sea Surface Salinity (SSS fields over the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The debiased non-Bayesian retrieval mitigates the systematic errors produced by the contamination of the land over the sea. In addition, this retrieval improves the coverage by means of multiyear statistical filtering criteria. This methodology allows obtaining SMOS SSS fields in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the resulting SSS suffers from a seasonal (and other time-dependent bias. This time-dependent bias has been characterized by means of specific Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs. Finally, high resolution Sea Surface Temperature (OSTIA SST maps have been used for improving the spatial and temporal resolution of the SMOS SSS maps. The presented methodology practically reduces the error of the SMOS SSS in the Mediterranean Sea by half. As a result, the SSS dynamics described by the new SMOS maps in the Algerian Basin and the Balearic Front agrees with the one described by in situ SSS, and the mesoscale structures described by SMOS in the Alboran Sea and in the Gulf of Lion coincide with the ones described by the high resolution remotely-sensed SST images (AVHRR.

  8. Understanding the unique biogeochemistry of the Mediterranean Sea: Insights from a coupled phosphorus and nitrogen model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powley, Helen R.; Krom, Michael D.; Van Cappellen, Philippe

    2017-06-01

    The Mediterranean Sea (MS) is an oligotrophic basin whose offshore water column exhibits low dissolved inorganic phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) concentrations, unusually high nitrate (NO3) to phosphate (PO4) ratios, and distinct biogeochemical differences between the Western Mediterranean Sea (WMS) and Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS). A new mass balance model of P and N cycling in the WMS is coupled to a pre-existing EMS model to understand these biogeochemical features. Estimated land-derived inputs of reactive P and N to the WMS and EMS are similar per unit surface area, but marine inputs are 4 to 5 times greater for the WMS, which helps explain the approximately 3 times higher primary productivity of the WMS. The lateral inputs of marine sourced inorganic and organic P support significant fractions of new production in the WMS and EMS, similar to subtropical gyres. The mass balance calculations imply that the MS is net heterotrophic: dissolved organic P and N entering the WMS and EMS, primarily via the Straits of Gibraltar and Sicily, are mineralized to PO4 and NO3 and subsequently exported out of the basin by the prevailing anti-estuarine circulation. The high deepwater (DW) molar NO3:PO4 ratios reflect the high reactive N:P ratio of inputs to the WMS and EMS, combined with low denitrification rates. The lower DW NO3:PO4 ratio of the WMS (21) compared to the EMS (28) reflects lower reactive N:P ratios of inputs to the WMS, including the relatively low N:P ratio of Atlantic surface water flowing into the WMS.Plain Language SummaryThe Mediterranean Sea (MS) is a marine desert: it exhibits extremely low biological productivity despite being almost entirely surrounded by land with high nutrient loadings from a large coastal population. To explain this paradox, we analyze the sources and fate of the two main nutrient elements that support the production of marine biomass, phosphorus (P), and nitrogen (N). We find that the main source of P and N to the MS is inflow

  9. The Temporal Dynamics of Coastal Phytoplankton and Bacterioplankton in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ofrat Raveh

    Full Text Available This study considers variability in phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacterial abundances and production rates, in one of the most oligotrophic marine regions in the world-the Levantine Basin. The temporal dynamics of these planktonic groups were studied in the coastal waters of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea approximately every two weeks for a total of two years. Heterotrophic bacteria were abundant mostly during late summer and midwinter, and were positively correlated with bacterial production and with N2 fixation. Based on size fractionating, picophytoplankton was abundant during the summer, whereas nano-microphytoplankton predominated during the winter and early spring, which were also evident in the size-fractionated primary production rates. Autotrophic abundance and production correlated negatively with temperature, but did not correlate with inorganic nutrients. Furthermore, a comparison of our results with results from the open Levantine Basin demonstrates that autotrophic and heterotrophic production, as well as N2 fixation rates, are considerably higher in the coastal habitat than in the open sea, while nutrient levels or cell abundance are not different. These findings have important ecological implications for food web dynamics and for biological carbon sequestration in this understudied region.

  10. Sugars in atmospheric aerosols over the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodosi, Christina; Panagiotopoulos, Christos; Nouara, Amel; Zarmpas, Pavlos; Nicolaou, Panagiota; Violaki, Kalliopi; Kanakidou, Maria; Sempéré, Richard; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2017-04-01

    The role of biomass combustion and primary bio-particles in atmospheric PM10 aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean over a two-year period was estimated by studying sugar tracers. Sugar concentrations ranged from 6 to 334 ng m-3, while their contributions to the organic carbon (OC) and water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) pools were 3 and 11%, respectively. Over the studied period, glucose and levoglucosan were the two most abundant sugars accounting equally about 25% of the total sugar concentration in PM10 aerosols whereas fructose, sucrose, and mannitol represented 18%, 15% and 10%, respectively. Primary saccharides (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) peaked at the beginning of spring (21, 17 and 15 ng m-3, respectively), indicating significant contributions of bioaerosols to the total organic aerosol mass. On the other hand, higher concentrations of anhydrosugars (burning biomass tracers including levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan) were recorded in winter (19, 1.4 and 0.2 ng m-3, respectively) than in summer (9.1, 1.1 and 0.5 ng m-3, respectively). Levoglucosan was the dominant monosaccharide in winter (37% of total sugars) with less contribution in summer (19%) probably in relation with enhanced photochemical oxidation reactions by hydroxyl (ṡOH) radicals impacting anhydrosugars. We estimate that atmospheric oxidation by ṡOH decreases levoglucosan levels by 54% during summer. Biomass burning, based on levoglucosan observations, was estimated to contribute up to 13% to the annual average OC measured at Finokalia. Annual OC, WSOC, and carbohydrate dry deposition fluxes for the studied period were estimated to 414, 175, and 9 mg C m-2 y-1, respectively. Glucose and levoglucosan accounted for 34% and 2% of the total sugar fluxes. According to our estimations, atmospheric OC and WSOC inputs account for ˜0.70% of the carbon produced by annual primary production (PP) in the Cretan Sea. Considering the entire Mediterranean, dry deposition of OC could provide at

  11. A prototype statistical approach of oil pollution in the Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ventikos, N.P.; Psaraftis, H.N.

    1998-01-01

    In this paper, we present a detailed statistical survey of oil pollution in the greater area of the Mediterranean Sea (with a preference in the Greek Seas: eg. the Aegean Sea or the Ioanian Sea and the respective Greek fleet). The Mediterranean Sea exhibits a noticeable increase of oil pollution within the last 15 years as documented by data that is presented within this work. A new electronic data base tool with a multitude of operational capabilities that utilizes data from the REMPEC Organization in raw format is introduced. We further present a statistical analysis of the data which differentiates each incident according to the volume of spilled oil and we conclude with some interesting results and comments. (author)

  12. Mediterranean extension and the Africa-Eurasia collision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolivet, Laurent; Faccenna, Claudio

    2000-12-01

    A number of tectonic events occurred contemporaneously in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East 30-25 Myr ago. These events are contemporaneous to or immediately followed a strong reduction of the northward absolute motion of Africa. Geological observations in the Neogene extensional basins of the Mediterranean region reveal that extension started synchronously from west to east 30-25 Myr ago. In the western Mediterranean it started in the Gulf of Lion, Valencia trough, and Alboran Sea as well as between the Maures massif and Corsica between 33 and 27 Ma ago. It then propagated eastward and southward to form to Liguro-Provençal basin and the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the eastern Mediterranean, extension started in the Aegean Sea before the deposition of marine sediments onto the collapsed Hellenides in the Aquitanian and before the cooling of high-temperature metamorphic core complexes between 20 and 25 Ma. Foundering of the inner zones of the Carpathians and extension in the Panonnian basin also started in the late Oligocene-early Miocene. The body of the Afro-Arabian plate first collided with Eurasia in the eastern Mediterranean region progressively from the Eocene to the Oligocene. Extensional tectonics was first recorded in the Gulf of Aden, Afar triple junction, and Red Sea region also in the Oligocene. A general magmatic surge occurred above all African hot spots, especially the Afar one. We explore the possibility that these drastic changes in the stress regime of the Mediterranean region and Middle East and the contemporaneous volcanic event were triggerred by the Africa/Arabia-Eurasia collision, which slowed down the motion of Africa. The present-day Mediterranean Sea was then locked between two collision zones, and the velocity of retreat of the African slab increased and became larger than the velocity of convergence leading to backarc extension. East of the Caucasus and northern Zagros collision zone the Afro-Arabian plate was still pulled by the slab

  13. Biodiversity patterns of crustacean suprabenthic assemblages along an oligotrophic gradient in the bathyal Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Mariana; Frutos, Inmaculada; Tecchio, Samuele; Lampadariou, Nikolaos; Company, Joan B.; Ramirez-Llodra, Eva; Cunha, Marina R.

    2017-03-01

    Crustacean suprabenthic abundance, community structure, α-diversity (both taxonomic and trophic) and β-diversity were studied along a West-East gradient of oligotrophy in the deep Mediterranean Sea. The assemblages were sampled with a suprabenthic sledge in three regions (western, central and eastern basins) at three water depths (1200, 2000 and 3000 m) in May-June 2009. Environmental data were obtained at each sampling location including sediment properties, oceanographic variables near the seafloor and in the water column, and proxies of epipelagic productivity at the surface. Our results, concerning the crustacean component of the suprabenthos, showed complex trends in community structure and biodiversity across different spatial scales (longitudinal, bathymetric, and near-bottom distribution). A decrease in the number of species and abundance, accompanied by changes in the trophic structure of the assemblages were observed from West to East. In the eastern region the assemblages were impoverished in number of trophic guilds and trophic diversity. The West-East oligotrophic gradient was identified as the main driver in community structure as shown by the significant correlation with trophic environmental variables. Differences in community structure across regions were more marked at greater depths, while at the shallower sites assemblages were more similar. Within each basin, abundance, number of species and number of trophic groups decreased with depth, showing high turnover rates between 1200 and 2000 m depths. The small-scale (0-150 cm) vertical distribution of the suprabenthos was interpreted in relation to the species' functional traits (e.g. swimming activity, migratory behaviour, bottom dependence, feeding habits). Bottom-dependent and more mobile components of the suprabenthos were apparently responding differently to the various environmental challenges imposed by the large-scale longitudinal and bathymetric gradients. We propose that the bathyal

  14. Revised Distribution of Bactrocera tryoni in Eastern Australia and Effect on Possible Incursions of Mediterranean Fruit Fly: Development of Australia's Eastern Trading Block.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominiak, Bernard C; Mapson, Richard

    2017-12-05

    Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), commonly called 'Queensland fruit fly' in Australia, and Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) are the two most economically important fruit fly in Australia with B. tryoni in the east and Mediterranean fruit fly in the west. The two species coexisted for several decades, but it is believed that B. tryoni displaced Mediterranean fruit fly. In southeastern Australia, this was deemed inadequate for export market access, and a large fruit fly free zone (fruit fly exclusion zone) was developed in 1996 where B. tryoni was eradicated by each state department in their portion of the zone. This zone caused an artificial restricted distribution of B. tryoni. When the fruit fly exclusion zone was withdrawn in Victoria and New South Wales in 2013, B. tryoni became endemic once again in this area and the national distribution of B. tryoni changed. For export markets, B. tryoni is now deemed endemic to all eastern Australian states, except for the Greater Sunraysia Pest-Free Area. All regulatory controls have been removed between eastern states, except for some small zones, subject to domestic market access requirements. The eastern Australian states now form a B. tryoni endemic trading group or block. All Australian states and territories maintain legislation to regulate the movement of potentially infested host fruit into their states. In particular, eastern states remain active and regulate the entry of commodities possibly infested with Mediterranean fruit fly. The combination of regulatory controls limits the chances of Mediterranean fruit fly entering eastern states, and if it did, Mediterranean fruit fly is unlikely to establish in the opposition to a well-established B. tryoni population. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Mesopelagic Prokaryotes Alter Surface Phytoplankton Production during Simulated Deep Mixing Experiments in Eastern Mediterranean Sea Waters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Or Hazan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Mesopelagic prokaryotes (archaea and bacteria, which are transported together with nutrient-rich intermediate-water to the surface layer by deep convection in the oceans (e.g., winter mixing, upwelling systems, can interact with surface microbial populations. This interaction can potentially affect production rates and biomass of surface microbial populations, and thus play an important role in the marine carbon cycle and oceanic carbon sequestration. The Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS is one of the most oligotrophic and warm systems in the world's oceans, with usually very shallow winter mixing (<200 m and lack of large-size spring algal blooms. In this study, we collected seawater (0–1,500 m in 9 different cruises at the open EMS during both the stratified and the mixed seasons. We show that the EMS is a highly oligotrophic regime, resulting in low autotrophic biomass and primary productivity and relatively high heterotrophic prokaryotic biomass and production. Further, we simulated deep water mixing in on-board microcosms using Levantine surface (LSW, ~0.5 m and intermediate (LIW, ~400 m waters at a 9:1 ratio, respectively and examined the responses of the microbial populations to such a scenario. We hypothesized that the LIW, being nutrient-rich (e.g., N, P and a “hot-spot” for microbial activity (due to the warm conditions that prevail in these depths, may supply the LSW with not only key-limiting nutrients but also with viable and active heterotrophic prokaryotes that can interact with the ambient surface microbial population. Indeed, we show that LIW heterotrophic prokaryotes negatively affected the surface phytoplankton populations, resulting in lower chlorophyll-a levels and primary production rates. This may be due to out-competition of phytoplankton by LIW populations for resources and/or by a phytoplankton cell lysis via viral infection. Our results suggest that phytoplankton in the EMS may not likely form blooms, even after

  16. New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (October 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. CROCETTA

    2015-11-01

    concomitantly from the entire Aegean Sea. Turkey: the alien rhodophyte Antithamnion hubbsii is first recorded from Turkey and the entire eastern Mediterranean. New distributional data are also offered for the native fishes Alectis alexandrina and Heptranchias perlo. In particular, the former record is constituted by a juvenile of 21.38 mm total length, whilst the latter by a mature male. Cyprus: the rare native cephalopod Macrotritopus defilippi, and the alien crab Atergatis roseus, sea slug Plocamopherus ocellatus and fish Cheilodipterus novemstriatus are first recorded from the entire country. Lebanon: the alien crabs Actaea savignii and Matuta victor, as well as the alien fish Synanceia verrucosa, are first recorded from the entire country. In addition, the first Mediterranean record of A. savignii is backdated to 2006, whilst the high number of M. victor specimens observed in Lebanon first suggest its establishment in the basin. The Atlantic fishes Paranthias furcifer and Seriola fasciata, and the circumtropical Rachycentron canadum, are also first reported from the country. P. furcifer record backdate its presence in the Mediterranean to 2007, whilst S. fasciata records backdate its presence in the eastern Mediterranean to 2005. Finally, two of these latter species have been recently ascribed to alien species, but all the three species may better fit the cryptogenic category, if not a new one.

  17. The Mediterranean Sea system: a review and an introduction to the special issue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Tanhua

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea characterized by high salinities, temperatures and densities. The net evaporation exceeds the precipitation, driving an anti-estuarine circulation through the Strait of Gibraltar, contributing to very low nutrient concentrations. The Mediterranean Sea has an active overturning circulation, one shallow cell that communicates directly with the Atlantic Ocean, and two deep overturning cells, one in each of the two main basins. It is surrounded by populated areas and is thus sensitive to anthropogenic forcing. Several dramatic changes in the oceanographic and biogeochemical conditions have been observed during the past several decades, emphasizing the need to better monitor and understand the changing conditions and their drivers. During 2011 three oceanographic cruises were conducted in a coordinated fashion in order to produce baseline data of important physical and biogeochemical parameters that can be compared to historic data and be used as reference for future observational campaigns. In this article we provide information on the Mediterranean Sea oceanographic situation, and present a short review that will serve as background information for the special issue in Ocean Science on "Physical, chemical and biological oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea". An important contribution of this article is the set of figures showing the large-scale distributions of physical and chemical properties along the full length of the Mediterranean Sea.

  18. Low planktic foraminiferal diversity and abundance observed in a spring 2013 west-east Mediterranean Sea plankton tow transect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallo, Miguel; Ziveri, Patrizia; Mortyn, P. Graham; Schiebel, Ralf; Grelaud, Michael

    2017-05-01

    Planktic foraminifera were collected with 150 µm BONGO nets from the upper 200 m water depth at 20 stations across the Mediterranean Sea between 2 May and 2 June 2013. The main aim is to characterize the species distribution and test the covariance between foraminiferal area density (ρA) and seawater carbonate chemistry in a biogeochemical gradient including ultraoligotrophic conditions. Average foraminifera abundances are 1.42 ± 1.43 ind. 10 m-3 (ranging from 0.11 to 5.20 ind. 10 m-3), including 12 morphospecies. Large differences in species assemblages and total abundances are observed between the different Mediterranean sub-basins, with an overall dominance of spinose, symbiont-bearing species indicating oligotrophic conditions. The highest values in absolute abundance are found in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea. The western basin is dominated by Globorotalia inflata and Globigerina bulloides at slightly lower standing stocks than in the eastern basin. In contrast, the planktic foraminiferal assemblage in the warmer, saltier, and more nutrient-limited eastern basin is dominated by Globigerinoides ruber (white). These new results, when combined with previous findings, suggest that temperature-induced surface water stratification and food availability are the main factors controlling foraminiferal distribution. In the oligotrophic and highly alkaline and supersaturated with respect to calcite and aragonite Mediterranean surface water, standing stocks and ρA of G. ruber (white) and G. bulloides are affected by both food availability and seawater carbonate chemistry. Rapid warming increased surface ocean stratification impacting food availability and changes in trophic conditions could be the causes of reduced foraminiferal abundance, diversity, and species-specific changes in planktic foraminiferal calcification.

  19. Morphological and genetic analyses of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Perciformes: Serranidae, in the Mediterranean Sea and of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops, in Malta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noel Vella

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-native marine species, including tropical eastern Atlantic fish species are on the increase in Malta, with shipping activities being the main vector for the movement of these alien species from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean Sea. This calls for cooperation and collaboration between various sea-users and researchers to ensure continuous monitoring of coastal biodiversity. Methods Research methods involving local fishermen cooperation in monitoring efforts to identify and track populations of alien species in the Central Mediterranean has led to new records for the genus Cephalopholis (Perciformes: Serranidae in Malta. Morphological characteristics, meristic counts and mitochondrial DNA sequences from specimens of both species sampled from Maltese waters were analysed to confirm their species identify accurately, essential for tracking their respective population expansions in the Mediterranean. Results and conclusion Results from this study have led to confirmation of the first record of the Niger Hind, Cephalopholis nigri (Günther, 1859, in the Mediterranean Sea and of the establishment of the African Hind, Cephalopholis taeniops (Valenciennes, 1828 in Maltese waters.

  20. Is the distribution of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus ecotypes in the Mediterranean Sea affected by global warming?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ostrowski

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Biological communities populating the Mediterranean Sea, which is situated at the northern boundary of the subtropics, are often claimed to be particularly affected by global warming. This is indicated, for instance, by the introduction of (subtropical species of fish or invertebrates that can displace local species. This raises the question of whether microbial communities are similarly affected, especially in the Levantine basin where sea surface temperatures have significantly risen over the last 25 years (0.50 ± 0.11 °C in average per decade, P Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, was examined during two cruises through both eastern and western Mediterranean Sea basins held in September 1999 (PROSOPE cruise and in June–July 2008 (BOUM cruise. Diversity was studied using dot blot hybridization with clade-specific 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes and/or clone libraries of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS region, with a focus on the abundance of clades that may constitute bioindicators of warm waters. During both cruises, the dominant Prochlorococcus clade in the upper mixed layer at all stations was HLI, a clade typical of temperate waters, whereas the HLII clade, the dominant group in (subtropical waters, was only present at very low concentrations. The Synechococcus community was dominated by clades I, III and IV in the northwestern waters of the Gulf of Lions and by clade III and groups genetically related to clades WPC1 and VI in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, only a few sequences of clade II, a group typical of warm waters, were observed. These data indicate that local cyanobacterial populations have not yet been displaced by their (subtropical counterparts.

  1. {sup 137}Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: A cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch programme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thebault, Herve [IRSN, LERCM, Centre Ifremer, BP 330, F-83507 La Seyne sur Mer (France); Rodriguez y Baena, Alessia M. [International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea (CIESM), 16 Blvd de Suisse, MC-98000 Principality of Monaco (Monaco); Andral, Bruno [Ifremer, BP 330, F-83507 La Seyne sur Mer (France); Barisic, Delko [Center for Marine and Environmental Research, Lab. for Trace Physical Chemistry, Ruder Boskovic Inst., P.O. Box 1016, Bijenicka 54, 10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Albaladejo, Jose Benedicto [Inst. Espanol de Oceanografi' a (IEO), Centro Oceanografico de Murcia - Calle Varadero No. 1, 30740 San Pedro del Pinatar (Spain); Bologa, Alexandru S. [National Institute for Marine Research and Development ' Grigore Antipa' , RO-900581, Constantza (Romania); Boudjenoun, Redouane [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique (COMENA), Centre de Radioprotection Recherche Nucleaire d' Algeret de Surete, Lab. d' Etudes d' Impact Radiologique, 2 Blvd F. Fanon - BP 399 Alger-Gare, 16000 Alger (Algeria); Delfanti, Roberta [Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie, l' Energia, e l' Ambiente (ENEA), Marine Environment Research Centre, La Spezia (Italy); Egorov, Victor N. [Inst. of Biology of the Southern Seas (IBSS), National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine, 2 Porspekt Nakhimova, 99 011 Sevastopol, Crimea (Ukraine); El Khoukhi, Tahar [Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires de la Maamora (CNESTEN), BP 1382 RP Rabat 10001 (Morocco); Florou, Heleni [National Centre for Scientific Research ' Demokritos' , Aghia Paraskevi 153 10, P.O. Box 60228, Athens (Greece); Kniewald, Goran [Center for Marine and Environmental Research, Lab. for Trace Physical Chemistry, Ruder Boskovic Inst., P.O. Box 1016, Bijenicka 54, 10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Noureddine, Abdelkader [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique (COMENA), Centre de Radioprotection Recherche Nucleaire d' Algeret de Surete, Lab. d' Etudes d' Impact Radiologique, 2 Blvd F. Fanon - BP 399 Alger-Gare, 16000 Alger (Algeria)] (and others)

    2008-07-01

    The common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was selected as unique biomonitor species to implement a regional monitoring programme, the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW), in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As of today, and upon standardization of the methodological approach, the MMW Network has been able to quantify {sup 137}Cs levels in mussels from 60 coastal stations and to produce the first distribution map of this artificial radionuclide at the scale of the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas. While measured {sup 137}Cs levels were found to be very low (usually <1 Bq kg{sup -1} wet wt) {sup 137}Cs activity concentrations in the Black Sea and North Aegean Sea were up to two orders of magnitude higher than those in the western Mediterranean Basin. Such effects, far from representing a threat to human populations or the environment, reflect a persistent signature of the Chernobyl fallout in this area.

  2. Precipitation Climatology over Mediterranean Basin from Ten Years of TRMM Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Amita V.; Yang, Song

    2008-01-01

    Climatological features of mesoscale rain activities over the Mediterranean region between 5 W-40 E and 28 N-48 N are examined using the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 and 2A25 rain products. The 3B42 rainrates at 3-hourly, 0.25 deg x 0.25 deg spatial resolution for the last 10 years (January 1998 to July 2007) are used to form and analyze the 5-day mean and monthly mean climatology of rainfall. Results show considerable regional and seasonal differences of rainfall over the Mediterranean Region. The maximum rainfall (3-5 mm/day) occurs over the mountain regions of Europe, while the minimum rainfall is observed over North Africa (approximately 0.5 mm/day). The main rainy season over the Mediterranean Sea extends from October to March, with maximum rainfall occurring during November-December. Over the Mediterranean Sea, an average rainrate of approximately 1-2 mm/day is observed, but during the rainy season there is 20% larger rainfall over the western Mediterranean Sea than that over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. During the rainy season, mesoscale rain systems generally propagate from west to east and from north to south over the Mediterranean region, likely to be associated with Mediterranean cyclonic disturbances resulting from interactions among large-scale circulation, orography, and land-sea temperature contrast.

  3. Status of greenhouses in Eastern Mediterranean coastal areas of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-04-20

    Apr 20, 2009 ... climate control of greenhouses owned by villagers, having only small holdings barely adequate for supporting ... Mediterranean Sea cost line in Turkey and has rather ..... stove and combination of wood burning and gas tube.

  4. Reconstruction and downscaling of Eastern Mediterranean OSCAR satellite surface current data using DINEOF

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolaidis, Andreas; Stylianou, Stavros; Georgiou, Georgios; Hajimitsis, Diofantos; Gravanis, Elias; Akylas, Evangelos

    2015-04-01

    During the last decade, Rixen (2005) and Alvera-Azkarate (2010) presented the DINEOF (Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions) method, a EOF-based technique to reconstruct missing data in satellite images. The application of DINEOF method, proved to provide relative success in various experimental trials (Wang and Liu, 2013; Nikolaidis et al., 2013;2014), and tends to be an effective and computationally affordable solution, on the problem of data reconstruction, for missing data from geophysical fields, such as chlorophyll-a, sea surface temperatures or salinity and geophysical fields derived from satellite data. Implementation of this method in a GIS system will provide with a more complete, integrated approach, permitting the expansion of the applicability over various aspects. This may be especially useful in studies where various data of different kind, have to be examined. For this purpose, in this study we have implemented and present a GIS toolbox that aims to automate the usage of the algorithm, incorporating the DINEOF codes provided by GHER (GeoHydrodynamics and Environment Research Group of University of Liege) into the ArcGIS®. ArcGIS® is a well known standard on Geographical Information Systems, used over the years for various remote sensing procedures, in sea and land environment alike. A case-study of filling the missing satellite derived current data in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea area, for a monthly period is analyzed, as an example for the effectiveness and simplicity of the usage of this toolbox. The specific study focuses to OSCAR satellite data (http://www.oscar.noaa.gov/) collected by NOAA/NESDIS Operational Surface Current Processing and Data Center, from the respective products of OSCAR Project Office Earth and Space Research organization, that provides free online access to unfiltered (1/3 degree) resolution. All the 5-day mean products data coverage were successfully reconstructed. KEY WORDS: Remote Sensing, Cyprus

  5. Spatial variations in trace element concentrations of the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, a first reference study in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ternengo, S; Marengo, M; El Idrissi, O; Yepka, J; Pasqualini, V; Gobert, S

    2018-04-01

    A study on Trace Elements (TE) from sea urchin gonads has been conducted in the western Mediterranean Sea. Contamination data were used to determine a Trace Method Pollution Index (TEPI). TE concentrations varied considerably depending on the location of the sampling stations. The results showed that five trace elements (Zn, Fe, As, Al, Cu) are ubiquitous. The geographical area considered (Corsica) represents an important range of environmental conditions and types of pressure that can be found in the western Mediterranean Sea. TEPI was used to classify the studied sites according to their degree of contamination and allowed reliable comparison of TE contamination between local and international sites. TE contamination of the western Mediterranean Sea displayed a north-to-south gradient, from the Italian coasts down through the insular Corsican coasts to the north African littoral. Due to the increasing environmental pressure on the Mediterranean Sea, a regular monitoring of TE levels in marine organisms is necessary to prevent any further environmental deterioration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Stable isotopic fractionation, climate change and episodic stagnation in the eastern Mediterranean during the late Quaternary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vergnaud-Grazzini, C [Laboratoire de Geologie Dynamique, Paris (France); Ryan, W B.F. [Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (USA). Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory; Cita, M B [Milan Univ. (Italy)

    1977-11-01

    Fluctuations in the delta/sup 18/O composition of planktonic foraminifers in eastern Mediterranean piston cores indicate cycles with amplitudes much greater than those which can be attributed alone to global ice-volume changes. Isotopic values become markedly negative within lithostratigraphic levels characterized by the apparition of organic-rich sapropels. These owe their origin to the development of euxinic bottom water during episodes of basin-wide stagnation. The depletion of delta/sup 18/O in many of the sapropels is accompanied by the occurrence of poorly diversified planktonic faunas, and both phenomena are attributed to a strong dilution of the local eastern Mediterranean surface water mass by a combination of glacial run off from large continental ice sheets and by an important increase of regional precipitation synchronous with the transition from pleniglacial to kataglacial climate. Although sapropel accumulation occurs generally during intervals of warming of the Mediterranean region as determined from a quantitative evaluation of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages, the pre-125,000 years, local warming of eastern Mediterranean surface water lagged the acme of glacial melting by up to 15,000 years. Climatic and isotopic cycles are correlative within the eastern Mediterranean for lateral distances in excess of 1000 km and, except for amplitude and phase, they are in most aspects remarkably similar to those recorded in the equatorial Pacific and Caribbean.

  7. The cycling and sea-air exchange of mercury in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean during the 2010 MED-OCEANOR cruise campaign.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fantozzi, L; Manca, G; Ammoscato, I; Pirrone, N; Sprovieri, F

    2013-03-15

    An oceanographic cruise campaign on-board the Italian research vessel Urania was carried out from the 26th of August to the 13th of September 2010 in the Eastern Mediterranean. The campaign sought to investigate the mercury cycle at coastal and offshore locations in different weather conditions. The experimental activity focused on measuring mercury speciation in both seawater and in air, and using meteorological parameters to estimate elemental mercury exchange at the sea-atmosphere interface. Dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM), unfiltered total mercury (UTHg) and filtered total mercury (FTHg) surface concentrations ranged from 16 to 114, 300 to 18,760, and 230 to 10,990pgL(-1), respectively. The highest DGM, UTHg and FTHg values were observed close to Augusta (Sicily), a highly industrialized area of the Mediterranean region, while the lowest values were recorded at offshore stations. DGM vertical profiles partially followed the distribution of sunlight, as a result of the photoinduced transformations of elemental mercury in the surface layers of the water column. However, at some stations, we observed higher DGM concentrations in samples taken from the bottom of the water column, suggesting biological mercury production processes or the presence of tectonic activity. Moreover, two days of continuous measurement at one location demonstrated that surface DGM concentration is affected by solar radiation and atmospheric turbulence intensity. Atmospheric measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) showed an average concentration (1.6ngm(-3)) close to the background level for the northern hemisphere. For the first time this study used a numerical scheme based on a two-thin film model with a specific parameterization for mercury to estimate elemental mercury flux. The calculated average mercury flux during the entire cruise was 2.2±1.5ngm(-2)h(-1). The analysis of flux data highlights the importance of the wind speed on the mercury evasion from sea surfaces

  8. Lionfishes Pterois miles and Pterois volitans in the North-eastern Mediterranean Sea: Distribution, Habitation, Predation and Predators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cemal Turan

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The lionfish Pterois miles was first recorded in the Iskenderun Bay on 2014 in Turkish Marine waters, and then its distribution was extended to Mersin and Antalya Bays in 2014 in the Mediterranean part of Turkey. The first observation of P. miles in the Aegean Sea was from Fethiye region in July 2015. The extension of P. miles in Turkish marine waters seems to be fast even though it’s slow moving feature. Second species of the lionfish, red lionfish Pterois volitans, was also recorded from Turkish Marine waters on May 2016 by a commercial purse seine at 30 m depth at İskenderun Bay and underwater observation was also recorded on October 2016 at Antakya Bay. Therefore, the number of Pterois species in the Mediterranean Sea has reached to two, P. miles and P. volitans. Based on underwater observations, P. miles and P. volitans are usually observed in rocky and cave habitats and prefer 10-40 meters for feeding that may cause the reduction of populations of vanikoro sweeper (Pemperis spp., cardinal fish (Apagon spp. and red coat (Holocentrus rubrum species. P. miles and P. volitans also show cohabitation and gathering usually with 2-5 individuals. Grouper species such as dusky gruper Ephinephelus marginatus and goldblotch grouper Ephinephelus costae are the main predators of the lionfishes.

  9. Environmental assessment of rosetta area,mediterranean sea coast - egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aly, A.M.A.

    2013-01-01

    This study is titled (Environmental Assessment of Rosetta Area,Mediterranean Sea Coast, Egypt). The environmental assessment can be defined here as the process of assessing the potential impacts (positive or negative) of the presence of certain influential on a particular ecosystem. Samples were collected from Abu Khashaba beach area, Rosetta on the Mediterranean Sea coast. Samples of the beach sediments, sea-water and the scattered shells in this coastal region were collected. Sediments in this region are characterized by its large content of heavy metals, which added to these sediments its black color. It is known that these black sands occurred along the Mediterranean Sea coast from Alexandria to Rafah. The advantage of these black sand deposits is their contents from multiple economic metals which have important industrial uses, such as magnetite, ilmenite, rutile, monazite, zircon, garnet and other important minerals. Ten sampling profiles spaced in-between by about 600 m distance, and extending into the land from the shoreline for about 50 m or less. Along each profile, three sediment samples were collected; the first sample from the surface at the beach line, the second sample from the end of the foreshore area at a depth of about 50 cm and the third sample was taken from the backshore area at a depth of about 1 m. Extending from each profile into the sea, marine-water samples were taken at a distance of about 3 m from the beach line, and from a depth of about 1 m below the sea surface. The shells samples were collected from the scattered shells on the beach. By examination of these samples a 15 different shells types were defined.

  10. Sustainable management for the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berberoglu, Süha

    2003-03-01

    The objective of this article is to propose a program for the integrated coastal zone management that is required to stimulate and guide sustainable development of the Mediterranean coastal zone of Turkey. Improved data collection, quality control, analysis, and data management will provide a firm basis for future scientific understanding of the East Mediterranean coast of Turkey and will support long-term management. Various innovative procedures were proposed for a promising ecosystem-based approach to manage coastal wetlands in the Mediterranean: remote data acquisition with new technologies; environmental quality monitoring program that will provide a baseline for monitoring; linking a Geographic Information System (GIS) with natural resource management decision routines in the context of operational wetlands, fisheries, tourism management system; environmental sensitivity analysis to ensure that permitted developments are environmentally sustainable; and use of natural species to restore the wetlands and coastal dunes and sustain the system processes. The proposed management scheme will benefit the scientific community in the Mediterranean and the management/planning community in Eastern Turkey.

  11. Global warming and mass mortalities of benthic invertebrates in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irene Rivetti

    Full Text Available Satellite data show a steady increase, in the last decades, of the surface temperature (upper few millimetres of the water surface of the Mediterranean Sea. Reports of mass mortalities of benthic marine invertebrates increased in the same period. Some local studies interpreted the two phenomena in a cause-effect fashion. However, a basin-wide picture of temperature changes combined with a systematic assessment on invertebrate mass mortalities was still lacking. Both the thermal structure of the water column in the Mediterranean Sea over the period 1945-2011 and all documented invertebrate mass mortality events in the basin are analysed to ascertain if: 1- documented mass mortalities occurred under conditions of positive temperature trends at basin scale, and 2- atypical thermal conditions were registered at the smaller spatial and temporal scale of mass mortality events. The thermal structure of the shallow water column over the last 67 years was reconstructed using data from three public sources: MEDAR-MEDATLAS, World Ocean Database, MFS-VOS programme. A review of the mass mortality events of benthic invertebrates at Mediterranean scale was also carried out. The analysis of in situ temperature profiles shows that the Mediterranean Sea changed in a non-homogeneous fashion. The frequency of mass mortalities is increasing. The areas subjected to these events correspond to positive thermal anomalies. Statistically significant temperature trends in the upper layers of the Mediterranean Sea show an increase of up to 0.07°C/yr for a large fraction of the basin. Mass mortalities are consistent with both the temperature increase at basin scale and the thermal changes at local scale, up to 5.2°C. Our research supports the existence of a causal link between positive thermal anomalies and observed invertebrate mass mortalities in the Mediterranean Sea, invoking focused mitigation initiatives in sensitive areas.

  12. Global Warming and Mass Mortalities of Benthic Invertebrates in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivetti, Irene; Fraschetti, Simonetta; Lionello, Piero; Zambianchi, Enrico; Boero, Ferdinando

    2014-01-01

    Satellite data show a steady increase, in the last decades, of the surface temperature (upper few millimetres of the water surface) of the Mediterranean Sea. Reports of mass mortalities of benthic marine invertebrates increased in the same period. Some local studies interpreted the two phenomena in a cause-effect fashion. However, a basin-wide picture of temperature changes combined with a systematic assessment on invertebrate mass mortalities was still lacking. Both the thermal structure of the water column in the Mediterranean Sea over the period 1945–2011 and all documented invertebrate mass mortality events in the basin are analysed to ascertain if: 1- documented mass mortalities occurred under conditions of positive temperature trends at basin scale, and 2- atypical thermal conditions were registered at the smaller spatial and temporal scale of mass mortality events. The thermal structure of the shallow water column over the last 67 years was reconstructed using data from three public sources: MEDAR-MEDATLAS, World Ocean Database, MFS-VOS programme. A review of the mass mortality events of benthic invertebrates at Mediterranean scale was also carried out. The analysis of in situ temperature profiles shows that the Mediterranean Sea changed in a non-homogeneous fashion. The frequency of mass mortalities is increasing. The areas subjected to these events correspond to positive thermal anomalies. Statistically significant temperature trends in the upper layers of the Mediterranean Sea show an increase of up to 0.07°C/yr for a large fraction of the basin. Mass mortalities are consistent with both the temperature increase at basin scale and the thermal changes at local scale, up to 5.2°C. Our research supports the existence of a causal link between positive thermal anomalies and observed invertebrate mass mortalities in the Mediterranean Sea, invoking focused mitigation initiatives in sensitive areas. PMID:25535973

  13. Comparison of COSMIC measurements with the IRI-2007 model over the eastern Mediterranean region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Vryonides

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a comparison of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2007 model over the eastern Mediterranean region with peak ionospheric characteristics (foF2–hmF2 and electron density profiles measured by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites in terms of GPS radio occultation technique and the Cyprus digisonde. In the absence of systematic ionosonde measurements over this area, COSMIC measurements provide an opportunity to perform such a study by considering observations for year 2010 to investigate the behaviour of the IRI-2007 model over the eastern Mediterranean area.

  14. Genetic Structure of Bluefin Tuna in the Mediterranean Sea Correlates with Environmental Variables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riccioni, Giulia; Stagioni, Marco; Landi, Monica; Ferrara, Giorgia; Barbujani, Guido; Tinti, Fausto

    2013-01-01

    Background Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ABFT) shows complex demography and ecological variation in the Mediterranean Sea. Genetic surveys have detected significant, although weak, signals of population structuring; catch series analyses and tagging programs identified complex ABFT spatial dynamics and migration patterns. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the genetic structure of the ABFT in the Mediterranean is correlated with mean surface temperature and salinity. Methodology We used six samples collected from Western and Central Mediterranean integrated with a new sample collected from the recently identified easternmost reproductive area of Levantine Sea. To assess population structure in the Mediterranean we used a multidisciplinary framework combining classical population genetics, spatial and Bayesian clustering methods and a multivariate approach based on factor analysis. Conclusions FST analysis and Bayesian clustering methods detected several subpopulations in the Mediterranean, a result also supported by multivariate analyses. In addition, we identified significant correlations of genetic diversity with mean salinity and surface temperature values revealing that ABFT is genetically structured along two environmental gradients. These results suggest that a preference for some spawning habitat conditions could contribute to shape ABFT genetic structuring in the Mediterranean. However, further studies should be performed to assess to what extent ABFT spawning behaviour in the Mediterranean Sea can be affected by environmental variation. PMID:24260341

  15. Oil spill preparedness in the Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jorigne, E.M.; Wong, K.V.

    1993-01-01

    Over 15% of the world's consumption of crude oil and refined products is shipped through the Mediterranean Sea each year. The sea is one of the most polluted areas in the world and has areas of high risk for oil spills, notably those places where there is a very narrow passage between coasts or islands. The region also needs to modernize its ports by developing more deballasting facilities, since a large percentage of spill accidents happens during terminal operations. Release of oily wastes from ships is also significant. The World Bank Global Environment Facility trust fund is working on a project to help the southwest Mediterranean countries modernize reception facilities for ballast water, bilge water, and oily waste water. The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center (REMPEC) in Malta acts as the coordinating center for regional contingency planning for oil spill response. The cost of the port facilities modernization program and oil spill contingency plan implementation for the Mediterranean is estimated at US$444 million. An allocation of costs is suggested which will help those countries needing more financial aid to implement the proposed programs. In the long run, the cost of these programs will be much lower than that of a massive oil spill cleanup. 7 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs

  16. Factors controlling the solubility of trace metals in atmospheric aerosols over the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolaou, Panagiota; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; Kanakidou, Maria

    2015-04-01

    significance of our findings for the eastern Mediterranean Sea is thoroughly discussed. This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund - ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: ARISTEIA - PANOPLY (Pollution Alters Natural Aerosol Composition: implications for Ocean Productivity, cLimate and air qualitY) grant.

  17. Footprints of climate change on Mediterranean Sea biota

    KAUST Repository

    Marbà , Nú ria; Jordà , Gabriel; Agusti, Susana; Girard, Coraline; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2015-01-01

    on growth, survival, fertility, migration and phenology of pelagic and benthic organisms, from phytoplankton to marine vegetation, invertebrates and vertebrates. Overall, 50% of biological impacts in the Mediterranean Sea occur at summer surface temperature

  18. Benefits of the Mediterranean diet beyond the Mediterranean Sea and beyond food patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-González, Miguel A

    2016-10-14

    Abundant and growing evidence has accrued to demonstrate that the traditional Mediterranean diet is likely to be the ideal dietary pattern for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. A landmark randomized trial (PREDIMED) together with many well-conducted long-term observational prospective cohort studies support this causal effect.A new, large British cohort study by Tong et al. assessing the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular disease was recently published in BMC Medicine. Using a superb methodology, they followed-up 23,902 participants for 12.2 years on average and observed several thousand incident cases.The results of this cohort study showed a significant beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular events. These findings support the transferability of this dietary pattern beyond the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The authors provided measures of population impact in cardiovascular prevention and estimated that 19,375 cases of cardiovascular death would be prevented each year in the UK by promoting the Mediterranean Diet.Please see related article: http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-016-0677-4 .

  19. Deep silicon maxima in the stratified oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Crombet

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The silicon biogeochemical cycle has been studied in the Mediterranean Sea during late summer/early autumn 1999 and summer 2008. The distribution of nutrients, particulate carbon and silicon, fucoxanthin (Fuco, and total chlorophyll-a (TChl-a were investigated along an eastward gradient of oligotrophy during two cruises (PROSOPE and BOUM encompassing the entire Mediterranean Sea during the stratified period. At both seasons, surface waters were depleted in nutrients and the nutriclines gradually deepened towards the East, the phosphacline being the deepest in the easternmost Levantine basin. Following the nutriclines, parallel deep maxima of biogenic silica (DSM, fucoxanthin (DFM and TChl-a (DCM were evidenced during both seasons with maximal concentrations of 0.45 μmol L−1 for BSi, 0.26 μg L−1 for Fuco, and 1.70 μg L−1 for TChl-a, all measured during summer. Contrary to the DCM which was a persistent feature in the Mediterranean Sea, the DSM and DFMs were observed in discrete areas of the Alboran Sea, the Algero-Provencal basin, the Ionian sea and the Levantine basin, indicating that diatoms were able to grow at depth and dominate the DCM under specific conditions. Diatom assemblages were dominated by Chaetoceros spp., Leptocylindrus spp., Pseudonitzschia spp. and the association between large centric diatoms (Hemiaulus hauckii and Rhizosolenia styliformis and the cyanobacterium Richelia intracellularis was observed at nearly all sites. The diatom's ability to grow at depth is commonly observed in other oligotrophic regions and could play a major role in ecosystem productivity and carbon export to depth. Contrary to the common view that Si and siliceous phytoplankton are not major components of the Mediterranean biogeochemistry, we suggest here that diatoms, by persisting at depth during the stratified period, could contribute to a

  20. Source of Aegean Sea harbour porpoises

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lockyer, Christina; Rosel, P. E.; Frantzis, A.

    2003-01-01

    Documented sightings of harbour porpoises in the Mediterranean are rare, although the species is common in the neighbouring North Atlantic and Black Sea. However, in the past 2 decades, 4 harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena have been recorded in the northern Aegean Sea in the eastern Mediterranea...

  1. Seamount physiography and biology in the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Morato

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This work aims at characterising the seamount physiography and biology in the OSPAR Convention limits (north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. We first inferred potential abundance, location and morphological characteristics of seamounts, and secondly, summarized the existing biological, geological and oceanographic in situ research, identifying examples of well-studied seamounts. Our study showed that the seamount population in the OSPAR area (north-east Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea is large with around 557 and 101 seamount-like features, respectively. Similarly, seamounts occupy large areas of about 616 000 km2 in the OSPAR region and of about 89 500 km2 in the Mediterranean Sea. The presence of seamounts in the north-east Atlantic has been known since the late 19th century, but overall knowledge regarding seamount ecology and geology is still relatively poor. Only 37 seamounts in the OSPAR area (3.5% of all seamounts in the region, 22 in the Mediterranean Sea (9.2% of all seamounts in the region and 25 in the north-east Atlantic south of the OSPAR area have in situ information. Seamounts mapped in both areas are in general very heterogeneous, showing diverse geophysical characteristics. These differences will likely affect the biological diversity and production of resident and associated organisms.

  2. Circulation in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea (EGITTO-NICOP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-09-30

    Circulation in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea (EGITTO-NICOP) Pierre-Marie Poulain Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica ...Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale,Borgo Grotta Gigante, 42/c,34010 Sgonico (Trieste), Italy, , 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER

  3. Observations on the distribution, population structure and biology of Bathypterois mediterraneus Bauchot, 1962 in three areas of the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianfranco d'Onghia

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available During the DESEAS cruise Bathypterois mediterraneus specimens were sampled in the Balearic Sea between 1000 and 2800 m as well as in the western and eastern Ionian Sea from 800 to 3300 m and from 800 to 2600 m respectively. The species was found to be more abundant at depths of 1500-2000 m. The size-range was 26-190 mm and the most abundant size class was around 100-120 mm standard length. No significant size-depth trends were shown for either length or weight. Negative allometry was shown in the growth of fishes and otoliths and in the relationship between fish length and otolith size in the samples from the western and eastern Ionian Sea. In these two areas the absolute growth was estimated by adopting the Von Bertalanffy function (western Ionian: SL∞ = 194.3 ± 38.51 mm, k = 0.146 ± 0.061/year, t0 = - 0.921 ± 0.699, ø' = 3.74; eastern Ionian: SL∞ = 180.23 ± 63.36 mm, k = 0.150 ± 0.112/year, t0 = - 0.968 ± 0.868, ø' = 3.70. Although most of the specimens were immature, some ripe gonads were recorded in individuals greater than 104 mm in standard length, confirming the simultaneous hermaphroditism in this fish. The results are discussed in relation to previous observations on the life strategy of B.mediterraneus in the Mediterranean Sea.

  4. Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the Eastern and Western Mediterranean

    OpenAIRE

    U. Dayan; K. M. Nissen; U. Ulbrich

    2015-01-01

    This review discusses published studies of heavy rainfall events over the Mediterranean Basin, combining them in a more general picture of the dynamic and thermodynamic factors and processes producing heavy rain storms. It distinguishes the Western and Eastern Mediterranean in order to point at specific regional peculiarities. The crucial moisture for developing intensive convection over these regions can be originated not only from the ad...

  5. Vertical ozone measurements in the troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean and comparison with Central Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. D. Kalabokas

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Vertical ozone profiles measured in the period 1996–2002 in the framework of the MOZAIC project (Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus in Service Aircraft for flights connecting Central Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean basin (Heraklion, Rhodes, Antalya were analysed in order to evaluate the high rural ozone levels recorded in the Mediterranean area during summertime. The 77 flights during summer (JJAS showed substantially (10–12 ppb, 20–40% enhanced ozone mixing ratios in the lower troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean frequently exceeding the 60 ppb, 8-h EU air quality standard, whereas ozone between 700 hPa and 400 hPa was only slightly (3–5 ppb, 5–10% higher than over Central Europe. Analysis of composite weather maps for the high and low ozone cases, as well as back-trajectories and vertical profiles of carbon monoxide, suggest that the main factor leading to high tropospheric ozone values in the area is anticyclonic influence, in combination with a persistent northerly flow in the lower troposphere during summertime over the Aegean. On the other hand the lowest ozone levels are associated with low-pressure systems, especially the extension of the Middle East low over the Eastern Mediterranean area.

  6. First occurrence of the Indo-Pacific polychaete species Glycinde bonhourei Gravier, 1904 in the Hellenic seas (Northern Evvoikos Gulf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. SIMBOURA

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available A specimen of Glycinde bonhourei Gravier, 1904, an Indo-Pacific species, was found at a station near the metalliferous waste disposal in the Northern Evvoikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean. This is the second report of this species in the Mediterranean Sea after its first finding in the Levantine basin (Israel and Egypt. This paper provides new information on its distributional range in the Mediterranean Sea.

  7. Systematic reviews addressing identified health policy priorities in Eastern Mediterranean countries: a situational analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Jardali, Fadi; Akl, Elie A; Karroum, Lama Bou; Kdouh, Ola; Akik, Chaza; Fadlallah, Racha; Hammoud, Rawan

    2014-08-20

    Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown. This situational analysis exercise aims at assessing the extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities identified by policymakers and stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean region countries. It also provides an overview about the state of systematic review production in the region and identifies knowledge gaps. We conducted a systematic search of the Health System Evidence database to identify published systematic reviews on policy-relevant priorities pertaining to the following themes: human resources for health, health financing, the role of the non-state sector, and access to medicine. Priorities were identified from two priority-setting exercises conducted in the region. We described the distribution of these systematic reviews across themes, sub-themes, authors' affiliations, and countries where included primary studies were conducted. Out of the 1,045 systematic reviews identified in Health System Evidence on selected themes, a total of 200 systematic reviews (19.1%) addressed the priorities from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The theme with the largest number of systematic reviews included was human resources for health (115) followed by health financing (33), access to medicine (27), and role of the non-state sector (25). Authors based in the region produced only three systematic reviews addressing regional priorities (1.5%). Furthermore, no systematic review focused on the Eastern Mediterranean region. Primary studies from the region had limited contribution to systematic reviews; 17 systematic reviews (8.5%) included primary

  8. Systematic reviews addressing identified health policy priorities in Eastern Mediterranean countries: a situational analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown. This situational analysis exercise aims at assessing the extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities identified by policymakers and stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean region countries. It also provides an overview about the state of systematic review production in the region and identifies knowledge gaps. Methods We conducted a systematic search of the Health System Evidence database to identify published systematic reviews on policy-relevant priorities pertaining to the following themes: human resources for health, health financing, the role of the non-state sector, and access to medicine. Priorities were identified from two priority-setting exercises conducted in the region. We described the distribution of these systematic reviews across themes, sub-themes, authors’ affiliations, and countries where included primary studies were conducted. Results Out of the 1,045 systematic reviews identified in Health System Evidence on selected themes, a total of 200 systematic reviews (19.1%) addressed the priorities from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The theme with the largest number of systematic reviews included was human resources for health (115) followed by health financing (33), access to medicine (27), and role of the non-state sector (25). Authors based in the region produced only three systematic reviews addressing regional priorities (1.5%). Furthermore, no systematic review focused on the Eastern Mediterranean region. Primary studies from the region had limited contribution to systematic reviews; 17 systematic reviews

  9. Joint sea studies of the IAEA and European Union mediterranean partner ship

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fowler, S.; Miquel, J.C.; Boisson, F.

    1998-01-01

    Several oceanographic and geographic features of the Mediterranean Sea render it particularly vulnerable to the potential effects of anthropogenic pollutants. The sea is a relatively shallow, semi-enclosed body of water with only limited water exchange taking place at Straits of Gibraltar and through the Bosphorus. Less saline Atlantic surface water enters at Gibraltar and slowly circulates counter clockwise around the Mediterranean basin. There it gradually becomes warmer and more saline due to insolation and intense evaporation. The weak coastal current systems and general lack of tides combine to reduce dispersion of pollutants entering its coastal water. Furthermore, recent construction of dams on some major rivers have substantially reduced spring runoff which tends to cleanse the shelf region of deposited contaminants. Given the Sea's special geographical setting and potential sensitivity to human activity, it is not surprising that over the last decade much effort has been put into studying its biogeochemical structure and functioning. Furthermore, the Sea's restricted size affords marine scientists the opportunity to study, on a reduced scale, processes typical of the world's oceans. Recent trends in oceanography have shown that the degree of our understanding these processes significantly improves when the questions to be answered are addressed in a multidisciplinary way. Recognizing this fact, the European Union (EU) has mounted various large-scale multidisciplinary marine programmes, several of which have focused on the Mediterranean Sea. Because of its long history of collaborative work in the Mediterranean, the IAEA's Marine Environmental Laboratory (MEL) in Monaco has been invited by several EU partner institutes to contribute to these programmes, usually in the area of employing nuclear techniques to study key oceanic processes. These EU-supported programmed have been instrumental in broadening MEL's extrabugetary funding base, which is often

  10. Draft Genome Sequence of the Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacterium Alcanivorax dieselolei KS-293 Isolated from Surface Seawater in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Barbato, Marta

    2015-12-10

    We report here the draft genome sequence of Alcanivorax dieselolei KS-293, a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium isolated from the Mediterranean Sea, by supplying diesel oil as the sole carbon source. This strain contains multiple putative genes associated with hydrocarbon degradation pathways and that are highly similar to those described in A. dieselolei type strain B5.

  11. Draft Genome Sequence of the Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacterium Alcanivorax dieselolei KS-293 Isolated from Surface Seawater in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Barbato, Marta; Mapelli, Francesca; Chouaia, Bessem; Crotti, Elena; Daffonchio, Daniele; Borin, Sara

    2015-01-01

    We report here the draft genome sequence of Alcanivorax dieselolei KS-293, a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium isolated from the Mediterranean Sea, by supplying diesel oil as the sole carbon source. This strain contains multiple putative genes associated with hydrocarbon degradation pathways and that are highly similar to those described in A. dieselolei type strain B5.

  12. Foraminiferal Range Expansions: The Mediterranean Sea as a natural laboratory for climate induced invasions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hortense Mouanga, Gloria; Langer, Martin R.

    2015-04-01

    Climate change and biological invasions are key processes that modify biodiversity. One of the most severely affected areas of global change is the Mediterranean Sea, where global warming and the opening of the Suez Canal triggered a mass invasion of tropical Red Sea taxa into Mediterranean territories. Climate models prognosticate that the Mediterranean Sea will be one of the most affected ocean regions and may thus serve as a natural laboratory of future global changes. Among the key taxa that are rapidly expanding their latitudinal range in the Mediterranean Sea are symbiont-bearing foraminifera of the genus Amphistegina. Their range expansion strongly correlates with rising sea surface temperatures and mirrors processes of global change. Amphisteginid foraminifera are among the most prolific foraminiferal species and contribute significantly to shallow-water carbonate sediments. Given their prominent environmental role, rapid biogeographic range expansion, and impact on native ecosystems, amphisteginid range expansion and invasion into new territory are likely to trigger changes in ecosystem functioning. Among the uncertainties, it is not known whether all parts of the Mediterranean will be affected equally and to what extent amphisteginid invasions will impact native biotas. We have initiated a new baseline study to explore the effects of invasive amphisteginids on native foraminiferal biotas and to monitor expansion rates and effects on ecosystem functioning along the current range expansion front. We will present new data on recent shift along the range expansion front and discuss cascading effects on community structures and species richness of native foraminiferal biotas. The magnitude and effects that climate change will have on the Mediterranean foraminiferal faunas may ultimately serve as an example of what would happen along expansion fronts in global oceans.

  13. Internal wave - zooplankton interactions in the Alboran Sea (W-Mediterranean)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Haren, H.

    2014-01-01

    An upward looking 75 kHz ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) was moored at 100 m above the bottom in 912 m water depth in the central-north Alboran Sea (W-Mediterranean Sea). The ADCP sampled current and acoustic echo-amplitude at a rate of once per minute for 9 days, thereby revealing

  14. The diet and feeding ecology of Conger conger (L. 1758 in the deep waters of the Eastern Ionian Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. ANASTASOPOULOU

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The diet of the European conger eel Conger conger was investigated for the first time in the Eastern Mediterranean. Fish dominated the European conger eel diet in the deep waters of E. Ionian Sea. All other prey taxa were identified as accidental preys. However, intestine analysis showed that Natantia, Brachyura and Cephalopoda might have a more important contribution in the diet of the species. C. conger exhibited a benthopelagic feeding behavior as it preyed upon both demersal and mesopelagic taxa. The high vacuity index and the low stomach and intestine fullness indicated that the feeding intensity of the species in the deep waters of Eastern Ionian Sea was quite low. C. conger feeding strategy was characterised by specialisation in various resource items. A between-phenotype contribution to niche width was observed for some prey categories. European Conger eel feeding specialisation seemed to be an adaptation to a food-scarce environment, as typified in deep-water habitats

  15. Investigation of short and long term trends in chemical composition of Eastern Mediterranean aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    A collaborative study was started with the Middle East Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department in 2004 in order to determine the transport of air pollutants and their deposition rates to Eastern Mediterranean with the ultimate aim of filling the gaps in knowledge on the current status of Eastern Mediterranean air quality profile. Collection sufficient amount of representative samples, analyzes of the collected samples with high accuracy and precision and interpretation of generated data are crucial efforts. To attain this goal, EDXRF spectrometer, which is a rapid, reliable and sensitive analytical instrument, located at our center was employed in analysis of the collected samples after calibration with 'NIST 2783 Air Particles on Filter'. The effectiveness of the control strategies taken on the emissions was discussed by investigating the short and long term variations in the chemical composition of samples collected between 1993 and 2001 at Antalya station. In this context, generated data set was studied for short (daily) term, seasonal and long term variations. It has been found that short term variations in the concentrations of pollutants in short time scale are highly episodic. The concentration of measured pollutants was changed 10-20 folds in the subsequent two days. The most important factors affecting the chemical composition of pollutants in short time interval are meteorological factors such as precipitation and variations observed at the emission strength of pollutants. The declined in Pb concentrations at the Antalya station was attributed to observed decrease in Pb emissions in Europe after the introduction of leaded gasoline. Highest summer averages were reported for anthropogenic pollutants in summer months. Aegean Sea (Izmir-Aliaga) studies of the project will be completed this year

  16. Crust Structure Data of Seas Surrounding Turkey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maden, N.; Gelisli, K.

    2007-01-01

    Black Sea, Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara Sea, which surround the Turkey, have not been examined with respect to the Geological, Geophysical and other natural sciences sufficiently. In fact, it is not attach importance the Turkish seas adequately and abandoned with respect to the scientific researches. The most important reason of this situation is the lack of the education of the Marine Sciences in the Turkish Universities. In this study, it is tried to construct a crustal structure data base of the surrounding seas of the Turkey by collecting crustal structure data sets done by different authors in different times so far. The data acquired in the base are collected from different data base sources by dragging. The Moho depth in the eastern and western basin of the Black sea is 22 km and 19 km, respectively. In the Marmara Sea the Moho depth is 24 km. The moho value in the southern Aegean is 20 km, in the northern Aegean the moho depth is 30 km. on the other hand, the moho depth value in the eastern and western basin of the Mediterranean Sea are 15-20 km and 25-30 km, respectively

  17. Geomorphological map of a coastal stretch of north-eastern Gozo (Maltese archipelago, Mediterranean Sea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soldati, Mauro; Micallef, Anton; Biolchi, Sara; Chelli, Alessandro; Cuoghi, Alessandro; Devoto, Stefano; Gauci, Christopher; Graff, Kevin; Lolli, Federico; Mantovani, Matteo; Mastronuzzi, Giuseppe; Pisani, Luca; Prampolini, Mariacristina; Restall, Brian; Roulland, Thomas; Saliba, Michael; Selmi, Lidia; Vandelli, Vittoria

    2017-04-01

    Geomorphological investigations carried out along the north-eastern coast of the Island of Gozo (Malta) have led to the production of a detailed geomorphological map. Field surveys, accompanied by aerial photo-interpretation, were carried out within the framework of the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement Project ``Developing Geomorphological mapping skills and datasets in anticipation of subsequent Susceptibility, Vulnerability, Hazard and Risk Mapping'' (Council of Europe). In particular, this geomorphological map is the main output of a `Training Course on Geomorphological Mapping in Coastal Areas' held within the Project in November 2016. The study area selected was between Ramla Bay and Dacrhlet Qorrot Bay on the Island of Gozo (67 km2), part of the Maltese archipelago in the central Mediterranean Sea. From a geological viewpoint, the stratigraphic sequence includes Late Oligocene (Chattian) to Late Miocene (Messinian) sedimentary rocks. The hard limestones of the Upper Coralline Limestone Formation, the youngest lithostratigraphic unit, dominate the study area. Underlying this formation, marls and clays belonging to the Blue Clay Formation extensively outcrop. The oldest lithostratigraphic unit observed in the study area is the Globigerina Limestone Formation, a fine-grained limestone. The lithostructural features of the outcropping units clearly condition the morphography of the landscape. The coast is characterised by the alternation of inlets and promontories. Worthy of notice is the large sandy beach of Ramla Bay partly backed by dunes. From a geomorphological perspective, the investigated coastal stretch is characterised by limestone plateaus bounded by steep structural scarps which are reshaped by gravitational and/or degradation processes, and milder slopes in Blue Clays at their foot comprising of numerous rock block deposits (rdum in Maltese) and active or abandoned terraced fields used for agricultural purposes. Landforms and processes related to

  18. Abundance and sources of atmospheric halocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenenberger, Fabian; Henne, Stephan; Hill, Matthias; Vollmer, Martin K.; Kouvarakis, Giorgos; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; O'Doherty, Simon; Maione, Michela; Emmenegger, Lukas; Peter, Thomas; Reimann, Stefan

    2018-03-01

    A wide range of anthropogenic halocarbons is released to the atmosphere, contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming. Using measurements of atmospheric abundances for the estimation of halocarbon emissions on the global and regional scale has become an important top-down tool for emission validation in the recent past, but many populated and developing areas of the world are only poorly covered by the existing atmospheric halocarbon measurement network. Here we present 6 months of continuous halocarbon observations from Finokalia on the island of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean. The gases measured are the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), HFC-134a (CH2FCF3), HFC-125 (CHF2CF3), HFC-152a (CH3CHF2) and HFC-143a (CH3CF3) and the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), HCFC-22 (CHClF2) and HCFC-142b (CH3CClF2). The Eastern Mediterranean is home to 250 million inhabitants, consisting of a number of developed and developing countries, for which different emission regulations exist under the Kyoto and Montreal protocols. Regional emissions of halocarbons were estimated with Lagrangian atmospheric transport simulations and a Bayesian inverse modeling system, using measurements at Finokalia in conjunction with those from Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) sites at Mace Head (Ireland), Jungfraujoch (Switzerland) and Monte Cimone (Italy). Measured peak mole fractions at Finokalia showed generally smaller amplitudes for HFCs than at the European AGAGE sites except for periodic peaks of HFC-152a, indicating strong upwind sources. Higher peak mole fractions were observed for HCFCs, suggesting continued emissions from nearby developing regions such as Egypt and the Middle East. For 2013, the Eastern Mediterranean inverse emission estimates for the four analyzed HFCs and the two HCFCs were 13.9 (11.3-19.3) and 9.5 (6.8-15.1) Tg CO2eq yr-1, respectively. These emissions contributed 16.8 % (13.6-23.3 %) and 53.2 % (38.1-84.2 %) to the total inversion

  19. East is east and West is west? Management of marine bioinvasions in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galil, Bella S.; Marchini, Agnese; Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Anna

    2018-02-01

    At 726 the number of recorded multicellular non indigenous species (NIS) in the Mediterranean Sea is far higher than in other European Seas. Of these, 614 have established populations in the sea. 384 are considered Erythraean NIS, the balance are mostly ship and culture-introductions. In order to effectively implement EU Regulation on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive NIS and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the Mediterranean Sea it is crucial that this priority pathway is appropriately managed. Three potential impediments - incomplete and inaccurate data; unknown impacts; policy mismatch - hinder implementation. Current geographical, taxonomical and impact data gaps will be reduced only by instituting harmonized standards and methodologies for monitoring NIS populations in all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, prioritizing bridgehead sites and dispersal hubs. The option of implementing European environmental policies concerning marine NIS in member states alone may seem expedient, but piecemeal protection is futile. Since only 9 of the 23 states bordering the Mediterranean are EU member states, the crucial element for an effective strategy for slowing the influx of NIS is policy coordination with the Regional Sea Convention (Barcelona Convention) to ensure consistency in legal rules, standards and institutional structures to address all major vectors/pathways.

  20. Comparative study on octopus vulgaris (cuvier, 1797) from the mediterranean and red sea coasts of egypt

    OpenAIRE

    Riad, R.; Gabr, H.R.

    2007-01-01

    Specimens from common octopus, Octopus vulgaris captured from the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea showed significant differences in four of seven morphometric measurements .These differences are sufficient to recognize the populations of this species in the two habitats. The computed length-Wight relationship and condition factor for common octopus in both areas showed that representatives of this species from the Red Sea are heavier than those captured from the Mediterranean Sea for the same l...

  1. Risk Assessment of Organochlorines in Mollusk from the Mediterranean and Red Sea Coasts of Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Nemr, Ahmed; El-Said, Ghada F; Khaled, Azza

    2016-04-01

    Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) residues were studied in different mollusk species from the Egyptian Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts. The average levels of OCPs in mollusks comprised chlordanes, dieldrins, total endrin, endosulfan compounds, and methoxychlor (DECEM), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), and, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs). The averages of HCHs, DDTs, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in mollusks from the Mediterranean Sea were 1.13±1.21, 1.30±1.27, and 1.40±0.93 ng/g, respectively; from the Red Sea, they were 0.62±0.90, 1.77±1.82, and 6.44±5.05 ng/g, respectively. The analysis of HCHs, DDTs, and PCBs in mollusks indicates a new usage of lindane, PCB congeners, and the input of technical HCH and aged DDT. The data showed that the Red Sea Coast was more affected by PCBs congeners than the Mediterranean Sea Coast, which may be attributed to the different activities along the two coastal areas. Mollusks in the Mediterranean Sea had higher dieldrins, total endrin, endosulfan compounds, and methoxychlor contents than those in the Red Sea. Interestingly, HCHs, DDTs, and PCBs levels were lower than those recommended for Swedish Food Regulation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which means that mollusks from these two coastal areas are safe as food.

  2. Gas, the Key Political Factor in the Eastern Mediterranean?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drevet, Jean-Francois

    2016-01-01

    Since the increased tension in relations between Russia and the European Union following the Ukrainian conflict and the annexation of Crimea, the EU's energy dependence on Russia has become a matter of major concern, particularly as, according to the European Commission, that dependence could increase greatly in the coming decades as energy needs rise. In this context, the recent discoveries of gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean represent, if not an alternative, then at least an opportunity to diversify supplies in the long term. However, if these reserves are to be exploited and potentially exportable, it will be necessary, as Jean-Francois Drevet shows here, to remove a number of political obstacles so that the various countries concerned can be made to cooperate. This column offers an assessment of gas potential in the Eastern Mediterranean, which is largely divided between Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Cyprus and has at times been a source of conflict in respect of the demarcation of exclusive economic zones for its exploitation. It also points up the issues with regard to energy self-sufficiency for the countries concerned and to the exporting of the gas (given the costs involved in building the necessary infrastructure), together with the difficulties of regional cooperation on this question. (author)

  3. Validation of MERIS Ocean Color Algorithms in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marullo, S.; D'Ortenzio, F.; Ribera D'Alcalà, M.; Ragni, M.; Santoleri, R.; Vellucci, V.; Luttazzi, C.

    2004-05-01

    Satellite ocean color measurements can contribute, better than any other source of data, to quantify the spatial and time variability of ocean productivity and, tanks to the success of several satellite missions starting with CZCS up to SeaWiFS, MODIS and MERIS, it is now possible to start doing the investigation of interannual variations and compare level of production during different decades ([1],[2]). The interannual variability of the ocean productivity at global and regional scale can be correctly measured providing that chlorophyll estimate are based on well calibrated algorithms in order to avoid regional biases and instrumental time shifts. The calibration and validation of Ocean Color data is then one of the most important tasks of several research projects worldwide ([3], [4]). Algorithms developed to retrieve chlorophyll concentration need a specific effort to define the error ranges associated to the estimates. In particular, the empirical algorithms, calculated on regression with in situ data, require independent records to verify the degree of uncertainties associated. In addition several evidences demonstrated that regional algorithms can improve the accuracy of the satellite chlorophyll estimates [5]. In 2002, Santoleri et al. (SIMBIOS) first showed a significant overestimation of the SeaWiFS derived chlorophyll concentration in Mediterranean Sea when the standard global NASA algorithms (OC4v2 and OC4v4) are used. The same authors [6] proposed two preliminary new algorithms for the Mediterranean Sea (L-DORMA and NL-DORMA) on a basis of a bio-optical data set collected in the basin from 1998 to 2000. In 2002 Bricaud et al., [7] analyzing other bio-optical data collected in the Mediterranean, confirmed the overestimation of the chlorophyll concentration in oligotrophic conditions and proposed a new regional algorithm to be used in case of low concentrations. Recently, the number of in situ observations in the basin was increased, permitting a first

  4. Multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis of the upper thermocline structure of the Mediterranean Sea from observations and model simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Sparnocchia

    Full Text Available Multivariate vertical Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF are calculated for the entire Mediterranean Sea both from observations and model simulations, in order to find the optimal number of vertical modes to represent the upper thermocline vertical structure. For the first time, we show that the large-scale Mediterranean thermohaline vertical structure can be represented by a limited number of vertical multivariate EOFs, and that the "optimal set" can be selected on the basis of general principles. In particular, the EOFs are calculated for the combined temperature and salinity statistics, dividing the Mediterranean Sea into 9 regions and grouping the data seasonally. The criterion used to establish whether a reduced set of EOFs is optimal is based on the analysis of the root mean square residual error between the original data and the profiles reconstructed by the reduced set of EOFs. It was found that the number of EOFs needed to capture the variability contained in the original data changes with geographical region and seasons. In particular, winter data require a smaller number of modes (4–8, depending on the region than the other seasons (8–9 in summer. Moreover, western Mediterranean regions require more modes than the eastern Mediterranean ones, but this result may depend on the data scarcity in the latter regions. The EOFs computed from the in situ data set are compared to those calculated using data obtained from a model simulation. The main results of this exercise are that the two groups of modes are not strictly comparable but their ability to reproduce observations is the same. Thus, they may be thought of as equivalent sets of basis functions, upon which to project the thermohaline variability of the basin.

    Key words. Oceanography: general (water masses – Oceanography: physical (hydrography; instruments and techniques

  5. Multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis of the upper thermocline structure of the Mediterranean Sea from observations and model simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Sparnocchia

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Multivariate vertical Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF are calculated for the entire Mediterranean Sea both from observations and model simulations, in order to find the optimal number of vertical modes to represent the upper thermocline vertical structure. For the first time, we show that the large-scale Mediterranean thermohaline vertical structure can be represented by a limited number of vertical multivariate EOFs, and that the "optimal set" can be selected on the basis of general principles. In particular, the EOFs are calculated for the combined temperature and salinity statistics, dividing the Mediterranean Sea into 9 regions and grouping the data seasonally. The criterion used to establish whether a reduced set of EOFs is optimal is based on the analysis of the root mean square residual error between the original data and the profiles reconstructed by the reduced set of EOFs. It was found that the number of EOFs needed to capture the variability contained in the original data changes with geographical region and seasons. In particular, winter data require a smaller number of modes (4–8, depending on the region than the other seasons (8–9 in summer. Moreover, western Mediterranean regions require more modes than the eastern Mediterranean ones, but this result may depend on the data scarcity in the latter regions. The EOFs computed from the in situ data set are compared to those calculated using data obtained from a model simulation. The main results of this exercise are that the two groups of modes are not strictly comparable but their ability to reproduce observations is the same. Thus, they may be thought of as equivalent sets of basis functions, upon which to project the thermohaline variability of the basin. Key words. Oceanography: general (water masses – Oceanography: physical (hydrography; instruments and techniques

  6. Report on the Mediterranean Solar Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    The first part of this report presents the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) as an ambitious political initiative which aims at creating a better context for the Northern (Mediterranean) countries which are looking for a secure energy supply, and for the Southern and Eastern (Mediterranean) countries where demand is strongly increasing. It highlights the fact that the cost of this plan is indeed important but still limited regarding the regional scale. Its success therefore needs projects with sufficient profitability to attract investors and to be realised within an adapted law environment. The report also outlines that the plan needs a regional vision and a cooperative approach between North and South, that it will have a strong impact of electric interconnections all around the Mediterranean Sea, and that its governance needs to be clarified to maintain the political momentum created by its co-presidents

  7. Recent sea surface temperature trends and future scenarios for the Mediterranean Sea:

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Shaltout

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We analyse recent Mediterranean Sea surface temperatures (SSTs and their response to global change using 1/4-degree gridded advanced very-high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR daily SST data, 1982-2012. These data indicate significant annual warming (from 0.24°C decade-1 west of the Strait of Gibraltar to 0.51°C decade-1 over the Black Sea and significant spatial variation in annual average SST (from 15ºC over the Black Sea to 21°C over the Levantine sub-basin. Ensemble mean scenarios indicate that the study area SST may experience significant warming, peaking at 2.6°C century-1 in the Representative Concentration Pathways 85 (RCP85 scenario.

  8. A review of HIV testing and counseling policies and practices in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermez, Joumana; Petrak, Jenny; Karkouri, Mehdi; Riedner, Gabriele

    2010-07-01

    To review HIV testing and counseling policies and practices in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region. We reviewed gray and published literature on HIV testing policies and practices in the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including surveillance, monitoring and evaluation reports. Missing or unclear information was clarified by telephone interviews of key informants. Field observations were conducted in four countries. Of reported diagnostic HIV tests conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean Region from 1995 to 2008, 59.3% were carried out on migrant workers. Only 4.0% were carried out on key populations at higher risk for HIV and 8.1% were conducted in sexually transmitted infection, tuberculosis and antenatal care services. The largest proportions of HIV-positive cases identified were among key populations at higher risk (23.4%) and in sexually transmitted infection, tuberculosis and antenatal care services (17.5%). Mandatory testing was the most common approach to identifying HIV-positive cases, yet most policy documents reviewed identified voluntary counseling and testing as a key intervention for prevention, care and treatment. Provider initiated testing and counseling was rarely considered. HIV testing strategies are cumbersome, as they require central laboratory-based Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbant Assay (ELISA) and/or Western Blot confirmation in most countries presenting barriers to receiving results. Although policies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region include a mix of mandatory and voluntary HIV testing, mandatory testing predominates, especially for migrant and foreign workers and key populations at higher risk of HIV. There is a paucity of programs providing voluntary testing. Strategies to enhance access to true voluntary HIV testing and counseling services are urgently needed, particularly targeting key populations at higher risk.

  9. Eastern Mediterranean University Quality Assurance Handbook (Volume: 7, 2012)

    OpenAIRE

    Altınay, Mehmet; Ezel, Cahit

    2012-01-01

    Higher education is an essential element of social and economic growth and prosperity. Development of a system offering high quality education is a prerequisite to gain access to knowledge which ensures development in any society. Moreover, at the micro-level, attaining high level of quality in education enables the higher education institutions (HEIs) to establish a sustainable system by attracting high caliber lecturers, researchers, and students. Being aware of this, Eastern Mediterranean ...

  10. Proliferation and demise of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean during the Younger Dryas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCulloch, Malcolm; Taviani, Marco; Lopez Correa, Matthias; Remia, Alessandro; Montagna, Paolo; Mortimer, Graham

    2010-01-01

    Uranium-series and radiocarbon ages are reported for deep-sea corals Madrepora oculata, Desmophyllum dianthus, Lophelia pertusa and Caryophyllia smithii from the Mediterranean Sea. U-series dating indicates that deep-sea corals have persisted in the Mediterranean for over 480, 000 years, especially during cool inter-stadial periods. The most prolific period of growth however appears to have occurred within the Younger Dryas (YD) period from 12, 900 to 11, 700 years BP followed by a short (∼ 330 years) phase of post-YD coral growth from 11, 230 to 10, 900 years BP. This indicates that deep-sea corals were prolific in the Mediterranean not only during the return to the more glacial-like conditions of the YD, but also following the rapid deglaciation and transition to warmer conditions that followed the end of the YD. Surprisingly, there is a paucity Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) coral ages, implying they were largely absent during this period when cold-water conditions were more prevalent. Radiocarbon ages show that the intermediate depth waters of the Mediterranean generally had Δ 14 C compositions similar to surface waters, indicating that these waters were extremely well ventilated. The only exception is a narrow period in the YD (12, 500 ± 100 years BP) when several samples of Lophelia pertusa from the Ionian Sea had Δ 14 C values falling significantly below the marine curve. Using a refined approach, isolation ages (T isol ) of 300 years to 500 years are estimated for these intermediate (800-1000 m) depth waters relative to surface marine waters, indicating a reduction or absence of deep-water formation in the Ionian and adjacent Adriatic Seas during the YD. Contrary to previous findings, we find no evidence for widespread intrusion of low Δ 14 C Atlantic waters into the Mediterranean. Prolific growth of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean ended abruptly at ∼ 10, 900 years BP, with many of the coral-bearing mounds on the continental slopes being draped in

  11. Proliferation and demise of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean during the Younger Dryas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCulloch, Malcolm [ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australian, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia (Australia); Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200 (Australia); Taviani, Marco; Lopez Correa, Matthias; Remia, Alessandro [ISMAR-CNR, via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy); Montagna, Paolo [LSCE, Av. de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France, ISMAR-CNR, via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy); Mortimer, Graham [Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200 (Australia)

    2010-07-01

    Uranium-series and radiocarbon ages are reported for deep-sea corals Madrepora oculata, Desmophyllum dianthus, Lophelia pertusa and Caryophyllia smithii from the Mediterranean Sea. U-series dating indicates that deep-sea corals have persisted in the Mediterranean for over 480, 000 years, especially during cool inter-stadial periods. The most prolific period of growth however appears to have occurred within the Younger Dryas (YD) period from 12, 900 to 11, 700 years BP followed by a short ({approx} 330 years) phase of post-YD coral growth from 11, 230 to 10, 900 years BP. This indicates that deep-sea corals were prolific in the Mediterranean not only during the return to the more glacial-like conditions of the YD, but also following the rapid deglaciation and transition to warmer conditions that followed the end of the YD. Surprisingly, there is a paucity Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) coral ages, implying they were largely absent during this period when cold-water conditions were more prevalent. Radiocarbon ages show that the intermediate depth waters of the Mediterranean generally had {Delta}{sup 14}C compositions similar to surface waters, indicating that these waters were extremely well ventilated. The only exception is a narrow period in the YD (12, 500 {+-} 100 years BP) when several samples of Lophelia pertusa from the Ionian Sea had {Delta}{sup 14}C values falling significantly below the marine curve. Using a refined approach, isolation ages (T{sub isol}) of 300 years to 500 years are estimated for these intermediate (800-1000 m) depth waters relative to surface marine waters, indicating a reduction or absence of deep-water formation in the Ionian and adjacent Adriatic Seas during the YD. Contrary to previous findings, we find no evidence for widespread intrusion of low {Delta}{sup 14}C Atlantic waters into the Mediterranean. Prolific growth of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean ended abruptly at {approx} 10, 900 years BP, with many of the coral-bearing mounds

  12. Sponges-Cyanobacteria associations: Global diversity overview and new data from the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konstantinou, Despoina; Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Voultsiadou, Eleni

    2018-01-01

    Sponge-cyanobacteria associations have attracted research interest from an ecological, evolutionary and biotechnological perspective. Current knowledge is, in its majority, “hidden” in metagenomics research studying the entire microbial communities of sponges, while knowledge on these associations is totally missing for certain geographic areas. In this study, we (a) investigated the occurrence of cyanobacteria in 18 sponge species, several of which are studied for the first time for their cyanobionts, from a previously unexplored eastern Mediterranean ecoregion, the Aegean Sea, (b) isolated sponge-associated cyanobacteria, and characterized them based on a polyphasic (morphological-morphometric and molecular phylogenetic analysis) approach, and (c) conducted a meta-analysis on the global diversity of sponge species hosting cyanobacteria, as well as the diversity of cyanobacterial symbionts. Our research provided new records for nine sponge species, previously unknown for this association, while the isolated cyanobacteria were found to form novel clades within Synechococcus, Leptolyngbyaceae, Pseudanabaenaceae, and Schizotrichaceae, whose taxonomic status requires further investigation; this is the first report of a Schizotrichaceae cyanobacterium associated with sponges. The extensive evaluation of the literature along with the new data from the Aegean Sea raised the number of sponge species known for hosting cyanobacteria to 320 and showed that the cyanobacterial diversity reported from sponges is yet underestimated. PMID:29596453

  13. Aerosol direct effect on solar radiation over the eastern Mediterranean Sea based on AVHRR satellite measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgakaki, Paraskevi; Papadimas, Christos D.; Hatzianastassiou, Nikos; Fotiadi, Aggeliki; Matsoukas, Christos; Stackhouse, Paul; Kanakidou, Maria; Vardavas, Ilias M.

    2017-04-01

    Despite the improved scientific understanding of the direct effect of aerosols on solar radiation (direct radiative effect, DRE) improvements are necessary, for example regarding the accuracy of the magnitude of estimated DREs and their spatial and temporal variability. This variability cannot be ensured by in-situ surface and airborne measurements, while it is also relatively difficult to capture through satellite observations. This becomes even more difficult when complete spatial coverage of extended areas is required, especially concerning areas that host various aerosol types with variable physico-chemical and optical aerosol properties. Better assessments of aerosol DREs are necessary, relying on aerosol optical properties with high spatial and temporal variation. The present study aims to provide a refined, along these lines, assessment of aerosol DREs over the eastern Mediterranean (EM) Sea, which is a key area for aerosol studies. Daily DREs are computed for 1˚ x1˚ latitude-longitude grids with the FORTH detailed spectral radiation transfer model (RTM) using input data for various atmospheric and surface parameters, such as clouds, water vapor, ozone and surface albedo, taken from the NASA-Langley Global Earth Observing System (GEOS) database. The model spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD), single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter are taken from the Global Aerosol Data Set and the NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) version 2 of Advanced Very High resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) AOD dataset which is available over oceans at 0.63 microns and at 0.1˚ x0.1˚ . The aerosol DREs are computed at the surface, the top-of-atmosphere and within the atmosphere, over the period 1985-1995. Preliminary model results for the period 1990-1993 reveal a significant spatial and temporal variability of DREs over the EM Sea, for example larger values over the Aegean and Black Seas, surrounded by land areas with significant anthropogenic aerosol sources, and over the

  14. Grandidierella bonnieroides Stephensen, 1948 (Amphipoda, Aoridae)-first record of an established population in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brutto, Sabrina Lo; Iaciofano, Davide; Lubinevsky, Hadas; Galil, Bella S

    2016-03-17

    The first record in the Mediterranean Sea of the invasive aorid amphipod crustacean Grandidierella bonnieroides is presented. A widespread circumtropical species, recorded off the Saudi coast of the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, it may have been introduced into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. This tube-builder species of soft bottoms recently established a population in the polluted Haifa Bay, Israel. Further, this is the first Mediterranean record of the genus.

  15. Travelling in the eastern Mediterranean with landscape character assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu Jaber, N.; Abunnasr, Y.; Abu Yahya, A.; Boulad, N.; Christou, O.; Dimitropoulos, G.; Dimopoulos, T.; Gkoltsiou, K.; Khreis, N.; Manolaki, P.; Michael, K.; Odeh, T.; Papatheodoulou, A.; Sorotou, A.; Sinno, S.; Suliman, O.; Symons, N.; Terkenli, T.; Trigkas, Vassilis; Trovato, M. G.; Victora, M.; Zomeni, M.; Vogiatzakis, I. N.

    2015-06-01

    Following its application in Northern Europe, Landscape Character Assessment has also been implemented in Euro-Mediterranean countries as a tool for classifying, describing and assessing landscapes. Many landscape classifications employed in the Euro-Mediterranean area are similar in philosophy and application to the ones developed in Northern Europe. However, many aspects of landform, climate, land-use and ecology, as well as socio-economic context are distinctive of Mediterranean landscapes. The paper discusses the conceptual and methodological issues faced during landscape mapping and characterisation in four East-Mediterranean countries (within the MEDSCAPES project): Cyprus, Greece, Jordan and Lebanon. The major hurdles to overcome during the first phase of methodology development include variation in availability, quality, scale and coverage of spatial datasets between countries and also terminology semantics around landscapes. For example, the concept of landscape - a well-defined term in Greek and English - did not exist in Arabic. Another issue is the use of relative terms like 'high mountains,' `uplands' `lowlands' or ' hills'. Such terms, which are regularly used in landscape description, were perceived slightly differently in the four participating countries. In addition differences exist in nomenclature and classification systems used by each country for the dominant landscape-forming factors i.e. geology, soils and land use- but also in the cultural processes shaping the landscapes - compared both to each other and to the Northern-European norms. This paper argues for the development of consistent, regionally adapted, relevant and standardised methodologies if the results and application of LCA in the eastern Mediterranean region are to be transferable and comparable between countries.

  16. Structure, functioning, and cumulative stressors of Mediterranean deep-sea ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tecchio, Samuele; Coll, Marta; Sardà, Francisco

    2015-06-01

    Environmental stressors, such as climate fluctuations, and anthropogenic stressors, such as fishing, are of major concern for the management of deep-sea ecosystems. Deep-water habitats are limited by primary productivity and are mainly dependent on the vertical input of organic matter from the surface. Global change over the latest decades is imparting variations in primary productivity levels across oceans, and thus it has an impact on the amount of organic matter landing on the deep seafloor. In addition, anthropogenic impacts are now reaching the deep ocean. The Mediterranean Sea, the largest enclosed basin on the planet, is not an exception. However, ecosystem-level studies of response to varying food input and anthropogenic stressors on deep-sea ecosystems are still scant. We present here a comparative ecological network analysis of three food webs of the deep Mediterranean Sea, with contrasting trophic structure. After modelling the flows of these food webs with the Ecopath with Ecosim approach, we compared indicators of network structure and functioning. We then developed temporal dynamic simulations varying the organic matter input to evaluate its potential effect. Results show that, following the west-to-east gradient in the Mediterranean Sea of marine snow input, organic matter recycling increases, net production decreases to negative values and trophic organisation is overall reduced. The levels of food-web activity followed the gradient of organic matter availability at the seafloor, confirming that deep-water ecosystems directly depend on marine snow and are therefore influenced by variations of energy input, such as climate-driven changes. In addition, simulations of varying marine snow arrival at the seafloor, combined with the hypothesis of a possible fishery expansion on the lower continental slope in the western basin, evidence that the trawling fishery may pose an impact which could be an order of magnitude stronger than a climate

  17. Assessment of the sardine (Sardina pilchardus Walbaum, 1792 fishery in the eastern Mediterranean basin (North Aegean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. ANTONAKAKIS

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to describe the biometric characteristics of the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus catches and assess the current status of sardine stock in North Aegean Sea based on population characteristics and abundance trends. The stock was dominated by age groups 1 and 2, not exceeding age group 4. The sardine stock in this area was assessed through an Integrated Catch-at-Age model which implements a separable Virtual Population Analysis on catch at age data with weighted tuning indices. Sardine landings data derived from the commercial purse seine fishery over the period 2000-2008 were combined with the age structure of the stock as resulted from fisheries independent acoustic surveys. Sensitivity analysis of the impact of natural mortality values on stock assessment results was applied. Additionally forecast of the sardine population parameters and catches under different exploitation scenarios was implemented in a medium term basis. Results indicated that the North Aegean Sea sardine stock is considered fully exploited with the fishery operating close but over the empirical exploitation level for sustainability. Finally, the status of the sardine stock in N. Aegean Sea is discussed in relation to the sardine stocks from the western and the central Mediterranean basin.

  18. A new plate tectonic concept for the eastern-most Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huebscher, C.; McGrandle, A.; Scaife, G.; Spoors, R.; Stieglitz, T.

    2012-04-01

    Owing to the seismogenic faults bordering the Levant-Sinai realm and the discovery of giant gas reservoirs in the marine Levant Basin the scientific interest in this tectonically complex setting increased in recent years. Here we provide a new model for the Levant Basin architecture and adjacent plate boundaries emphasizing the importance of industrial seismic data for frontier research in earth science. PSDM seismics, residual gravity and depth to basement maps give a clear line of evidence that the Levant Basin, formerly considered as a single tectonic entity, is divided into two different domains. Highly stretched continental crust in the southern domain is separated from deeper and presumably Tethyan oceanic crust in the north. A transform continuing from southwest Cyprus to the Carmel Fault in northern Israel is considered as the boundary. If this interpretation holds, the Carmel-Cyprus Transform represents a yet unknown continent-ocean boundary in the eastern Mediterranean, thus adding new constrains for the Mediterranean plate tectonic puzzle. The Eratosthenes Seamount, considered as the spearhead of incipient continental collision in the eastern Mediterranean, is interpreted as a carbonate platform that developed above a volcanic basement. NW-SE trending strike-slip faults are abundant in the entire Levant region. Since this trend also shapes the topography of the Levant hinterland including Quaternary deposits their recent tectonic activity is quite likely. Thus, our study supports previous studies which attributed the evolution of submarine canyons and Holocene triggering of mass failures not only to salt tectonics or depositional processes, but also to active plate-tectonics.

  19. Oil spill hazard assessment using a reverse trajectory method for the Egadi marine protected area (Central Mediterranean Sea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciappa, Achille; Costabile, Salvatore

    2014-07-15

    The Egadi Marine Protected Area (MPA) on the western side of the Sicily Channel (Central Mediterranean) is exposed to a high risk of oil pollution from the tanker routes connecting the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean Sea. Areas where an oil spill would do most damage, and thus where surveillance should be concentrated, are identified in this study by Lagrangian tracers tracked backwards in time from points along the MPA perimeter using data spanning six years from 2006 to 2011. Results indicate that the areas where oil surveillance would be most beneficial are segments of the tanker routes south of Sicily (highly frequented) and north of Sicily (scarcely frequented), both extending about 150 miles from November to March and 100 miles in the other months. The third route, close to the Tunisian shore, is the most frequented by oil tankers but the threat period is limited to November and December. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The Mediterranean Sea regime shift at the end of the 1980s, and intriguing parallelisms with other European basins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Conversi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Regime shifts are abrupt changes encompassing a multitude of physical properties and ecosystem variables, which lead to new regime conditions. Recent investigations focus on the changes in ecosystem diversity and functioning associated to such shifts. Of particular interest, because of the implication on climate drivers, are shifts that occur synchronously in separated basins. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this work we analyze and review long-term records of Mediterranean ecological and hydro-climate variables and find that all point to a synchronous change in the late 1980s. A quantitative synthesis of the literature (including observed oceanic data, models and satellite analyses shows that these years mark a major change in Mediterranean hydrographic properties, surface circulation, and deep water convection (the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. We provide novel analyses that link local, regional and basin scale hydrological properties with two major indicators of large scale climate, the North Atlantic Oscillation index and the Northern Hemisphere Temperature index, suggesting that the Mediterranean shift is part of a large scale change in the Northern Hemisphere. We provide a simplified scheme of the different effects of climate vs. temperature on pelagic ecosystems. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the Mediterranean Sea underwent a major change at the end of the 1980s that encompassed atmospheric, hydrological, and ecological systems, for which it can be considered a regime shift. We further provide evidence that the local hydrography is linked to the larger scale, northern hemisphere climate. These results suggest that the shifts that affected the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean (this work Seas at the end of the 1980s, that have been so far only partly associated, are likely linked as part a northern hemisphere change. These findings bear wide implications for the development of climate change scenarios, as synchronous shifts

  1. The Mediterranean Sea regime shift at the end of the 1980s, and intriguing parallelisms with other European basins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conversi, Alessandra; Fonda Umani, Serena; Peluso, Tiziana; Molinero, Juan Carlos; Santojanni, Alberto; Edwards, Martin

    2010-05-19

    Regime shifts are abrupt changes encompassing a multitude of physical properties and ecosystem variables, which lead to new regime conditions. Recent investigations focus on the changes in ecosystem diversity and functioning associated to such shifts. Of particular interest, because of the implication on climate drivers, are shifts that occur synchronously in separated basins. In this work we analyze and review long-term records of Mediterranean ecological and hydro-climate variables and find that all point to a synchronous change in the late 1980s. A quantitative synthesis of the literature (including observed oceanic data, models and satellite analyses) shows that these years mark a major change in Mediterranean hydrographic properties, surface circulation, and deep water convection (the Eastern Mediterranean Transient). We provide novel analyses that link local, regional and basin scale hydrological properties with two major indicators of large scale climate, the North Atlantic Oscillation index and the Northern Hemisphere Temperature index, suggesting that the Mediterranean shift is part of a large scale change in the Northern Hemisphere. We provide a simplified scheme of the different effects of climate vs. temperature on pelagic ecosystems. Our results show that the Mediterranean Sea underwent a major change at the end of the 1980s that encompassed atmospheric, hydrological, and ecological systems, for which it can be considered a regime shift. We further provide evidence that the local hydrography is linked to the larger scale, northern hemisphere climate. These results suggest that the shifts that affected the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean (this work) Seas at the end of the 1980s, that have been so far only partly associated, are likely linked as part a northern hemisphere change. These findings bear wide implications for the development of climate change scenarios, as synchronous shifts may provide the key for distinguishing local (i.e., basin

  2. New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (July 2016

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    T. DAILIANIS

    2016-07-01

    . Lebanon: an array of records of 5 alien and one native Mediterranean species is reported by citizen-scientists; the Pacific jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata and the Indo-Pacific teleosteans Tylerius spinosissimus, Ostracion cubicus, and Lutjanus argentimaculatus are reported from the Lebanese coast, the latter notably being the second record for the species in the Mediterranean Sea since 1977; the native sand snake-eel Ophisurus serpens, rare in the eastern Mediterranean, is reported for the first time from Lebanon, this being its easternmost distribution range; finally, a substantial number of sightings of the lionfish Pterois miles further confirm the current establishment of this lessepsian species in the Levantine.

  3. On the impact of the Bimodal Oscillating System (BiOS on the biogeochemistry and biology of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas (Eastern Mediterranean

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    G. Civitarese

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of 20-year time-series of the vertically averaged salinity and nutrient data in the Southern Adriatic shows that the two parameters are subject to strong decadal variability. In addition, it is documented that nutrient and salinity variations are out of phase. Nutrients in the Ionian and in the Adriatic vary in parallel except that generally the nutrient content in the Adriatic is lower than in the Ionian, a fact that has been attributed to primary producer consumption following the winter convective mixing. As shown earlier, North Ionian Gyre (NIG changes its circulation sense on a decadal scale due to the Bimodal Oscillating System, i.e. the feedback mechanism between the Adriatic and Ionian. Cyclonic circulation causes a downwelling of the nitracline along the borders of the NIG and a decrease in the nutrient content of the water flowing into the Adriatic across the Otranto Strait, and vice versa. In addition, the highly oligotrophic central area of the Ionian shows annual blooms only during cyclonic NIG circulation. Inversion of the sense of the NIG results in the advection of Modified Atlantic Water or of the Levantine/Eastern Mediterranean waters in the Adriatic. Here, we show that the presence of allochtonous organisms from Atlantic/Western Mediterranean and Eastern Mediterranean/temperate zone in the Adriatic are concurrent with the anticyclonic and cyclonic circulations of the NIG, respectively. On the basis of the results presented, a revision of the theory of Adriatic ingressions formulated in the early 1950s is proposed.

  4. Light microscopic study of four plagiorchiid trematodes infecting marine fish in the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Alexandria City, with descriptions of two new species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Gaber, Rewaida; Abdel-Ghaffar, Fathy; Mehlhorn, Heinz; Al Quraishy, Saleh; Morsy, Kareem; Maher, Sherein

    2018-05-01

    During the present investigation, a total of 220 fish specimens belonging to three different species, namely, little tunny Euthynnus alletteratus, African snook Lates niloticus, and striped red mullet Mullus surmuletus, were collected from January-November 2016 from the coasts off Abu Qir landing site, Alexandria City, south-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Egypt. The collected fish samples were dissected and examined for the presence of helminth parasites. Twenty-three out of 220 (10.45%) fish specimens were found to be naturally infected with four species of trematode parasites belonging to three different families of the order Plagiorchiida. The recovered parasite species were collected and identified by applying light microscopic examinations. The present study recorded two new parasite species, namely, Stephanostomum alletterani sp. nov. and Bathycreadium mulli sp. nov., belonging to the families Acanthocolpidae and Opecoelidae and infecting E. alletteratus and M. surmuletus, respectively and re-descriptions of the two remaining species, namely, Acanthostomum spiniceps and Aponurus mulli of the families Acanthostomatidae and Opecoelidae, respectively, to clarify the measurements of some body parts. Morphological and morphometric characterizations revealed some differences between the present species and other related species detected previously. Future studies are recommended to include advanced molecular characteristics for these species.

  5. Age and growth determination by skeletochronology in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta from the Mediterranean Sea

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    Paolo Casale

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Skeletochronology was applied to humerus bones to assess the age and growth rates of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta in the Mediterranean Sea. Fifty-five dead turtles with curved carapace lengths (CCL ranging from 24 to 86.5 cm were collected from the central Mediterranean. Sections of humeri were histologically processed to analyze annual growth marks. Two approaches were used to estimate the somatic growth in the form of a von Bertalanffy growth function. The first approach was based on calculating the total number of growth marks, which corresponds to the age of turtles at death. The second approach estimates the carapace length at old growth marks in order to provide the growth rate of each turtle. The observed individual growth rates ranged from 1.4 to 6.2 cm yr–1, and showed both elevated inter- and intra-individual variability possibly related to the environmental variability experienced by turtles during their lifetime. Both approaches gave similar results and suggest that Mediterranean loggerhead turtles take 14.9 to 28.5 years to reach a CCL of 66.5 to 84.7 cm. This size corresponds to the average size of nesting females found in the most important Mediterranean nesting sites and can be considered the approximate size at maturity.

  6. Recent sea surface temperature trends and future scenarios for the Mediterranean Sea

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    Mohamed Shaltout

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We analyse recent Mediterranean Sea surface temperatures (SSTs and their response to global change using 1/4-degree gridded advanced very-high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR daily SST data, 1982–2012. These data indicate significant annual warming (from 0.24 °C decade−1 west of the Strait of Gibraltar to 0.51 °C decade−1 over the Black Sea and significant spatial variation in annual average SST (from 15 °C over the Black Sea to 21 °C over the Levantine sub-basin. Ensemble mean scenarios indicate that the study area SST may experience significant warming, peaking at 2.6 °C century−1 in the Representative Concentration Pathways 85 (RCP85 scenario.

  7. Abundance and sources of atmospheric halocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean

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    F. Schoenenberger

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A wide range of anthropogenic halocarbons is released to the atmosphere, contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming. Using measurements of atmospheric abundances for the estimation of halocarbon emissions on the global and regional scale has become an important top-down tool for emission validation in the recent past, but many populated and developing areas of the world are only poorly covered by the existing atmospheric halocarbon measurement network. Here we present 6 months of continuous halocarbon observations from Finokalia on the island of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean. The gases measured are the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs, HFC-134a (CH2FCF3, HFC-125 (CHF2CF3, HFC-152a (CH3CHF2 and HFC-143a (CH3CF3 and the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs, HCFC-22 (CHClF2 and HCFC-142b (CH3CClF2. The Eastern Mediterranean is home to 250 million inhabitants, consisting of a number of developed and developing countries, for which different emission regulations exist under the Kyoto and Montreal protocols. Regional emissions of halocarbons were estimated with Lagrangian atmospheric transport simulations and a Bayesian inverse modeling system, using measurements at Finokalia in conjunction with those from Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE sites at Mace Head (Ireland, Jungfraujoch (Switzerland and Monte Cimone (Italy. Measured peak mole fractions at Finokalia showed generally smaller amplitudes for HFCs than at the European AGAGE sites except for periodic peaks of HFC-152a, indicating strong upwind sources. Higher peak mole fractions were observed for HCFCs, suggesting continued emissions from nearby developing regions such as Egypt and the Middle East. For 2013, the Eastern Mediterranean inverse emission estimates for the four analyzed HFCs and the two HCFCs were 13.9 (11.3–19.3 and 9.5 (6.8–15.1 Tg CO2eq yr−1, respectively. These emissions contributed 16.8 % (13.6–23.3 % and 53.2 % (38.1–84.2

  8. Hydrology and circulation in the North Aegean (eastern Mediterranean throughout 1997 and 1998

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    V. ZERVAKIS

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available The combination of two research projects offered us the opportunity to perform a comprehensive study of the seasonal evolution of the hydrological structure and the circulation of the North Aegean Sea, at the northern extremes of the eastern Mediterranean. The combination of brackish water inflow from the Dardanelles and the sea-bottom relief dictate the significant differences between the North and South Aegean water columns. The relatively warm and highly saline South Aegean waters enter the North Aegean through the dominant cyclonic circulation of the basin. In the North Aegean, three layers of distinct water masses of very different properties are observed: The 20-50 m thick surface layer is occupied mainly by Black Sea Water, modified on its way through the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles. Below the surface layer there is warm and highly saline water originating in the South Aegean and the Levantine, extending down to 350-400 m depth. Below this layer, the deeper-than-400 m basins of the North Aegean contain locally formed, very dense water with different θ /S characteristics at each subbasin. The circulation is characterised by a series of permanent, semi-permanent and transient mesoscale features, overlaid on the general slow cyclonic circulation of the Aegean. The mesoscale activity, while not necessarily important in enhancing isopycnal mixing in the region, in combination with the very high stratification of the upper layers, however, increases the residence time of the water of the upper layers in the general area of the North Aegean. As a result, water having out-flowed from the Black Sea in the winter, forms a separate distinct layer in the region in spring (lying between “younger” BSW and the Levantine origin water, and is still traceable in the water column in late summer.

  9. Is the distribution of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus ecotypes in the Mediterranean Sea affected by global warming?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mella-Flores, D.; Mazard, S.; Humily, F.; Partensky, F.; Mahé, F.; Bariat, L.; Courties, C.; Marie, D.; Ras, J.; Mauriac, R.; Jeanthon, C.; Bendif, E. M.; Ostrowski, M.; Scanlan, D. J.; Garczarek, L.

    2011-05-01

    Biological communities populating the Mediterranean Sea, which is situated at the northern boundary of the subtropics, are often claimed to be particularly affected by global warming. This is indicated, for instance, by the introduction of (sub)tropical species of fish or invertebrates that can displace local species. This raises the question of whether microbial communities are similarly affected, especially in the Levantine basin where sea surface temperatures have risen in recent years. In this paper, the genetic diversity of the two most abundant members of the phytoplankton community, the picocyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, was examined on a transect from the South coast of France to Cyprus in the summer of 2008 (BOUM cruise). Diversity was studied using dot blot hybridization with clade-specific 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes and clone libraries of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Data were compared with those obtained during the PROSOPE cruise held almost a decade earlier, with a focus on the abundance of clades that may constitute bioindicators of warm waters. During both cruises, the dominant Prochlorococcus clade in the upper mixed layer at all stations was HLI, a clade typical of temperate waters, whereas the HLII clade, the dominant group in (sub)tropical waters, was only present at very low concentrations. The Synechococcus community was dominated by clades I, III and IV in the northwestern waters of the Gulf of Lions and by clade III and groups genetically related to clades WPC1 and VI in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, only a few sequences of clade II, a group typical of warm waters, were observed. These data indicate that local cyanobacterial populations have not yet been displaced by their (sub)tropical counterparts. This is discussed in the context of the low phosphorus concentrations found in surface waters in the eastern Mediterranean basin, as this may constitute a barrier to

  10. 21,000 years of Ethiopian African monsoon variability recorded in sediments of the western Nile deep-sea fan: impact of the Nile freshwater inflow for the Mediterranean thermo-haline circulation

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    Revel, Marie; Colin, Christophe; Bernasconi, Stephano; Combourieu-Nebout, Nathalie; Ducassou, Emmanuelle; Rolland, Yann; Bosch, Delphine

    2014-05-01

    The Nile delta sedimentation constitutes a continuous high resolution (1.6 mm/year) record of Ethiopian African monsoon regime intensity. Multiproxy analyses performed on core MS27PT recovered in hemipelagic Nile sediment margin (Blue/White Nile River suspended matter frequency fluctuations during the last 21 cal. ka BP. The radiogenic Sr and Nd isotopes, clay mineralogy, bulk elemental composition and palynological analyses reveal large changes in source components, oscillating between a dominant aeolian Saharan contribution during the LGM and the Late Holocene (~4 to 2 cal. ka BP), a dominant Blue/Atbara Nile River contribution during the early Holocene (15 to 8.4 cal. ka BP) and a probable White Nile River contribution during the Middle Holocene (8.4 to 4 cal. ka BP). The following main features are highlighted: 1. The rapid shift from the LGM arid conditions to the African Humid Period (AHP) started at about 15 cal. ka BP. AHP extends until 8.4 cal. ka BP, and we suggest that the Ethiopian African Monsoon maximum between 12 and 8 cal. ka BP is responsible for a larger Blue/Atbara Nile sediment load and freshwater input into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. 2. The transition between the AHP and the arid Late Holocene is gradual and occurs in two main phases between 8.4 and 6.5 cal. ka BP and 6.5 to 3.2 cal. ka BP. We suggest that the main rain belt shifted southward from 8.4 to ~4 cal. ka BP and was responsible for progressively reduced sediment load and freshwater input into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. 3. The aridification along the Nile catchments occurred from ~4 to 2 cal. ka BP. A dry period, which culminates at 3.2 cal. ka BP, and seems to coincide with a re-establishment of increased oceanic primary productivity in the western Mediterranean Sea. We postulate that the decrease in thermo-haline water Mediterranean circulation could be part of a response to huge volumes of fresh-water delivered principally by the Nile River from 12 to 8.4 cal. ka BP in the

  11. Comparison of satellite altimetry sea level anomalies and hydrographic observations in the Mediterranean Sea

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    Francisco Mir Calafat

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Steric sea level (SSL computed from hydrographic observations in the Mediterranean Sea is compared against altimetric sea level anomalies (SLA at seasonal and inter-annual time scales for the period 1993-2008. SSL (referenced to 300 m is computed using two data sets: in situ profiles and gridded products obtained from interpolated observations. The impact of expendable/mechanical bathythermograph (XBT/MBT biases affecting some of the in situ profiles is investigated by comparing both corrected and uncorrected data. For the period 2003-2008 the mass component is estimated from GRACE observations and subtracted from SLA. The analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution of profiles shows that the number of profiles with data below 300 m is a small percentage of the total and that their spatial coverage of the Mediterranean basin is very limited. This is an important handicap for regions where the contribution of the deep layers to SSL is significant. Overall, SSL and SLA are shown to be consistent in the Mediterranean at seasonal time scales, although the annual amplitude of the SSL from in situ profiles and interpolated data is considerably smaller than that of the SLA. The agreement at inter-annual time scales is less good. At some particular locations SSL computed from individual profiles is more correlated with SLA than the gridded products. At basin and sub-basin scales, however, interpolated and in situ observations provide similar results in terms of their correlation with observed SLA. The XBT/MBT bias corrections have little effect on the SSL at the time scales considered in this study.

  12. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta): A target species for monitoring litter ingested by marine organisms in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matiddi, Marco; Hochsheid, Sandra; Camedda, Andrea; Baini, Matteo; Cocumelli, Cristiano; Serena, Fabrizio; Tomassetti, Paolo; Travaglini, Andrea; Marra, Stefano; Campani, Tommaso; Scholl, Francesco; Mancusi, Cecilia; Amato, Ezio; Briguglio, Paolo; Maffucci, Fulvio; Fossi, Maria Cristina; Bentivegna, Flegra; de Lucia, Giuseppe Andrea

    2017-11-01

    Marine litter is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment. Ingestion of marine litter can have lethal and sub-lethal effects on wildlife that accidentally ingests it, and sea turtles are particularly susceptible to this threat. The European Commission drafted the 2008/56/EC Marine Strategy Framework Directive with the aim to achieve a Good Environmental Status (GES), and the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta, Linnaeus 1758) was selected for monitoring the amount and composition of litter ingested by marine animals. An analogous decision has been made under the UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea, following the Ecosystem Approach. This work provides for the first time, two possible scenarios for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive GES, both related to "Trends in the amount and composition of litter ingested by marine animals" in the Mediterranean Sea. The study validates the use of the loggerhead turtle as target indicator for monitoring the impact of litter on marine biota and calls for immediate use of this protocol throughout the Mediterranean basin and European Region. Both GES scenarios are relevant worldwide, where sea turtles and marine litter are present, for measuring the impact of ingested plastics and developing policy strategies to reduce it. In the period between 2011 and 2014, 150 loggerhead sea turtles, found dead, were collected from the Italian Coast, West Mediterranean Sea Sub-Region. The presence of marine litter was investigated using a standardized protocol for necropsies and lab analysis. The collected items were subdivided into 4 main categories, namely, IND-Industrial plastic, USE-User plastic, RUB-Non plastic rubbish, POL-Pollutants and 14 sub-categories, to detect local diversity. Eighty-five percent of the individuals considered (n = 120) were found to have ingested an average of 1.3 ± 0.2 g of

  13. The impact of monsoon outflow from India and Southeast Asia in the upper troposphere over the eastern Mediterranean

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scheeren, HA; Lelieveld, J; Roelofs, GJ; Williams, J; Fischer, H; de Reus, M; de Gouw, JA; Warneke, C; Holzinger, R; Schlager, H; Klupfel, T; Bolder, M; van der Veen, C; Lawrence, M

    2003-01-01

    A major objective of the Mediterranean INtensive Oxidant Study (MINOS) was to investigate long-range transport of pollutants ( notably ozone precursor species). Here we present trace gas measurements from the DLR ( German Aerospace Organization) Falcon aircraft in the eastern Mediterranean

  14. Near-field tsunami early warning and emergency planning in the Mediterranean Sea

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    Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The new European project Near-field Tsunami Early Warning and Emergency Planning in the Mediterranean Sea (NEARTOWARN faces the need to develop operational tsunami early warning systems in near-field (local conditions where the travel time of the first tsunami wave is very short, that is less than 30 min, which is a typical case in the North East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea region but also elsewhere around the globe. The operational condition that should be fulfilled is that the time of tsunami detection, plus the time of warning transmitting, plus the time of evacuation should not exceed the travel time of the first tsunami wave from its source to the closest evacuation zone. To this goal the time to detect of the causative earthquake should be compressed at the very minimum. In this context the core of the proposed system is a network of seismic early warning devices, which activate and send alert in a few seconds after the generation of a near-field earthquake, when a seismic ground motion exceeding a prescribed threshold is detected. Then civil protection mobilizes to manage the earthquake crisis but also to detect and manage a possible tsunami through a geographical risk management system. For the tsunami detection the system is supported by tide-gauges of radar type, a database of presimulated tsunami scenarios, and a local tsunami decision matrix. The island of Rhodes in the eastern termination of the Hellenic Arc and Trench has been selected for a pilot and operational development of the local tsunami warning system given that the island is a highly popular tourist destination, historically it was hit by large tsunamigenic earthquakes and was recently the master test-site for the pan-European FP6 tsunami research project Tsunami Risk ANd Strategies For the European Region (TRANSFER.

  15. A middle Pleistocene eastern Mediterranean fish refuge: the Tsampika Bay (Rhodes, Greece)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agiadi, K.; Koskeridou, E.; Moissette, P.; Lopez-Otalvaro, G. E.; Quillévéré, F.; Cornée, J. J.

    2012-04-01

    Extensive sampling of the Tsampika marly diatomites reveals the presence of at least three very important fish species, Bregmaceros sp., Sygnathus acus and Spratteloides sp.. Previous records of Bregmaceros sp. in the Mediterranean have suggested that this characteristic Pliocene warm-water circumglobal pelagic fish disappeared from the Mediterranean basin due to the climatic deterioration, after the Gelasian age1,2,3,4. The Tsampika fish-bearing deposits, mainly marly diatomites, are younger than 268 Ka, based on the occurrence of Emiliania huxleyi. Consequently, this is so far the youngest record of Bregmaceros sp. in the Mediterranean, suggesting that typical Pliocene fish may have found refuge in selected localities, such as Tsampika Bay, at least until the Ionian. Evidence for its presence in the Mediterranean basin today is ambiguous. Isolated records of Bregmaceros atlanticus place it in the Sicily Strait5, and off the Israeli and south Turkish coasts6. Although it appears more likely that Bregmaceros atlanticus has been introduced to the modern Mediterranean from the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal, the possibility that it is part of a small population native to the Mediterranean can not be excluded based on present-day data6. Indeed the late Pleistocene Mediterranean fish record is obsolete, due to the lack of appropriate sampling on this subject. Furthermore, the majority of Pleistocene Bregmaceros samples pertain to otoliths, which cannot be unambiguously identified on the species level. As a result, the present findings pose the considerable possibility that the Pleistocene Bregmaceros records belong to two species, B. albyi, the well known post-Messinian Mediterranean fish, and B. atlanticus, which may have invaded the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar along with several other warm-water taxa during recurring interglacial periods. The specific identification of the Tsampika fish will undoubtedly shed light to this possibility, and enhance our knowledge

  16. A Mediterranean coastal database for assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and associated hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, Claudia; Vafeidis, Athanasios T.; Muis, Sanne; Lincke, Daniel; Satta, Alessio; Lionello, Piero; Jimenez, Jose A.; Conte, Dario; Hinkel, Jochen

    2018-01-01

    We have developed a new coastal database for the Mediterranean basin that is intended for coastal impact and adaptation assessment to sea-level rise and associated hazards on a regional scale. The data structure of the database relies on a linear representation of the coast with associated spatial assessment units. Using information on coastal morphology, human settlements and administrative boundaries, we have divided the Mediterranean coast into 13 900 coastal assessment units. To these units we have spatially attributed 160 parameters on the characteristics of the natural and socio-economic subsystems, such as extreme sea levels, vertical land movement and number of people exposed to sea-level rise and extreme sea levels. The database contains information on current conditions and on plausible future changes that are essential drivers for future impacts, such as sea-level rise rates and socio-economic development. Besides its intended use in risk and impact assessment, we anticipate that the Mediterranean Coastal Database (MCD) constitutes a useful source of information for a wide range of coastal applications. PMID:29583140

  17. A Mediterranean coastal database for assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and associated hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, Claudia; Vafeidis, Athanasios T.; Muis, Sanne; Lincke, Daniel; Satta, Alessio; Lionello, Piero; Jimenez, Jose A.; Conte, Dario; Hinkel, Jochen

    2018-03-01

    We have developed a new coastal database for the Mediterranean basin that is intended for coastal impact and adaptation assessment to sea-level rise and associated hazards on a regional scale. The data structure of the database relies on a linear representation of the coast with associated spatial assessment units. Using information on coastal morphology, human settlements and administrative boundaries, we have divided the Mediterranean coast into 13 900 coastal assessment units. To these units we have spatially attributed 160 parameters on the characteristics of the natural and socio-economic subsystems, such as extreme sea levels, vertical land movement and number of people exposed to sea-level rise and extreme sea levels. The database contains information on current conditions and on plausible future changes that are essential drivers for future impacts, such as sea-level rise rates and socio-economic development. Besides its intended use in risk and impact assessment, we anticipate that the Mediterranean Coastal Database (MCD) constitutes a useful source of information for a wide range of coastal applications.

  18. A Mediterranean coastal database for assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and associated hazards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, Claudia; Vafeidis, Athanasios T; Muis, Sanne; Lincke, Daniel; Satta, Alessio; Lionello, Piero; Jimenez, Jose A; Conte, Dario; Hinkel, Jochen

    2018-03-27

    We have developed a new coastal database for the Mediterranean basin that is intended for coastal impact and adaptation assessment to sea-level rise and associated hazards on a regional scale. The data structure of the database relies on a linear representation of the coast with associated spatial assessment units. Using information on coastal morphology, human settlements and administrative boundaries, we have divided the Mediterranean coast into 13 900 coastal assessment units. To these units we have spatially attributed 160 parameters on the characteristics of the natural and socio-economic subsystems, such as extreme sea levels, vertical land movement and number of people exposed to sea-level rise and extreme sea levels. The database contains information on current conditions and on plausible future changes that are essential drivers for future impacts, such as sea-level rise rates and socio-economic development. Besides its intended use in risk and impact assessment, we anticipate that the Mediterranean Coastal Database (MCD) constitutes a useful source of information for a wide range of coastal applications.

  19. Distribution of caesium-137 in the Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukai, R.; Ballestra, S.; Vas, D.

    1980-01-01

    The International Laboratory of Marine Radioactivity (Monaco) conducted several oceanographic cruises during 1975-1977 to collect data on heavy metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons in the open Mediterranean. Sea water samples for radionuclide measurements were also collected on these cruises. The 137 Cs measurements in these samples are presented and discussed. After collection sea water was immediately acidified to pH 1.5 and 137 Cs was sorbed on solid ammonium phosphomolybdate together with added stable cesium carrier. After dissolution of AMP by NaoH, Cs was separated from K and Rb by ion exchange, precipitated as chloroplatinate and beta-counted. The surface concentrations of 137 Cs in the different areas of the Mediterranean fall in the range of 80-180 fCi 137 Cs/l, the average of all values being 126 +- 7 fCi 137 Cs. The vertical distribution of 137 Cs measured at four different locations varied considerably. It increased from surface to a maximum at a depth between 50m and 250m and then decreased with depth. The depth of maximum concentration differed from station to station but was always above the chlorinity maximum. The vertical distribution, therefore, seems to be closely related to vertical water mass movements. The inventories of 137 Cs delivered by radioactive fallout into the Mediterranean water columns are computed on the basis 137 Cs/ 90 Sr activity ratio and presented. (M.G.B.)

  20. The Gela Basin pockmark field in the strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea: chemosymbiotic faunal and carbonate signatures of postglacial to modern cold seepage

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    M. Taviani

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The geo-biological exploration of a pockmark field located at ca. 800 m below sea level in the Gela basin (Strait of Sicily, Central Mediterranean provided a relatively diverse chemosymbiotic community and methane-imprinted carbonates. To date, this is the first occurrence of such a type of specialised deep-water cold-seep communities recorded from this key region, before documented in the Mediterranean as rather disjunct findings in its eastern and westernmost basins. The thiotrophic chemosymbiotic organisms recovered from this area include empty tubes of the vestimentiferan Lamellibrachia sp., loose and articulated shells of lucinids (Lucinoma kazani, Myrtea amorpha, vesicomyids (Isorropodon perplexum, and gastropods (Taranis moerchii. A callianassid decapod (Calliax sp. was consistently found alive in large numbers in the pockmark mud. Their post-mortem calcified parts mixed with molluscs and subordinately miliolid foraminifers form a distinct type of skeletal assemblage. Carbonate concretions display δ13C values as low as −40‰ PDB suggesting the occurrence of light hydrocarbons in the seeping fluids. Since none of the truly chemosymbiotic organisms was found alive, although their skeletal parts appear at times very fresh, some specimens have been AMS-14C dated to shed light on the historical evolution of this site. Lamellibrachiav and Lucinoma are two of the most significant chemosymbiotic taxa reported from various Mediterranean cold seep sites (Alboran Sea and Eastern basin. Specimens from station MEDCOR78 (pockmark #1, Lat. 36°46´10.18" N, Long. 14°01´31.59" E, 815 m below sea level provided ages of 11736 ± 636 yr cal BP (Lamellibrachia sp., and 9609.5 ± 153.5 yr cal BP (L. kazani. One shell of M. amorpha in core MEDCOR81 (pockmark #6, Lat 36°45´38.89" N, Long 14°00´07.58" E, 822 m below sea level provided a sub-modern age of 484 ± 54 yr cal BP. These ages document that fluid seepage at this pockmark site has been

  1. Another possible risk for the Mediterranean Sea? Aspergillus sydowii discovered in the Port of Genoa (Ligurian Sea, Italy).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greco, G; Capello, M; Cecchi, G; Cutroneo, L; Di Piazza, S; Zotti, M

    2017-09-15

    Aspergillus sydowii is a cosmopolitan fungus that has been responsible for the mass destruction of coral in the Caribbean Sea over the last 15years. To our knowledge, this study has found the first case of A. sydowii in the Mediterranean Sea, in marine-bottom sediments, water and calcareous shells of bivalve molluscs sampled during a campaign to characterise the mycobiota in the Port of Genoa (Italy). The area is characterised by adverse environmental conditions (high turbidity, organic pollution and high concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds). These parameters, in combination with a rising temperature, could contribute to A. sydowii bloom and dispersal. This fungal strain may have been imported into the Port of Genoa in the bilge water of vessels or by torrent input. This work represents the first step in the implementation of a monitoring programme to safeguard calcareous sponges and sea fan corals endemic in the Mediterranean Sea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Sea surface temperature variability in the North Western Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion) during the Common Era

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sicre, Marie-Alexandrine; Jalali, Bassem; Martrat, Belen; Schmidt, Sabine; Bassetti, Maria-Angela; Kallel, Nejib

    2016-12-01

    This study investigates the multidecadal-scale variability of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the convection region of the Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean Sea) over the full past 2000 yr (Common Era) using alkenone biomarkers. Our data show colder SSTs by 1.7 °C over most of the first millennium (200-800 AD) and by 1.3 °C during the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1400-1850 AD) than the 20th century mean (17.9 °C). Although on average warmer, those of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) (1000-1200 AD) were lower by 1 °C. We found a mean SST warming of 2 °C/100 yr over the last century in close agreement with the 0.22 and 0.26 °C/decade values calculated for the western Mediterranean Sea from in situ and satellite data, respectively. Our results also reveal strongly fluctuating SSTs characterized by cold extremes followed by abrupt warming during the LIA. We suggest that the coldest decades of the LIA were likely caused by prevailing negative EA states and associated anticyclone blocking over the North Atlantic resulting in cold continental northeasterly winds to blow over Western Europe and the Mediterranean region.

  3. Gaia and the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenneth J. Hsü

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available The Earth is a self-organizing system liking a living organism. Lovelock proposed Gaia as a metaphor to designate the check and balance ofterrestrial temperatures: the Earth is never too hot so that the ocean could boil, and the Earth is never too cold that the ocean could freeze from top to bottom. Hsü proposed that Gaia is endothermic because the life on Earth has been alternate successions of air-conditioners and heaters which evolved and deactivate or reinforce the terrestial greenhouse of carbon dioxide in atmosphere. When Earth was heating up too much, the air-conditioneers, such as anaerobic bacteria, cyanobacteria, skeletal organisms and trees, and finally calcareous plankton, went to work to bring the terrestrial temperature down. When the Earth was freezing at times of continental glaciation, heaters went to work, such as methanogenic bacteria, Ediacaran faunas, tundra and desert plants, and now Homo sapiens. Gaia has to have other organs to keep the self-organizing system vital. This paper presents a postulate that the Miocene Mediterranean Sea acted as Gaia´s kidney. The steady influx of dissolved ions and debris into the ocean causes inevitable increase of ocean´s salinity. The fossil and geochemicl records indicate that the ocean has never been too saline nor too brackish for the survival of normal marine organisms: the salinity ranged from about 32 to 36 pro mil during the last billion years. Ocean-drilling cruises to the Mediterranean discovered a very large salt formation, deposited during some 5 million years ago when the Mediterranean dried up. A study of the geochemical balance of the oceans indicates that the deposition of very large salt bodies in isolated basins such as the Miocene Mediterranean every 100 million years or so. The saline giants have the function of Gaia´s kidney. With periodical removals of the salt ions and the heavy metals from seawater, the world´s ocean have been rendered forever habitable. Gaia

  4. The dissolved yellow substance and the shades of blue in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morel, A.; Gentili, B.

    2009-11-01

    When the nominal algorithms commonly in use in Space Agencies are applied to satellite Ocean Color data, the retrieved chlorophyll concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea are recurrently notable overestimates of the field values. Accordingly, several regionally tuned algorithms have been proposed in the past to correct for this deviation. Actually, the blueness of the Mediterranean waters is not as deep as expected from the actual (low) chlorophyll content, and the modified algorithms account for this peculiarity. Among the possible causes for such a deviation, an excessive amount of yellow substance (or of chromophoric dissolved organic matter, CDOM) has been frequently cited. This conjecture is presently tested, by using a new technique simply based on the simultaneous consideration of marine reflectance determined at four spectral bands, namely at 412, 443, 490, and 555 nm, available on the NASA-SeaWiFS sensor (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor). It results from this test that the concentration in yellow colored material (quantified as ay, the absorption coefficient of this material at 443 nm) is about twice that one observed in the nearby Atlantic Ocean at the same latitude. There is a strong seasonal signal, with maximal ay values in late fall and winter, an abrupt decrease beginning in spring, and then a flat minimum during the summer months, which plausibly results from the intense photo-bleaching process favored by the high level of sunshine in these areas. Systematically, the ay values, reproducible from year to year, are higher in the western basin compared with those in the eastern basin (by about 50%). The relative importance of the river discharges into this semi-enclosed sea, as well as the winter deep vertical mixing occurring in the northern parts of the basins may explain the high yellow substance background. The regionally tuned [Chl] algorithms, actually reflect the presence of an excess of CDOM with respect to its standard (Chl

  5. Microplastic sampling in the Mediterranean Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biginagwa, Fares; Sosthenes, Bahati; Syberg, Kristian

    The extent of microplastic pollution in the Southwestern Mediterranean Sea is not yet known, although on Northwestern part has been previously studied. Plastic samples were collected at 7 transects during a 10 day expedition from Sicily (Italy) to Malaga (Spain) in September 2014. A 330 µM mesh...... manta trawl was used for surface water sampling. Physical and chemical characterization of plastic particles was performed with regard to size (1-5mm), shape (fragment, line, thin film, foam and pellets), color (transparent, white, black and colored), density and chemical composition according...

  6. Mediterranean Thermohaline Response to Large-Scale Winter Atmospheric Forcing in a High-Resolution Ocean Model Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cusinato, Eleonora; Zanchettin, Davide; Sannino, Gianmaria; Rubino, Angelo

    2018-04-01

    Large-scale circulation anomalies over the North Atlantic and Euro-Mediterranean regions described by dominant climate modes, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic pattern (EA), the East Atlantic/Western Russian (EAWR) and the Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI), significantly affect interannual-to-decadal climatic and hydroclimatic variability in the Euro-Mediterranean region. However, whereas previous studies assessed the impact of such climate modes on air-sea heat and freshwater fluxes in the Mediterranean Sea, the propagation of these atmospheric forcing signals from the surface toward the interior and the abyss of the Mediterranean Sea remains unexplored. Here, we use a high-resolution ocean model simulation covering the 1979-2013 period to investigate spatial patterns and time scales of the Mediterranean thermohaline response to winter forcing from NAO, EA, EAWR and MOI. We find that these modes significantly imprint on the thermohaline properties in key areas of the Mediterranean Sea through a variety of mechanisms. Typically, density anomalies induced by all modes remain confined in the upper 600 m depth and remain significant for up to 18-24 months. One of the clearest propagation signals refers to the EA in the Adriatic and northern Ionian seas: There, negative EA anomalies are associated to an extensive positive density response, with anomalies that sink to the bottom of the South Adriatic Pit within a 2-year time. Other strong responses are the thermally driven responses to the EA in the Gulf of Lions and to the EAWR in the Aegean Sea. MOI and EAWR forcing of thermohaline properties in the Eastern Mediterranean sub-basins seems to be determined by reinforcement processes linked to the persistency of these modes in multiannual anomalous states. Our study also suggests that NAO, EA, EAWR and MOI could critically interfere with internal, deep and abyssal ocean dynamics and variability in the Mediterranean Sea.

  7. Excess of {sup 236}U in the northwest Mediterranean Sea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chamizo, E., E-mail: echamizo@us.es [Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Universidad de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Junta de Andalucía, Thomas Alva Edison 7, 41092 Seville (Spain); López-Lora, M., E-mail: mlopezlora@us.es [Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Universidad de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Junta de Andalucía, Thomas Alva Edison 7, 41092 Seville (Spain); Bressac, M., E-mail: matthieu.bressac@utas.edu.au [IAEA-Environment Laboratories, Monte Carlo 98000 (Monaco); Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS (Australia); Levy, I., E-mail: I.N.Levy@iaea.org [IAEA-Environment Laboratories, Monte Carlo 98000 (Monaco); Pham, M.K., E-mail: M.Pham@iaea.org [IAEA-Environment Laboratories, Monte Carlo 98000 (Monaco)

    2016-09-15

    In this work, we present first {sup 236}U results in the northwestern Mediterranean. {sup 236}U is studied in a seawater column sampled at DYFAMED (Dynamics of Atmospheric Fluxes in the Mediterranean Sea) station (Ligurian Sea, 43°25′N, 07°52′E). The obtained {sup 236}U/{sup 238}U atom ratios in the dissolved phase, ranging from about 2 × 10{sup −9} at 100 m depth to about 1.5 × 10{sup −9} at 2350 m depth, indicate that anthropogenic {sup 236}U dominates the whole seawater column. The corresponding deep-water column inventory (12.6 ng/m{sup 2} or 32.1 × 10{sup 12} atoms/m{sup 2}) exceeds by a factor of 2.5 the expected one for global fallout at similar latitudes (5 ng/m{sup 2} or 13 × 10{sup 12} atoms/m{sup 2}), evidencing the influence of local or regional {sup 236}U sources in the western Mediterranean basin. On the other hand, the input of {sup 236}U associated to Saharan dust outbreaks is evaluated. An additional {sup 236}U annual deposition of about 0.2 pg/m{sup 2} based on the study of atmospheric particles collected in Monaco during different Saharan dust intrusions is estimated. The obtained results in the corresponding suspended solids collected at DYFAMED station indicate that about 64% of that {sup 236}U stays in solution in seawater. Overall, this source accounts for about 0.1% of the {sup 236}U inventory excess observed at DYFAMED station. The influence of the so-called Chernobyl fallout and the radioactive effluents produced by the different nuclear installations allocated to the Mediterranean basin, might explain the inventory gap, however, further studies are necessary to come to a conclusion about its origin. - Highlights: • First {sup 236}U results in the northwest Mediterranean Sea are reported. • Anthropogenic {sup 236}U dominates the whole seawater column at DYFAMED station. • {sup 236}U deep-water column inventory exceeds by a factor of 2.5 the global fallout one. • Saharan dust intrusions are responsible for an annual

  8. Viability and Management Targets of Mediterranean Demersal Fisheries: The Case of the Aegean Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Tserpes

    Full Text Available Management of the Mediterranean demersal stocks has proven challenging mainly due to the multi-species character of the fisheries. In the present work, we focus on the multi-species demersal fisheries of the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean aiming to study the effects of different management measures on the main commercial stocks, as well as to explore the economic viability of the fisheries depending upon these resources, by means of simulated projections. Utilizing the limited available data, our results demonstrated that, under the current exploitation pattern, the economic viability of the fleets is threatened, particularly if fuel prices increase. Additionally, the biological targets set for the most exploited species, such as hake, will not be met under the current management regime. The projections also showed that the only management scenario under which both resource sustainability and economic viability of the fisheries are ensured is the decrease of fleet capacity in terms of vessel numbers. In this case, however, measures to support the fisheries-dependent communities need to be implemented to prevent the collapse of local economies due to employment decrease. Scenarios assuming selectivity improvements would be also beneficial for the stocks but they showed low economic performance and their application would threaten the viability of the fleets, particularly that of the trawlers.

  9. Marine Renewable Energy in the Mediterranean Sea: Status and Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takvor H. Soukissian

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this work, an extended overview of the marine renewable energy in the Mediterranean Sea is provided as regards current status, potential problems, challenges, and perspectives of development. An integrated and holistic approach is necessary for the economic viability and sustainability of marine renewable energy projects; this approach comprises three different frameworks, not always aligned, i.e., geotechnical/engineering, socio-economic, and environmental/ecological frameworks. In this context, the geomorphological, climatological, socio-economic, and environmental/ecological particularities of the Mediterranean basin are discussed, as they constitute key issues of the spatial context in which marine renewable energy projects are to be implemented. General guidelines for the sustainable development of marine renewable energy in the Mediterranean are also provided.

  10. The Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Estimates, Patterns, and Threats

    OpenAIRE

    Coll, Marta; Piroddi, Chiara; Steenbeek, Jeroen; Kaschner, Kristin; Ben Rais Lasram, Frida; Aguzzi, Jacopo; Ballesteros, Enric; Bianchi, Carlo Nike; Corbera, Jordi; Dailianis, Thanos; Danovaro, Roberto; Estrada, Marta; Froglia, Carlo; Galil, Bella S.; Gasol, Josep M.

    2010-01-01

    The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Here we combined an extensive literature analysis with expert opinions to update publicly available estimates of major taxa in this marine ecosystem and to revise and update several species lists. We also assessed overall spatial and temporal patterns of species diversity and identified major changes and threats. Our results listed approximately 17,000 marine species occurring in the Mediterra- nean Sea. However, our estimates of marine...

  11. Species distribution models of two critically endangered deep-sea octocorals reveal fishing impacts on vulnerable marine ecosystems in central Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauria, V; Garofalo, G; Fiorentino, F; Massi, D; Milisenda, G; Piraino, S; Russo, T; Gristina, M

    2017-08-14

    Deep-sea coral assemblages are key components of marine ecosystems that generate habitats for fish and invertebrate communities and act as marine biodiversity hot spots. Because of their life history traits, deep-sea corals are highly vulnerable to human impacts such as fishing. They are an indicator of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), therefore their conservation is essential to preserve marine biodiversity. In the Mediterranean Sea deep-sea coral habitats are associated with commercially important crustaceans, consequently their abundance has dramatically declined due to the effects of trawling. Marine spatial planning is required to ensure that the conservation of these habitats is achieved. Species distribution models were used to investigate the distribution of two critically endangered octocorals (Funiculina quadrangularis and Isidella elongata) in the central Mediterranean as a function of environmental and fisheries variables. Results show that both species exhibit species-specific habitat preferences and spatial patterns in response to environmental variables, but the impact of trawling on their distribution differed. In particular F. quadrangularis can overlap with fishing activities, whereas I. elongata occurs exclusively where fishing is low or absent. This study represents the first attempt to identify key areas for the protection of soft and compact mud VMEs in the central Mediterranean Sea.

  12. Population genetic structure in Sabatieria (Nematoda) reveals intermediary gene flow and admixture between distant cold seeps from the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Groote, Annelies; Hauquier, Freija; Vanreusel, Ann; Derycke, Sofie

    2017-07-01

    There is a general lack of information on the dispersal and genetic structuring for populations of small-sized deep-water taxa, including free-living nematodes which inhabit and dominate the seafloor sediments. This is also true for unique and scattered deep-sea habitats such as cold seeps. Given the limited dispersal capacity of marine nematodes, genetic differentiation between such geographically isolated habitat patches is expected to be high. Against this background, we examined genetic variation in both mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (18S and 28S ribosomal) DNA markers of 333 individuals of the genus Sabatieria, abundantly present in reduced cold-seep sediments. Samples originated from four Eastern Mediterranean cold seeps, separated by hundreds of kilometers, and one seep in the Southeast Atlantic. Individuals from the Mediterranean and Atlantic were divided into two separate but closely-related species clades. Within the Eastern Mediterranean, all specimens belonged to a single species, but with a strong population genetic structure (Φ ST  = 0.149). The haplotype network of COI contained 19 haplotypes with the most abundant haplotype (52% of the specimens) shared between all four seeps. The number of private haplotypes was high (15), but the number of mutations between haplotypes was low (1-8). These results indicate intermediary gene flow among the Mediterranean Sabatieria populations with no evidence of long-term barriers to gene flow. The presence of shared haplotypes and multiple admixture events indicate that Sabatieria populations from disjunct cold seeps are not completely isolated, with gene flow most likely facilitated through water current transportation of individuals and/or eggs. Genetic structure and molecular diversity indices are comparable to those of epiphytic shallow-water marine nematodes, while no evidence of sympatric cryptic species was found for the cold-seep Sabatieria.

  13. First occurrence of a Hymenosomatid crab Elamena mathoei (Desmarest, 1823 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. ZAOUALI

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Mediterranean fauna is undergoing drastic modifications as a result of anthropogenic activities and global warming. The most important of these is the colonization of the Mediterranean Sea by alien species, many of them entering through the Suez Canal. While many of them are still confined to the Levant Basin, several have extended their distribution westwards to Tunisian waters. The presence of the Indo-west Pacific hymenosomatid crab Elamena mathoei on a rocky shore at Sidi Daoud, Cape Bon Peninsula, Tunisia, is the first Mediterranean record of this species. It is a testimony to the changes in the patterns of invasion in the Mediterranean Sea.

  14. Atmospheric Forcing of the Winter Air–Sea Heat Fluxes over the Northern Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Papadopoulos, Vassilis P.; Abualnaja, Yasser; Josey, Simon A.; Bower, Amy; Raitsos, Dionysios E.; Kontoyiannis, Harilaos; Hoteit, Ibrahim

    2013-01-01

    The influence of the atmospheric circulation on the winter air–sea heat fluxes over the northern Red Sea is investigated during the period 1985–2011. The analysis based on daily heat flux values reveals that most of the net surface heat exchange variability depends on the behavior of the turbulent components of the surface flux (the sum of the latent and sensible heat). The large-scale composite sea level pressure (SLP) maps corresponding to turbulent flux minima and maxima show distinct atmospheric circulation patterns associated with each case. In general, extreme heat loss (with turbulent flux lower than −400 W m−2) over the northern Red Sea is observed when anticyclonic conditions prevail over an area extending from the Mediterranean Sea to eastern Asia along with a recession of the equatorial African lows system. Subcenters of high pressure associated with this pattern generate the required steep SLP gradient that enhances the wind magnitude and transfers cold and dry air masses from higher latitudes. Conversely, turbulent flux maxima (heat loss minimization with values from −100 to −50 W m−2) are associated with prevailing low pressures over the eastern Mediterranean and an extended equatorial African low that reaches the southern part of the Red Sea. In this case, a smooth SLP field over the northern Red Sea results in weak winds over the area that in turn reduce the surface heat loss. At the same time, southerlies blowing along the main axis of the Red Sea transfer warm and humid air northward, favoring heat flux maxima.

  15. Atmospheric Forcing of the Winter Air–Sea Heat Fluxes over the Northern Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Papadopoulos, Vassilis P.

    2013-03-01

    The influence of the atmospheric circulation on the winter air–sea heat fluxes over the northern Red Sea is investigated during the period 1985–2011. The analysis based on daily heat flux values reveals that most of the net surface heat exchange variability depends on the behavior of the turbulent components of the surface flux (the sum of the latent and sensible heat). The large-scale composite sea level pressure (SLP) maps corresponding to turbulent flux minima and maxima show distinct atmospheric circulation patterns associated with each case. In general, extreme heat loss (with turbulent flux lower than −400 W m−2) over the northern Red Sea is observed when anticyclonic conditions prevail over an area extending from the Mediterranean Sea to eastern Asia along with a recession of the equatorial African lows system. Subcenters of high pressure associated with this pattern generate the required steep SLP gradient that enhances the wind magnitude and transfers cold and dry air masses from higher latitudes. Conversely, turbulent flux maxima (heat loss minimization with values from −100 to −50 W m−2) are associated with prevailing low pressures over the eastern Mediterranean and an extended equatorial African low that reaches the southern part of the Red Sea. In this case, a smooth SLP field over the northern Red Sea results in weak winds over the area that in turn reduce the surface heat loss. At the same time, southerlies blowing along the main axis of the Red Sea transfer warm and humid air northward, favoring heat flux maxima.

  16. Assessing the sampling strategy in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margirier, Félix; Testor, Pierre; Bosse, Anthony; Heslop, Emma; L'Hévéder, Blandine; Arsouze, Thomas; Houpert, Loic; Mortier, Laurent

    2017-04-01

    The deployment of numerous autonomous platforms (gliders, argo floats, moorings) added to the repeated ship cruises in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea account for a considerable data coverage of the area through the past 10 years. In this study, we analyse the in-situ observations' ability to assess for the changes in the Northwester Mediterranean basin water masses properties over time. Comparing the observed time series for the different regions and different water masses to that of a glider simulator in the NEMO-Med12 model, we estimate both the quality of the model and the skill of the in-situ observations in reproducing the evolution of the basin properties.

  17. Modelling the background aerosol climatologies (1989-2010) for the Mediterranean basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez-Guerrero, Pedro; Jerez, Sonia

    2014-05-01

    the Mediterranean basin indicate that the aerosol levels follow a seasonal pattern with summer maximum concentrations caused by an increased secondary activity and the lower precipitation in the area, together with the contribution of Saharan dust outbreaks. The eastern Mediterranean is characterized by higher levels of sulphate, ammonium and OM+EC compared to the western part of the basin. Nitrate presents much differentiated levels between winter (DJF) and summer (JJA) periods, with maxima during colder months in northern Italy and the Netherlands and lower levels in the warm season. This can be related to the thermal instability of the ammonium nitrate in summer ambient conditions, favouring the gas phase prevalence of nitrate. Sulphate levels at both parts of the basin increase progressively from April-May to reach maximum levels in mid-summer, due to enhanced photochemistry, low air mass renovation at regional scale, the increment of the summer mixing layer depth favouring the regional mixing of polluted air masses, and the possible higher summer contribution of marine secondary sulphate from DMS oxidation. The levels of sulphate are higher in the eastern Mediterranean and are highly correlated to ammonium levels. OM+EC concentrations are maxima in JJA in the whole basin, because of the higher formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) from different natural and anthropogenic sources. Secondary peaks are usually observed in spring (MAM) and autumn (SON) and are associated with winter anticyclonic pollution episodes. For sea-salt aerosols the modelling results indicate a non-uniform behaviour in the Mediterranean basin, showing a strong seasonality and gradient. A higher concentration of marine aerosol is estimated for the western Mediterranean (Alboran Sea and Gulf of Lion) during summertime, related to the increasing sea breeze circulation over the coast, which intensifies in the mid-summer. On the eastern Mediterranean, no large differences are found

  18. A Third Wave of Remembering the Mediterranean Sea as a Septic Tank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor J. Vitanza

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The argument focuses on the differences in methods of historiographies as put forth by David Abulafia and Fernand Braudel. Their object-of-study is the Mediterranean Sea. Abulafia focuses primarily on human beings making history, while Braudel focuses on the Sea making itself, not primarily, as Abulafia insists in his title “A Human History.” Their vocabulary, as assumed, focuses on latitudes and longitudes. In a radical turn, Kenneth Burke focuses on the third as attitudes toward history and on casuistic stretchings. Gregory Ulmer, following-rethinking Burke, develops para-methodologies in the entitlement of “MEmorial,” that also combines both horizontal-vertical histories. Ulmer’s thoughts piggy-back on Burke allowing also for the excluded third by way of the reality, as well as the metaphor, of the Mediterranean Sea, as a Septic Tank, with the casuistic stretching of the Sea, as a Skeptic Tank. Hence, the writing is better performed than a writing of exposition, which the latter would only be a performative contradiction!

  19. Modelling travel and residence times in the eastern Irish Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabrowski, T.; Hartnett, M.

    2008-01-01

    The Irish Sea, which lies between 51 deg. N-56 deg. N and 2 deg. 50'W-7 deg. W, provides a sheltered environment to exploit valuable fisheries resource. Anthropogenic activity is a real threat to its water quality. The majority of freshwater input down rivers flows into the eastern Irish Sea. The structure of the water circulation was not well understood during the planning of Sellafield nuclear plant outfall site in the eastern Irish Sea. A three-dimensional primitive equation numerical model was applied to the Irish Sea to simulate both barotropic and baroclinic circulation within the region. High accuracy was achieved with regard to the prediction of both tidal circulation and surface and nearbed water temperatures across the region. The model properly represented the Western Irish Sea Gyre, induced by thermal stratification and not known during planning Sellafield. Passive tracer simulations based on the developed hydrodynamic model were used to deliver residence times of the eastern Irish Sea region for various times of the year as well as travel times from the Sellafield outfall site to various locations within the Irish Sea. The results indicate a strong seasonal variability of travel times from Sellafield to the examined locations. Travel time to the Clyde Sea is the shortest for the autumnal tracer release (90 days); it takes almost a year for the tracer to arrive at the same location if it is released in January. Travel times from Sellafield to Dublin Bay fall within the range of 180-360 days. The average residence time of the entire eastern Irish Sea is around 7 months. The areas surrounding the Isle of Man are initially flushed due to a predominant northward flow; a backwater is formed in Liverpool Bay. Thus, elevated tracer concentrations are predicted in Liverpool Bay in the case of accidental spills at the Sellafield outfall site

  20. The Indian scad (Decapterus russelli, (Osteichtyes: Carangidae, a new Indo-Pacific fish invader of the eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Golani

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The Indian scad, Decapterus russelli, is recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean. The presence of this Indo-Pacific species on the Mediterranean coast of Israel is evidently due to migration from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. The collection of six specimens in the Mediterranean suggests that this species is well established in the Levant.

  1. Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data collected from North Atlantic Ocean, White Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Sea of Azov from 1924-03-19 to 1989-11-19 by multiple Soviet Union institutes (NODC Accession 0077413)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature, salinity, and nutrients data collected from North Atlantic Ocean, White Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Sea of Azov from 1924-03-19 to 1989-11-19...

  2. Zooplankton incidence in abnormally high sea surface temperature in the Eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Goswami, S.C.

    Zooplankton in an abnormally high sea surface temperature (33.1 to 33.8 degrees C) and alternate bands of slick formation were studied in the Eastern Arabian Sea during 26 and 29 April 1981. The phenomenon which may be due to intense diurnal heating...

  3. Using coastal lagoons to better constrain the isostatic signal in the western Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vacchi, M.; Rovere, A.; Melis, R. T.; Ghilardi, M.; Marriner, N.; Giaime, M.

    2017-12-01

    Coastal lagoons represent a very common feature of the microtidal Mediterranean coastlines. They are inland waterbodies, usually developing parallel to the coast, typically separated from the open sea by a sandy barrier. One or more restricted inlets ensure their continuous or intermittent connection to the open sea. The water depth is generally less than 1 m and seldom exceeds a few meters. They represent a very useful proxy for the reconstruction of Mediterranean Relative Sea Level (RSL). However, caution should be used in the definition of a correct indicative meaning that can be obtained only with a multiproxy analysis of both sedimentary features and faunal assemblages of the cores extracted in marshy to lagoonal environment. We report here the results of a wide coring campaign we carried out in in the last 2 years in a number of Mediterranean lagoons located close to important archaeological settlements in Corsica (France) Sardinia (Italy) and Mallorca Island (Spain). The multiproxy analysis of the cores allowed defining the depositional environments and their relationship (or non relationship) with the former mean sea level. These data were chronologically supported by a significant dataset of more than 100 new 14C dating performed on organic sediments, wood, plant remains and marine/lagoonal shells. We then produced alarge amount of new data to constrain the RSL evolution in the center of Western Mediterranean where the available geophysical models predict the largest glacio-hydro isostatic (GIA) influence at basin scale. However, such models where tested only on a limited dataset mainly composed of archaeological RSL indicators (i.e. last 2 ka BP). Our new record, expanding the last 10 ka BP, significantly improves the ability to define the general anatomy of Mediterranean Holocene RSL changes and to constrain the maximal GIA magnitude in the basin.

  4. Tree mortality in the eastern Mediterranean, causes and implications under climatic change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarris, Dimitrios; Iacovou, Valentina; Hoch, Guenter; Vennetier, Michel; Siegwolf, Rolf; Christodoulakis, Dimitrios; Koerner, Christian

    2015-04-01

    The eastern Mediterranean has experienced repeated incidents of forest mortality related to drought in recent decades. Such events may become more frequent in the future as drought conditions are projected to further intensify due to global warming. We have been investigating the causes behind such forest mortality events in Pinus halepensis, (the most drought tolerant pine in the Mediterranean). We cored tree stems and sampled various tissue types from dry habitats close to sea level and explored growth responses, stable isotope signals and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations. Under intense drought that coincided with pine desiccation events in natural populations our result indicate a significant reduction in tree growth, the most significant in more than a century despite the increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations in recent decades. This has been accompanied by a lengthening in the integration periods of rainfall needed for pine growth, reaching even 5-6 years before and including the year of mortality occurrence. Oxygen stable isotopes indicate that these signals were associated with a shift in tree water utilization from deeper moisture pools related to past rainfall events. Furthermore, where the driest conditions occur, pine carbon reserves were found to increase in stem tissue, indicating that mortality in these pines cannot be explained by carbon starvation. Our findings suggest that for pine populations that are already water limited (i) a further atmospheric CO2 increase will not compensate for the reduction in growth because of a drier climate, (ii) hydraulic failure appears as the most likely cause of pine desiccation, as no shortage occurs in tree carbon reserves, (iii) a further increase in mortality events may cause these systems to become carbon sources.

  5. From Gibraltar through Levant and from Maghreb through the Southern Latin European Countries or about culture and management in the Mediterranean Sea Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amedeo ISTOCESCU

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Bordering the southern coast of Europe, the eastern part of the Middle East and northern Africa, representing the most appropriate environment for the development of cultural, social and economic of the maritime regions, influencing decisively the culture and the entire life of the inhabitants in a lot of bordering countries, ensuring the achievement of a natural maritime transportation way between eastern Levantine character and western pragmatism of our ancient continent, or between Maghreb, and the Latin world, especially in southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea has an another treasure, yet poorly known and only partially recovered, with a history of over six thousands of years, with people proud of their history, culture, customs and traditions with unique cities, impressive by the mixture of cultures and races, its islands

  6. Climate change facilitated range expansion of the non-native angular crab Goneplax rhomboides into the North Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neumann, H.; Boois, de I.J.; Kroncke, I.; Reiss, H.

    2013-01-01

    The angular crab Goneplax rhomboides is native to the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. It has rarely been reported from the North Sea, with no evidence of sustainable populations. Compiled survey data, however, revealed an increasing abundance of this species in the North Sea since

  7. The Alboran volcanic arc archipelago isolated the Mediterranean during the Messinian salinity crisis forming the land bridge for biota dispersal across the western Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booth-Rea, Guillermo; Ranero, Cesar R.; Grevemeyer, Ingo

    2017-04-01

    The Mediterranean Sea desiccation during isolation from the world oceans created the well-known Messinian salinity crisis but also landbridges that permitted the exchange of terrestrial biota between Africa and Iberia contributing to the present biodiversity of the Mediterranean region. The hypotheses for the cause chocking the Mediterranean have typically sought to explain geological features, particularly the giant salt deposits, but the implications of the faunal changes occurring around that time remain inadequately integrated by current geological models. We present wide-angle seismic data that constrain for the first time the 16-18 km thick crust structure of a volcanic arc formed mostly between 10 to 6 Ma across the eastern region of the Alboran basin. The crustal structure supports that the arc created an archipelago forming a land bridge across the basin that largely isolated the Mediterranean. After the cessation of volcanic activity, the archipelago progressively submerged by thermal subsidence and accompanying sediment loading, having emerged islands that persisted into the Pleistocene time and shallow straits forming sills during the early Pliocene. The presence of an archipelago in the eastern region of the basin may explain a number of puzzling observations previously inexplicable by the proposed barriers closing the Gibraltar arc west of Alboran. The progressive volcanic build up of the archipelago together with the closure of the Betic and Rifean marine corridors would explain the initial isolation of the Mediterranean since 7.1 Ma and the exchange of terrestrial biota since 6.2 Ma, i.e. before desiccation, which diversified radiating from SE Iberia and the opposite segment of the eastern Rif. In addition, an eastern barrier agrees with the continuous Messinian-age open marine sediments drilled at ODP site 976 in the western Alboran basin, which may have been the refuge of typical Mediterranean taxa that rapidly repopulated the Mediterranean in the

  8. Demonstration of SST value as EBVs descriptor in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valentini, E.; Filipponi, F.; Nguyen Xuan, A.; Taramelli, A.

    2017-12-01

    Sea Surface Temperature is an Essential Climate and Ocean Variable (ECV - EOV) able to capture critical scales in the seascape warming patterns and to highlight the exceeding of thresholds. This presentation addresses the changes of the SST in the last three decades over the Mediterranean Sea, a "Large Marine Ecosystem (LME)", in order to speculate the value of such powerful variable, as proxy for the assessment of ecosystem state in terms of ecosystem structures, functions and composition key descriptor. Time series of daily SST for the period 1982-2016, estimated from multi-sensor satellite data and provided by Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS-EU) are used to perform different statistical analysis on common fish species. Results highlight the critical conditions, the general trends as well as the spatial and temporal patterns, in terms of thermal growth, vitality and stress influence on selected fish species. Results confirm a constant increasing trend in SST with an average rise of 1.4° C in the past thirty years. The variance associated to the average trend is not constant across the entire Mediterranean Sea opening the way to multiple scenarios for fish growth and vitality in the diverse sub-basins. A major effort is oriented in addressing the cross-scale ecological interactions to assess the feasibility of using SST as descriptor for Essential Biodiversity Variables, able to prioritize areas and to feed operational tools for planning and management in the Mediterranean LME.

  9. Land to sea record of the mega-eustatic cycle including the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Mediterranean Andalusia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jouannic, Gwénaël.; Gorini, Christian; Jolivet, Laurent; Clauzon, Georges; Suc, Jean-Pierre; Gargani, Julien; Melinte-Dobrinescu, Mihaela Carmen; Meyer, Bertrand

    2010-05-01

    , H. (in press) - The tectonic structure of the Alboran Margin of Morocco. Revista de la Sociedad Geologica de España, 20, 3-4, 119-125. CIESM (2008) - Executive Summary. In: The Messinian Salinity Crisis from mega-deposits to microbiology - A consensus report (F. Briand, ed), CIESM Workshop Monographs, 33, 7-28. Clauzon, G., Suc, J.-P., Gautier, F., Berger, A., Loutre, M.-F. (1996) - Alternate interpretation of the Messinian salinity crisis: controversy resolve? Geology, 24, 363-366. Clauzon, G., Suc, J.-P., Popescu, S.-M., Marunteanu, M., Rubino, J.-L., Marinescu, F., Melinte, M.C. (2005) - Influence of the Mediterranean sea-level changes over the Dacic Basin (Eastern Paratethys) in the Late Neogene. The Mediterranean Lago Mare facies deciphered. Basin Research, 17, 437-462. Clauzon, G., Suc, J.-P., Melinte-Dobrinescu, M.C., Jouannic, G., Jolivet, L., Rubino, J.-L., Popescu, S.-M., Gorini, C., Bache, F., Estrada, F. (2009) - New insights from the Andalusian Sorbas and Vera basins. 13rd RCMNS Congress Naples, Acta Naturalia de L'Ateneo Parmense, 45, 1-4, 334-335. Gautier, F., Clauzon, G., Suc, J.-P., Cravatte, J., Violanti, D. (1994) - Age et durée de la crise de salinité messinienne. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, sér. 2, 318, 1103-1109. Hsü, K.J., Cita, M.B., Ryan, W.B.F. (1973) - The origin of the Mediterranean evaporites. In: Leg 13 (W.B.F. Ryan and K.J. Hsü, eds), Initial Report of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, 13, 1203-1231. Krijgsman, W., Hilgen, F.J., Raffi, I., Sierro, F.J., Wilson, D.S. (1999) - Chronology, causes and progression of the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature, 400, 652-655. Mauffret, A., Ammar, A, Gorini, C., Jabour, H. (2007) - The Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean) revisited with a view from the Moroccan Margin. Terra Nova, 19, 195-203.

  10. Parasitism of dolfinfhishes, Coryphaena hippurus and Coryphaena equiselis, in the western Mediterranean (Balearic Islands and central-eastern Atlantic (Canary Islands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrique Carbonell

    1999-12-01

    Full Text Available A total of 648 dolphinfishes were examined for internal and external parasites in western Mediterranean (Balearic Islands and central-eastern Atlantic (Canary Islands waters in order to make a comparative study between the two areas. The specimens studied from the Mediterranean Sea was Coryphaena hippurus, with 62 large individuals captured from May to September and 497 juveniles captured from August to December. The specimens studied from the central-eastern Atlantic were 39 adult C. hippurus and 49 adult Coryphaena equiselis. Parasites were found in 70% of the fish examined, and represented a total of nine endoparasitic taxa: six digeneans (Class Trematoda, Subclass Digenea; Dinurus tornatus, Dinurus breviductus, Dinurus longisinus, Lecithocladium excisum, Bathycotyle branchialis and Hirudinella sp., two nematodes (Class Nematoda, Order Spirurida; Philometroides sp. and Metabronema magna and one acanthocephalan (Phyllum Acanthocephala; Rhadinorhynchus pristis. Seven crustacean copepod ectoparasites were identified: Caligus quadratus, Caligus productus, Caligus bonito, Caligus coryphaenae (Family Caligidae and Euryphorus nymphae (Family Euriphoridae were found in gill mucus masses or on the inner surface of the operculum, the lernaeopodid Neobrachiella coryphaenae (Family Lernaeopodidae was attached to gill filaments and the pennellid Pennella filosa (Family Pennellidae was anchored to fins and rays or, deeply, to muscular tissue and abdominal cavity. The relationships between feeding habits, parasite recruitment and parasite transmission were analysed, some ecological aspects of all the parasitic species are discussed, and some comments are made on parasite-host relationships.

  11. Biodiversity data requirements for systematic conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levin, Noam; Coll, Marta; Fraschetti, Simonetta

    2014-01-01

    The Mediterranean Sea’s biodiversity and ecosystems face many threats due to anthropogenic factors. Some of these include high human population growth, coastal urbanization, accelerated human activities and climate change. To enhance the formation of a science-based system of marine protected areas......, the Mediterranean Sea is lagging behind other marine regions where conservation planning adopting rigorous criteria has been applied in the past 20 years. Therefore, we call upon scientists, governments and international governmental and non-governmental conservation organizations to harmonize current approaches...

  12. The importance of ship log data: reconstructing North Atlantic, European and Mediterranean sea level pressure fields back to 1750

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuettel, M.; Wanner, H. [University of Bern, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), and Institute of Geography, Climatology and Meteorology, Bern (Switzerland); Xoplaki, E. [University of Bern, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), and Institute of Geography, Climatology and Meteorology, Bern (Switzerland); EEWRC, The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia (Cyprus); Gallego, D. [Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, Departamento de Sistemas Fisicos, Quimicos y Naturales, Sevilla (Spain); Luterbacher, J. [University of Bern, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), and Institute of Geography, Climatology and Meteorology, Bern (Switzerland); Justus-Liebig University of Giessen, Department of Geography, Climatology, Climate Dynamics and Climate Change, Giessen (Germany); Garcia-Herrera, R. [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Departamento de Fisica de la Tierra II, Facultad de CC Fisicas, Madrid (Spain); Allan, R. [Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter (United Kingdom); Barriendos, M. [University of Barcelona, Department of Modern History, Barcelona (Spain); Jones, P.D. [University of East Anglia, Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom); Wheeler, D. [University of Sunderland, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sunderland (United Kingdom)

    2010-06-15

    Local to regional climate anomalies are to a large extent determined by the state of the atmospheric circulation. The knowledge of large-scale sea level pressure (SLP) variations in former times is therefore crucial when addressing past climate changes across Europe and the Mediterranean. However, currently available SLP reconstructions lack data from the ocean, particularly in the pre-1850 period. Here we present a new statistically-derived 5 x 5 resolved gridded seasonal SLP dataset covering the eastern North Atlantic, Europe and the Mediterranean area (40 W-50 E; 20 N-70 N) back to 1750 using terrestrial instrumental pressure series and marine wind information from ship logbooks. For the period 1750-1850, the new SLP reconstruction provides a more accurate representation of the strength of the winter westerlies as well as the location and variability of the Azores High than currently available multiproxy pressure field reconstructions. These findings strongly support the potential of ship logbooks as an important source to determine past circulation variations especially for the pre-1850 period. This new dataset can be further used for dynamical studies relating large-scale atmospheric circulation to temperature and precipitation variability over the Mediterranean and Eurasia, for the comparison with outputs from GCMs as well as for detection and attribution studies. (orig.)

  13. Seasonal and interannual variations in pigments in the Adriatic Sea

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    30m), depends on the freshwater inflow as well ... The Adriatic Sea (Northern Mediterranean) and location of satellite pigment data (cross marks) ..... landings of small pelagic fish in the eastern Adriatic– ... and North America (1858–1980).

  14. The Mediterranean Oscillation Teleconnection Index: Station-Based versus Principal Component Paradigms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Criado-Aldeanueva

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Two different paradigms of the Mediterranean Oscillation (MO teleconnection index have been compared in this work: station-based definitions obtained by the difference of some climate variable between two selected points in the eastern and western basins (i.e., Algiers and Cairo, Gibraltar and Israel, Marseille and Jerusalem, or south France and Levantine basin and the principal component (PC approach in which the index is obtained as the time series of the first mode of normalised sea level pressure anomalies across the extended Mediterranean region. Interannual to interdecadal precipitation (P, evaporation (E, E-P, and net heat flux have been correlated with the different MO indices to compare their relative importance in the long-term variability of heat and freshwater budgets over the Mediterranean Sea. On an annual basis, the PC paradigm is the most effective tool to assess the effect of the large-scale atmospheric forcing in the Mediterranean Sea because the station-based indices exhibit a very poor correlation with all climatic variables and only influence a reduced fraction of the basin. In winter, the station-based indices highly improve their ability to represent the atmospheric forcing and results are fairly independent of the paradigm used.

  15. Are lionfish set for a Mediterranean invasion? Modelling explains why this is unlikely to occur.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Matthew W; Purkis, Sam J

    2014-11-15

    The Atlantic invasion of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/P. miles) has been as swift as it has been disastrous. Lionfish are non-native to the Mediterranean, but an invasion is perhaps even more likely than for the Atlantic. First, as for the Atlantic, there are many major cities on the coast of the Mediterranean (where aquarium-keeping is a common practice and chances of accidental and deliberate releases are high), and second, lionfish are native to the Red Sea, to which the Mediterranean is connected via the Suez Canal. Furthermore, there have already been four records of lionfish in the Mediterranean and so the pretext for an invasion is already in place. Up until now, however, it has been difficult to gauge the likelihood of an infestation of lionfish in the Mediterranean as, unlike the Atlantic, this sea has not been examined in terms of its hydrodynamics, ocean climate, and bathymetry, all factors known to be relevant to assessing the possibility of invasion. Motivated by this knowledge-gap, this study used remote sensing and computer modeling to investigate the connectivity between areas along the Mediterranean coastline that fulfill the necessary physical criteria to serve as potential lionfish habitat. Model results from the Mediterranean were compared and contrasted to those from the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. The Atlantic was considered because the lionfish invasion there has been voracious. Meanwhile, the eastern Pacific is interesting as a site without native lionfish, but with plenty of opportunity for their introduction, but no invasion yet recorded. Results indicated that, unlike in the Atlantic, connectivity among potential lionfish habitats in the Mediterranean was low in the study and comparable to that in the eastern Pacific. Although oceanographic conditions in the Mediterranean were found unfavorable for wide dispersion of lionfish larvae, hotspots where numerous lionfish sightings would forewarn an impending invasion were

  16. Origin and pathways of Winter Intermediate Water in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea using observations and numerical simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juza, Mélanie; Renault, Lionel; Ruiz, Simon; Tintoré, Joaquin

    2013-12-01

    The study of water masses worldwide (their formation, spreading, mixing, and impact on general circulation) is essential for a better understanding of the ocean circulation and variability. In this paper, the formation and main pathways of Winter Intermediate Water (WIW) in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea (NWMED) are investigated during the winter-spring 2011 using observations and numerical simulation. The main results show that the WIW, formed along the continental shelves of the Gulf of Lion and Balearic Sea, circulates southward following five preferential pathways depending on the WIW formation site location and the oceanic conditions. WIW joins the northeastern part of the Balearic Sea, or flows along the continental shelves until joining the Balearic Current (maximum of 0.33 Sv in early-April) or further south until the Ibiza Channel entrance. Two additional trajectories, contributing to water mass exchanges with the southern part of the Western Mediterranean Sea, bring the WIW through the Ibiza and Mallorca Channels (maxima of 0.26 Sv in late-March and 0.1 Sv in early-April, respectively). The circulation of WIW over the NWMED at 50-200 m depth, its mixing and spreading over the Western Mediterranean Sea (reaching the south of the Balearic Islands, the Algero-Provencal basin, the Ligurian and the Alboran Seas) suggest that the WIW may have an impact on the ocean circulation by eddy blocking effect, exchange of water masses between north and south subbasins of Western Mediterranean Sea through the Ibiza Channel or modification of the ocean stratification.

  17. Excess of "2"3"6U in the northwest Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamizo, E.; López-Lora, M.; Bressac, M.; Levy, I.; Pham, M.K.

    2016-01-01

    In this work, we present first "2"3"6U results in the northwestern Mediterranean. "2"3"6U is studied in a seawater column sampled at DYFAMED (Dynamics of Atmospheric Fluxes in the Mediterranean Sea) station (Ligurian Sea, 43°25′N, 07°52′E). The obtained "2"3"6U/"2"3"8U atom ratios in the dissolved phase, ranging from about 2 × 10"−"9 at 100 m depth to about 1.5 × 10"−"9 at 2350 m depth, indicate that anthropogenic "2"3"6U dominates the whole seawater column. The corresponding deep-water column inventory (12.6 ng/m"2 or 32.1 × 10"1"2 atoms/m"2) exceeds by a factor of 2.5 the expected one for global fallout at similar latitudes (5 ng/m"2 or 13 × 10"1"2 atoms/m"2), evidencing the influence of local or regional "2"3"6U sources in the western Mediterranean basin. On the other hand, the input of "2"3"6U associated to Saharan dust outbreaks is evaluated. An additional "2"3"6U annual deposition of about 0.2 pg/m"2 based on the study of atmospheric particles collected in Monaco during different Saharan dust intrusions is estimated. The obtained results in the corresponding suspended solids collected at DYFAMED station indicate that about 64% of that "2"3"6U stays in solution in seawater. Overall, this source accounts for about 0.1% of the "2"3"6U inventory excess observed at DYFAMED station. The influence of the so-called Chernobyl fallout and the radioactive effluents produced by the different nuclear installations allocated to the Mediterranean basin, might explain the inventory gap, however, further studies are necessary to come to a conclusion about its origin. - Highlights: • First "2"3"6U results in the northwest Mediterranean Sea are reported. • Anthropogenic "2"3"6U dominates the whole seawater column at DYFAMED station. • "2"3"6U deep-water column inventory exceeds by a factor of 2.5 the global fallout one. • Saharan dust intrusions are responsible for an annual "2"3"6U flux of 0.02 pg/m"2. • Further studies are necessary to explain the

  18. The Indo-Pacific striped eel catfish, Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787, (Osteichtyes: Siluriformes, a new record from the Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Golani

    2002-09-01

    Full Text Available The striped eel catfish, Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787, is recorded for the first time from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Seventeen specimens of this highly-venomous fish were caught by a commercial trawler at depths of 20 m. This species´ occurrence in the Mediterranean is the result of migration from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal (Lessepsian migration.

  19. Abundance, distribution, diversity and zoogeography of epipelagic copepods off the Egyptian Coast (Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Howaida Y. Zakaria

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The abundance, distribution and diversity of epipelagic copepods were studied along the Egyptian Mediterranean Coast during April, August, 2008, February, 2009 and 2010. The geographical distribution and ecological affinities of the recorded species are presented in order to follow up the migrant species that recently entered in the study area. Copepoda was the most dominant zooplankton group, representing 74.14% of the total zooplankton counts. The annual averages of copepod abundance in the coastal, shelf and offshore zones were 699.3, 609.7 and 555.7 ind.m−3, respectively. Spring was the most productive and diversified season. 118 copepod species were identified in the study area; among them twelve species are recorded in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time and 41 species are new records in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. The community was dominated by Oithona nana, Calocalanus pavo, Nannocalanus minor, Clausocalanus arcuicornis and Paracalanus parvus. The study area could be considered as a crossroad for migration process from Atlantic Ocean in the west and Indian Ocean via Red Sea and Suez Canal from the south. In addition, the maritime activities in the Mediterranean Sea may have contributed into the change of copepod diversity in the study area where some species could have come to the Egyptian Coast from other water systems via ballast water.

  20. A comparative study of the feeding ecology of Nephrops norvegicus L. (Decapoda: Nephropidae in the bathyal Mediterranean and the adjacent Atlantic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarida Cristo

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available A comparative study of the feeding ecology of Nephrops norvegicus was carried out on a seasonal basis simultaneously in seven locations in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the adjacent Atlantic: the south coast of Portugal, Faro; the Alboran Sea, Malaga; the Catalan Sea, Barcelona; the Ligurian Sea, Genoa; theTyrrhenian Sea, Pisa; the Adriatic Sea, Ancona and the Aegean Sea, Gulf of Euboikos. The major groups observed (frequency of occurrence method in the stomachs of Nephrops norvegicus were decapod crustaceans, other crustaceans (euphausids and peracarids and fish. The results obtained showed no significant differences between sites or seasons, and can be considered very consistent. All major taxa were present in the diet at all sites and for all seasons, a fact that can be explained by the great similarity of the bathyal fauna in all sites, which provide a major trophic resource for N. norvegicus. The percentage of fullness was also estimated per site and season, and we registered a clear decrease of this value during the summer period for all sites, except the Tyrrheanian Sea, where the lowest value was found in autumn. PCA - analysis did not clearly separate the regions (sites. The Shannon-Weaver (H´, index of diversity, was also determined per site and season, and we found a significant difference between the values of the Atlantic coast and the Western Mediterranean when compared with those of the Eastern Mediterranean.

  1. A model study of ozone in the eastern Mediterranean free troposphere during MINOS (August 2001)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roelofs, GJ; Scheeren, HA; Heland, J; Ziereis, H; Lelieveld, J

    2003-01-01

    A coupled tropospheric chemistry-climate model is used to analyze tropospheric ozone distributions observed during the MINOS campaign in the eastern Mediterranean region ( August, 2001). Modeled ozone profiles are generally in good agreement with the observations. Our analysis shows that the

  2. Ecological characteristics of the invasive pufferfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea – a case study from Rhodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. KALOGIROU

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the ecological and societal impact of the invasive pufferfish Lagocephalus sceleratus on coastal habitats of an area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Rhodes Island was investigated. Seasonal quantitative samplings in two common coastal habitats were used to investigate habitat use of different life-stages. Sandy areas were found to be highly important for the early life stages of L. sceleratus. In contrast, Posidonia oceanica habitats were mainly preferred by larger (> 29 cm reproductive adults, not exceeding 64 cm. Lagocephalus sceleratus was found to feed on invertebrates and fish while size classification revealed a tendency for a diet shift with increased size. During early life stages, L. sceleratus inhabits sandy bottoms where it feeds on various invertebrates. The predominant molluscan species found in the diet of larger (> 20 cm L. sceleratus individuals were the economically important Sepia officinalis and Octopus vulgaris. The size at which 50% of individuals reach maturity was estimated to 19 cm. With increased size, habitat shift to seagrass meadows most possibly occurs to meet both the increased demand in prey availability and requirement of appropriate spawning ground. Condition factor of L. sceleratus showed significantly higher values during summer than all other seasons and this was attributed to spawning season and increase in feeding. Societal impacts were alarming due to increased public attention concerning its lethal effects (presence of tetrodotoxin, if consumed. Its high abundance in the coastal fish communities of the studied area combined with ecological and societal impacts, clearly classify L. sceleratus a pest for fisheries and potential threat for biodiversity.

  3. Bryozoan diversity in the Mediterranean Sea: an update

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. ROSSO

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a current view of the bryozoan biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea updating the checklist by Rosso (2003. Bryozoans presently living in the Mediterranean increase to 556 species, 212 genera and 93 families. Cheilostomes largely prevail (424 species, 159 genera and 64 families followed by cyclostomes (75 species, 26 genera and 11 families and ctenostomes (57 species, 27 genera and 18 families. Few families and genera make the bulk of this biodiversity whereas one third of families are monospecific. The number of species-rank taxa has increased by 81 in the last dozen years but most of these additions relate to the revision of material from old collections and to the introduction of non-indigenous species. Most of the bryozoan diversity is distributed in the coralligenous and dark and semi-dark cave biocoenoses followed by detritic bottoms. Diversity lowers in shallow-water vegetated bottoms and in bathyal habitats. Further increase in diversity is expected from investigation of still poorly known areas and habitats and the need for rapid assessment is remarked on in view of the management of Mediterranean habitats through the EU Marine Strategy Directive.

  4. A critical review of the Mediterranean sea turtle rescue network: a web looking for a weaver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Ullmann

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available A key issue in conservation biology is recognizing and bridging the gap between scientific results and specific action. We examine sea turtles—charismatic yet endangered flagship species—in the Mediterranean, a sea with historically high levels of exploitation and 22 coastal nations. We take sea turtle rescue facilities as a visible measure for implemented conservation action. Our study yielded 34 confirmed sea turtle rescue centers, 8 first-aid stations, and 7 informal rescue institutions currently in operation. Juxtaposing these facilities to known sea turtle distribution and threat hotspots reveals a clear disconnect. Only 14 of the 22 coastal countries had centers, with clear gaps in the Middle East and Africa. Moreover, the information flow between centers is apparently limited. The populations of the two species nesting in the Mediterranean, the loggerhead Caretta caretta and the green turtle Chelonia mydas, are far below historical levels and face a range of anthropogenic threats at sea and on land. Sea turtle rescue centers are acknowledged to reduce mortality in bycatch hotspots, provide a wealth of scientific data, and raise public awareness. The proposal for a Mediterranean-wide rescue network as published by the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas a decade ago has not materialized in its envisioned scope. We discuss the efficiency, gaps, and needs for a rescue network and call for establishing additional rescue centers and an accompanying common online database to connect existing centers. This would provide better information on the number and types of rescue facilities on a Mediterranean scale, improve communication between these facilities, enhance standardization of procedures, yield large-scale data on the number of treated turtles and their injuries, and thus provide valuable input for targeted conservation measures.

  5. Modelling for anchovy recruitment studies in the Gulf of Lions (Western Mediterranean Sea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolle, Amandine; Garreau, Pierre; Liorzou, Bernard

    2009-12-01

    Anchovy ( Engraulis encrasicolus) is an important commercial species and one of the most abundant pelagic fish in the Gulf of Lions and the Catalan Sea. The factors influencing its recruitment are crucial to fisheries and ecological research. Among those factors transport of larvae by hydrodynamics (currents) is important because it determines whether the organisms can reach areas favourable to recruitment or are dispersed. Therefore, the first step in anchovy recruitment modelling is to simulate North-western Mediterranean Sea circulation. Several years (2001-2008) of hydrodynamics were simulated with the MARS-3D code. The resulting simulated currents and salinity are used by Lagrangian tool, Ichthyop, to transport anchovy eggs and larvae to the Western Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this study is to understand the main hydrodynamic processes that control anchovy transport and the effects of diel vertical migration on the transport and final distribution of anchovy.

  6. The Prevailing Weather and Traffic Conditions in the Evaluation of a Future ECA in the Mediterranean Sea. A view into the Western Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcella Castells i Sanabra

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Appendix III of MARPOL's Annex VI sets out the criteria and procedures for designating an emission control area (ECA.These criteria includes: a clear delineation of the proposed ECA; types of emissions proposed for control, land and sea areas at risk; emission quantification and impact assessment; prevailing weather conditions; data and quality on marine traffic; land based measures concurrent with the ECA adoption and the relative costs of reducing emissions from ships. This paper analyses the climate parameter together with traffic conditions: prevailing weather conditions as a parameter to be kept in mind for the adoption of a future ECA in the Mediterranean Sea. Preliminary results would show how marine emissions coming from existing traffic will impact the sea and land ecology in the Mediterranean area.

  7. Long-term atmospheric nutrient inputs to the Eastern Mediterranean: sources, solubility and comparison with riverine inputs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koçak, M.; Kubilay, N.; Tuǧrul, S.; Mihalopoulos, N.

    2010-07-01

    Aerosol and rain samples were collected at a rural site located on the coastline of the Eastern Mediterranean, Erdemli, Turkey between January 1999 and December 2007. Riverine sampling was carried out at five Rivers (Ceyhan, Seyhan, Göksu, Berdan and Lamas) draining into the Northeastern Levantine Basin (NLB) between March 2002 and July 2007. Samples were analyzed for macronutrients of phosphate, silicate, nitrate and ammonium (PO43-, Sidiss, NO3- and NH4+). Phosphate and silicate in aerosol and rainwater showed higher and larger variation during the transitional period (March-May, September) when air flows predominantly originate from North Africa and Middle East/Arabian Peninsula. Deficiency of alkaline material were found to be the main reason of the acidic rain events whilst high pH values (>7) were associated with high Sidiss concentrations due to sporadic dust events. In general, lowest nitrate and ammonium concentrations in aerosol and rainwater were associated with air flow from the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike NO3- and NH4+ (Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen, DIN), there were statistical differences for PO43- and Sidiss solubilities in sea-water and pure-water. Solubilities of PO43- and Sidiss were found to be related with air mass back trajectories and pH. Comparison of atmospheric with riverine fluxes demonstrated that DIN and PO43- fluxes to NLB were dominated by atmosphere (~90% and ~60% respectively) whereas the input of Si was mainly derived from riverine runoff (~90%). N/P ratios (atmosphere ~233; riverine ~28) revealed that NLB receives excessive amounts of DIN and this unbalanced P and N inputs may provoke even more phosphorus deficiency. Molar Si/N ratios (atmosphere + riverine) suggested Si limitation which might cause a switch from diatom dominated phytoplankton communities to non-siliceous populations in NLB.

  8. Study of radioelements drained by Rhone stream to Mediterranean Sea: Strategy of sampling and methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnaud, M.; Charmasson, S.; Calmet, D.; Fernandez, J.M.

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes the methods used for water and sediments sampling in rivers and sea. The purpose is the study of radionuclide migration (Cesium 134, Cesium 137) in Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lion). 20 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab

  9. Theoretical investigation and mathematical modelling of a wind energy system case study for Mediterranean and Red Sea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shata, Ahmed Shata Ahmed

    2008-06-26

    Fossil fuel is getting more and more expensive every year, and is not readily available in some remote locations. Today, wind power can be harnessed to provide some or all of the power for many useful tasks such as generating electricity, pumping water and heating a house or barn. Egypt has two coastal areas that show significant promise for wind energy exploitation; the north coast on the Mediterranean Sea and the east coast on the Red Sea. The wind energy is utilized along the coast of Mediterranean Sea in Egypt on few occasions, while from national programs for wind energy utilization in Egypt, at the Red Sea coast, the master plan calls for 600 MW which are expected to be achieved by the year 2005. The contribution of fossil fuels (oil and natural gas) to electricity production in Egypt accounts for about 79% of total production, while 21% is hydropower. The demand is expected to grow rapidly to meet the large requirements of future projects. Studies showed that there is an additional need of annual electricity generation capacity around 1000 MW/year up to 2017 [14]. The purpose of this thesis is to present a new analytical method for the calculation of the wind energy potential available along the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt and moreover, it estimates the possible electrical power generated by large wind turbines and the expected cost in Euro cent/kWh for the power level of 2000 kW. It is hoped that the data analysis will help to identify good sites in Egypt for new wind turbine installations. This evaluation is hoped to trigger the use of large wind turbines at the selected sites along the coasts of Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea in Egypt. (orig.)

  10. Metabarcoding analysis of European hake diet in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulia Riccioni

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available European hake (EH, Merluccius merluccius, is a demersal fish distributed from the North Sea and Atlantic to the Levantine Sea in the Mediterranean. EH is an important predator of deep Mediterranean upper shelf slope communities and it is currently characterised by growth overexploitation. EH adults feed mainly on fish and squids whereas the young (<16 cm feed on crustaceans. All current EH diet studies relied on the morphological identification of prey remains in stomach content, however this method is labour intensive and it precludes the identification of strongly digested food. The development of High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS approaches provide more accurate methods for dietary studies revealing many consumed species simultaneously (DNA metabarcoding. The aim of this study is to use a HTS approach based on COI amplification, contextually to classic microscopic morphological identification, to analyse EH stomach content and to evaluate the efficiency of the molecular method. HTS sequencing has been carried out on the amplicons obtained by PCR amplification (Leray et al. 2013 of stomach remains and all the Miseq Illumina paired-end reads have been analysed by using bioinformatic tools (Boyer et al. 2015 for taxonomic assignment. The selected sequences clustered in OCTUs (Operational Clustered Taxonomic Units and taxonomically assigned, will be used in diversity analyses to compute distance matrices among samples, to compare taxa summaries from different samples, to create networks and perform PCA and PcoA analysis. Classic microscopic morphological analyses on stomach content remains have been carried out contextually to compare the results of the two methods. The molecular approach has proven a promising method to study marine fish dietary habits. All the data will be summarized to reconstruct EH trophic dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea.

  11. Simulation and analysis of the mesoscale circulation in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Echevin

    Full Text Available The large-scale and mesoscale circulation of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea are simulated with an eddy-resolving primitive-equation regional model (RM of 1/16° resolution embedded in a general circulation model (GM of the Mediterranean Sea of 1/8° resolution. The RM is forced by a monthly climatology of heat fluxes, precipitation and wind stress. The GM, which uses the same atmospheric forcing, provides initial and boundary conditions for the RM. Analysis of the RM results shows that several realistic features of the large-scale and mesoscale circulation are evident in this region. The mean cyclonic circulation is in good agreement with observations. Mesoscale variability is intense along the coasts of Sardinia and Corsica, in the Gulf of Lions and in the Catalan Sea. The length scales of the Northern Current meanders along the Provence coast and in the Gulf of Lions’ shelf are in good agreement with observations. Winter Intermediate Water is formed along most of the north-coast shelves, between the Gulf of Genoa and Cape Creus. Advection of this water by the mean cyclonic circulation generates a complex eddy field in the Catalan Sea. Intense anticyclonic eddies are generated northeast of the Balearic Islands. These results are in good agreement with mesoscale activity inferred from satellite altimetric data. This work demonstrates the feasibility of a down-scaling system composed of a general-circulation, a regional and a coastal model, which is one of the goals of the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project.

    Key words. Oceanography: physical (currents; eddies and mesoscale processes; general circulation

  12. Problems of the active tectonics of the Eastern Black Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javakhishvili, Z.; Godoladze, T.; Dreger, D. S.; Mikava, D.; Tvaliashvili, A.

    2016-12-01

    The Black Sea Basin is the part of the Arabian Eurasian Collision zone and important unit for understanding the tectonic process of the region. This complex basin comprises two deep basins, separated by the mid-Black Sea Ridge. The basement of the Black Sea includes areas with oceanic and continental crust. It was formed as a "back-arc" basin over the subduction zone during the closing of the Tethys Ocean. In the past decades the Black Sea has been the subject of intense geological and geophysical studies. Several papers were published about the geological history, tectonics, basement relief and crustal and upper mantle structure of the basin. New tectonic schemes were suggested (e. g. Nikishin et al 2014, Shillington et al. 2008, Starostenko et al. 2004 etc.). Nevertheless, seismicity of the Black Sea is poorly studied due to the lack of seismic network in the coastal area. It is considered, that the eastern basin currently lies in a compressional setting associated with the uplift of the Caucasus and structural development of the Caucasus was closely related to the evolution of the Eastern Black Sea Basin. Analyses of recent sequence of earthquakes in 2012 can provide useful information to understand complex tectonic structure of the Eastern Black Sea region. Right after the earthquake of 2012/12/23, National Seismic monitoring center of Georgia deployed additional 4 stations in the coastal area of the country, close to the epicenter area, to monitor aftershock sequence. Seismic activity in the epicentral area is continuing until now. We have relocated approximately 1200 aftershocks to delineate fault scarf using data from Georgian, Turkish and Russian datacenters. Waveforms of the major events and the aftershocks were inverted for the fault plane solutions of the events. For the inversion were used green's functions, computed using new 1D velocity model of the region. Strike-slip mechanism of the major events of the earthquake sequence indicates extensional

  13. Seemingly divergent sea surface temperature proxy records in the central Mediterranean during the last deglaciation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.-A. Sicre

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Sea surface temperatures (SSTs were reconstructed over the last 25 000 yr using alkenone paleothermometry and planktonic foraminifera assemblages from two cores of the central Mediterranean Sea: the MD04-2797 core (Siculo–Tunisian channel and the MD90-917 core (South Adriatic Sea. Comparison of the centennial scale structure of the two temperature signals during the last deglaciation period reveals significant differences in timing and amplitude. We suggest that seasonal changes likely account for seemingly proxy record divergences during abrupt transitions from glacial to interglacial climates and for the apparent short duration of the Younger Dryas (YD depicted by the alkenone time series, a feature that has already been stressed in earlier studies on the Mediterranean deglaciation.

  14. Nature of Phosphorus Limitation in the Ultraoligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thingstad, T. F.; Krom, M. D.; Mantoura, R. F. C.; Flaten, G. A. F.; Groom, S.; Herut, B.; Kress, N.; Law, C. S.; Pasternak, A.; Pitta, P.; Psarra, S.; Rassoulzadegan, F.; Tanaka, T.; Tselepides, A.; Wassmann, P.; Woodward, E. M. S.; Riser, C. Wexels; Zodiatis, G.; Zohary, T.

    2005-08-01

    Phosphate addition to surface waters of the ultraoligotrophic, phosphorus-starved eastern Mediterranean in a Lagrangian experiment caused unexpected ecosystem responses. The system exhibited a decline in chlorophyll and an increase in bacterial production and copepod egg abundance. Although nitrogen and phosphorus colimitation hindered phytoplankton growth, phosphorous may have been transferred through the microbial food web to copepods via two, not mutually exclusive, pathways: (i) bypass of the phytoplankton compartment by phosphorus uptake in heterotrophic bacteria and (ii) tunnelling, whereby phosphate luxury consumption rapidly shifts the stoichiometric composition of copepod prey. Copepods may thus be coupled to lower trophic levels through interactions not usually considered.

  15. The biogeochemistry of nutrients, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a in the Catalan Sea (NW Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariona Segura-Noguera

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Reference depth profiles of dissolved inorganic nutrients, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a are described for the Catalan Sea using quality controlled data. Phosphate, nitrate and silicate show typical nutrient profiles, with nutriclines at different depths. Maximums of nitrite, dissolved oxygen and occasionally ammonium are found within the photic zone, close to the deep chlorophyll maximum. In intermediate waters we found a minimum of dissolved oxygen coincident with maximum concentrations of phosphate and nitrate. Ammonium concentration is unexpectedly high in the mesopelagic zone, where there are still measurable nitrite concentrations. The origin of such high ammonium and nitrite concentrations remains unclear. We also identify and describe anomalous data and profiles resulting from eutrophication, western Mediterranean Deep Water formation and dense shelf water cascading. The N:P ratio in deep waters is 22.4, which indicates P limitation relative to the Redfield ratio. However, the N:P ratio above the deep chlorophyll maximum in stratified surface waters is < 4 (< 8 including ammonium. The depth profiles of key biogeochemical variables described in this study will be a useful reference for future studies in the Catalan Sea (NW Mediterranean Sea in order to validate data sampled in this area, to identify anomalous processes, and to study the evolution of the ecosystem following the undergoing global change.

  16. Aerosol events in the broader Mediterranean basin based on 7-year (2000–2007 MODIS C005 data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Gkikas

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol events (their frequency and intensity in the broader Mediterranean basin were studied using 7-year (2000–2007 aerosol data of optical depth (AOD at 550 nm from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Terra. The complete spatial coverage of data revealed a significant spatial variability of aerosol events which is also dependent on their intensity. Strong events occur more often in the western and central Mediterranean basin (up to 14 events/year whereas extreme events (AOD up to 5.0 are systematically observed in the eastern Mediterranean basin throughout the year. There is also a significant seasonal variability with strong aerosol events occurring most frequently in the western part of the basin in summer and extreme episodes in the eastern part during spring. The events were also analyzed separately over land and sea revealing differences that are due to the different natural and anthropogenic processes, like dust transport (producing maximum frequencies of extreme episodes in spring over both land and sea or forest fires (producing maximum frequencies in strong episodes in summer over land. The inter-annual variability shows a gradual decrease in the frequency of all aerosol episodes over land and sea areas of the Mediterranean during the period 2000–2007, associated with an increase in their intensity (increased AOD values. The strong spatiotemporal variability of aerosol events indicates the need for monitoring them at the highest spatial and temporal coverage and resolution.

  17. Survival probabilities of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta estimated from capture-mark-recapture data in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paolo Casale

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Survival probabilities of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta are estimated for the first time in the Mediterranean by analysing 3254 tagging and 134 re-encounter data from this region. Most of these turtles were juveniles found at sea. Re-encounters were live resightings and dead recoveries and data were analysed with Barker’s model, a modified version of the Cormack-Jolly-Seber model which can combine recapture, live resighting and dead recovery data. An annual survival probability of 0.73 (CI 95% = 0.67-0.78; n=3254 was obtained, and should be considered as a conservative estimate due to an unknown, though not negligible, tag loss rate. This study makes a preliminary estimate of the survival probabilities of in-water developmental stages for the Mediterranean population of endangered loggerhead sea turtles and provides the first insights into the magnitude of the suspected human-induced mortality in the region. The model used here for the first time on sea turtles could be used to obtain survival estimates from other data sets with few or no true recaptures but with other types of re-encounter data, which are a common output of tagging programmes involving these wide-ranging animals.

  18. Florisphaera profunda and the origin and diagenesis of carbonate phases in eastern Mediterranean sapropel units

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thomson, J.; Crudeli, D.; Lange, G.J. de; Slomp, C.P.; Erba, E.; Corselli, C.; Calvert, S.E.

    2004-01-01

    High relative concentrations of the lower photic zone nannofossil Florisphaera profunda have been reported in all recent eastern Mediterranean sapropels. In the most recent sapropel (S1), high bulk sediment Sr/Ca ratios occur along with high F. profunda contents toward the base of the unit,

  19. Planktonic foraminiferal abnormalities in coastal and open marine eastern Mediterranean environments: A natural stress monitoring approach in recent and early Holocene marine systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonarakou, A.; Kontakiotis, G.; Zarkogiannis, S.; Mortyn, P. G.; Drinia, H.; Koskeridou, E.; Anastasakis, G.

    2018-05-01

    Marine environmental status can be assessed through the study of bio-indicator species. Here, we monitor natural environmental stress by the occurrence of morphologically abnormal planktonic foraminiferal specimens from a suite of surface sediments in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. We also compare Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) abnormality observations from sapropel S1-derived sediments in the Aegean, Libyan and Levantine basins, since they provide a direct record of a natural stress experiment that took place over past time scales. At initial sapropel deposition levels, we observe increased growth asymmetry in Globigerinoides ruber twinned and twisted individuals, possibly associated with eutrophication and anoxia. In modern material, a range of malformations and aberrant morphologies from slight deformity with smaller or overdeveloped chambers to more severe deformity with abnormally protruding or misplaced chambers, distorted spirals, and double tests is also observed, as a result of the hypersaline, oligotrophic and oxygen-depleted nature of the Mediterranean Sea water column. Overall, we highlight the current use of the relative abundance of abnormal tests as a bio-indicator for monitoring natural stress, especially the occurrence of twin specimens as indicative of high-salinity stress conditions, and further illustrate the necessity to map both their spatial and temporal distribution for accurate paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Such an approach presents the advantage to rapidly provide information over wide spatial and temporal scales, extending our ability to monitor a wide variety of environments (from coastal to the open-sea). However, further investigations should extend this approach to test the robustness of our findings in a number of similar oceanic settings.

  20. Submarine sand ridges and sand waves in the eastern part of the China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ziyin; Li, Shoujun; Shang, Jihong; Zhou, Jieqiong; Zhao, Dineng; Liang, Yuyang

    2016-04-01

    Integrated with multi-beam and single-beam echo sounding data, as well as historical bathymetric data, submarine bathymetric maps of the eastern part of the China Sea, including the Bohai Sea, Huanghai Sea, and East China Sea, are constructed to systematically study submarine sand ridges and sand waves in the eastern part of the China Sea, combined with high-resolution seismic, sub-bottom profile and borehole data. Submarine sand ridges are extraordinarily developed in the eastern part of the China Sea, and 7 sand ridge areas can be divided from north to south, that is, the Laotieshan Channel sand ridge area in the Bohai Sea, the Korea Bay sand ridge area in the southern Huanghai Sea, the sand ridge area in the eastern Huanghai islands and the Huanghai Troughs, the Jianggang sand ridge area in the western Huanghai Sea, the sand ridge area in the East China Sea shelf, and the sand ridge and sand wave area in the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan Banks. The distribution area of the sand ridges and sand waves covers more than 450,000 km2, wherein ~10,000 km2 in the Bohai Bay, ~200,000 km2 in the Huanghai Sea, ~200,000 km2 in the East China Sea shelf, and ~40,000 km2 in the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan Banks, respectively. The great mass of sand ridges are distributed within water depth of 5-160 m, with a total length of over 160 km and a main width of 5-10 km. The inner structure of the sand ridges presents features of high-angle inclined beddings, with main lithology of sands, sand-mud alternations partly visible, and a small number of mud cores. Dating results indicate that the sand ridges in the eastern part of the China Sea are mainly developed in the Holocene. Sea-level variation dominates the sand ridge evolution in the eastern part of the China Sea since the LGM, and the sand ridges developed in the area of < 60m water depth are appeared in bad activity, meanwhile sand ridges with good activity are still developed in large scale.

  1. Biometry and phenology of two sibling Phylloscopus warblers on their circum-Mediterranean migrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zduniak, Piotr; Yosef, Reuven; Bensusan, Keith J; Perez, Charles E; Tryjanowski, Piotr

    2015-01-01

    The Mediterranean Sea is known as an ecological barrier for numerous migratory birds flying from European breeding grounds to African wintering sites. Birds generally avoid migration over open sea and fly over land. In the Mediterranean Basin, few land bridges or bottlenecks for migratory birds exist. The narrowest are at the western and eastern extremes: the Strait of Gibraltar and Israel. Comparative studies between these locations are extremely rare to date. Therefore, in order to elucidate the differences between the two flyways, we compared data collected simultaneously for two sister leaf warbler species, the Bonelli's Warbler complex, Phylloscopus bonelli and Phylloscopus orientalis, at ringing stations in the western Mediterranean Basin Gibraltar, and the eastern Eilat, Israel. Data on biometrics and passage dates of individuals trapped at Gibraltar and Eilat were used, and it was found that mean arrival date of Western Bonelli's Warblers at Gibraltar was 15 days later than Eastern Bonelli's Warblers at Eilat. Furthermore, Western Bonelli's Warblers had shorter wings than Eastern Bonelli's Warblers. On the other hand, birds in Eilat were in poorer body condition than individuals in Gibraltar. The comparison between geographically distant stop-over sites contributes to furthering our understanding of the development of migration strategies across ecological barriers in sibling species. Our study showed that populations that breed in southwestern Europe migrate through Gibraltar and winter in West Africa are able to accomplish migration in comparatively good body condition. This is in contrast to those that winter in East Africa, migrate through Israel and have to endure the combined challenge of crossing the Sahel, Sahara and Sinai deserts before reaching their breeding grounds across southeast Europe and southwest Asia. Hence, the discrepancies described between the western and the eastern flyway suggest that individuals in the west, in general, migrate

  2. Steric and mass-induced Mediterranean sea level trends from 14 years of altimetry data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Criado-Aldeanueva, Francisco; Del Río Vera, Jorge; García-Lafuente, Jesús

    2008-02-01

    Long-term series of almost 14 years of altimetry data (1992-2005) have been analysed along with Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and temperature and salinity profiles to investigate sea level trends over the Mediterranean Sea. Although sea level variations are mainly driven by the steric contribution, the mass-induced component plays some role in modulating its oscillation. A spatially averaged positive trend of 2.1 ± 0.6 mm/year has been observed, but a change in sign in 2001 seems to appear. Steric effects (mainly on thermal origin) account for ˜ 55% of sea level trend. Although Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed basin, this value is comparable to that reported for the global ocean. Sea level rise is particularly important in the Levantine basin south of Crete with values up to 10 ± 1 mm/year. Other areas of sea level rise are localised throughout the Levantine basin and in the Adriatic and Alboran Seas, with more moderate values. Sea level drop areas are localised in the Algerian basin, between the Balearic Islands and the African coasts and, particularly, in the Ionian basin. In this area, negative trends as high as - 10 ± 0.8 mm/year are detected mainly due to the mass-induced contribution, which suggests decadal changes of surface circulation. The inferred sea level trends have been correlated with North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices and a low but significant correlation has been detected between sea level in the Levantine and Balearic basins and NAO index.

  3. Wave Energy Potential in the Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin. An Integrated 10-year Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    SUBTITLE Wave energy potential in the Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin. An integrated 10-year study 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c... Cardone CV, Ewing JA, et al. The WAM model e a third generation ocean wave prediction model. J Phys Oceanogr 1988;18(12):1775e810. [70] Varinou M

  4. Population genetic history of Aristeus antennatus (Crustacea: Decapoda in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annamaria Marra

    Full Text Available Aristeus antennatus is an ecologically and economically important deep-water species in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study we investigated the genetic variability of A. antennatus sampled from 10 sampling stations in the Western and Central Mediterranean. By comparing our new samples with available data from the Western area, we aim to identify potential genetic stocks of A. antennatus and to reconstruct its historical demography in the Mediterranean. We analyzed two regions of mitochondrial DNA in 319 individuals, namely COI and 16S. We found two main results: i the genetic diversity values consistent with previous data within the Mediterranean and the absence of barriers to gene flow within the Mediterranean Sea; ii a constant long-term effective population size in almost all demes but a strong signature of population expansion in the pooled sample about 50,000 years B.P./ago. We propose two explanation for our results. The first is based on the ecology of A. antennatus. We suggest the existence of a complex meta-population structured into two layers: a deeper-dwelling stock, not affected by fishing, which preserves the pattern of historical demography; and genetically homogeneous demes inhabiting the fishing grounds. The larval dispersal, adult migration and continuous movements of individuals from "virgin" deeper grounds not affected by fishing to upper fishing areas support an effective 'rescue effect' contributing to the recovery of the exploited stocks and explain their genetic homogeneity throughout the Mediterranean Sea. The second is based on the reproduction model of this shrimp: the high variance in offspring production calls for a careful interpretation of the data observed under classical population genetics and Kingman's coalescent. In both cases, management policies for A. antennatus will therefore require careful evaluation of the meta-population dynamics of all stocks in the Mediterranean. In the future, it will be

  5. Diversity of Micromonospora strains from the deep Mediterranean Sea and their potential to produce bioactive compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Gärtner

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available During studies on bacteria from the Eastern Mediterranean deep-sea, incubation under in situ conditions (salinity, temperature and pressure and heat treatment were used to selectively enrich representatives of Micromonospora. From sediments of the Ierapetra Basin (4400 m depth and the Herodotos Plain (2800 m depth, 21 isolates were identified as members of the genus Micromonospora. According to phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, the Micromonospora isolates could be assigned to 14 different phylotypes with an exclusion limit of ≥ 99.5% sequence similarity. They formed 7 phylogenetic clusters. Two of these clusters, which contain isolates obtained after enrichment under pressure incubation and phylogenetically are distinct from representative reference organism, could represent bacteria specifically adapted to the conditions in situ and to life in these deep-sea sediments. The majority of the Micromonospora isolates (90% contained at least one gene cluster for biosynthesis of secondary metabolites for non-ribosomal polypeptides and polyketides (polyketide synthases type I and type II. The determination of biological activities of culture extracts revealed that almost half of the strains produced substances inhibitory to the growth of Gram-positive bacteria. Chemical analyses of culture extracts demonstrated the presence of different metabolite profiles also in closely related strains. Therefore, deep-sea Micromonospora isolates are considered to have a large potential for the production of new antibiotic compounds.

  6. Ecological effects of full and partial protection in the crowded Mediterranean Sea: a regional meta-analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Scianna, Claudia; Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah Grahm

    2017-01-01

    the relationships between the level of protection and MPA size, age, and enforcement. Results revealed significant positive effects of protection for fisheries target species and negative effects for urchins as their predators benefited from protection. Full protection provided stronger effects than partial...... to inform decisions. In the human-dominated Mediterranean Sea, fully protected areas occupy only 0.04% of its surface. We evaluated the impacts of full and partial protection on biomass and density of fish assemblages, some commercially important fishes, and sea urchins in 24 Mediterranean MPAs. We explored...

  7. Projected shifts in copepod surface communities in the Mediterranean Sea under several climate change scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedetti, F.; Guilhaumon, F.; Adloff, F.; Irisson, J. O.; Ayata, S. D.

    2016-02-01

    Although future increases in water temperature and future changes in regional circulation are expected to have great impacts on the pelagic food-web, estimates focusing on community-level shifts are still lacking for the planktonic compartment. By combining statistical niche models (or species distribution models) with projections from a regional circulation model, the impact of climate change on copepod epipelagic communities is assessed for the Mediterranean Sea. Habitat suitability maps are generated for 106 of the most abundant copepod species to analyze emerging patterns of diversity at the community level. Using variance analysis, we also quantified the uncertainties associated to our modeling strategy (niche model choice, CO2 emission scenario, boundary forcings of the circulation model). Comparing present and future projections, changes in species richness (alpha diversity) and in community composition (beta diversity, decomposed into turnover and nestedness component) are calculated. Average projections show that copepod communities will mainly experience turn-over processes, with little changes in species richness. Species gains are mainly located in the Gulf of Lions, the Northern Adriatic and the Northern Aegean seas. However, projections are highly variable, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean basin. We show that such variability is mainly driven by the choice of the niche model, through interactions with the CO2 emission scenario or the boundary forcing of the circulation model can be locally important. Finally, the possible impact of the estimated community changes on zooplanktonic functional and phylogenetic diversity is also assessed. We encourage the enlargement of this type of study to other components of the pelagic food-web, and argue that niche models' outputs should always be given along with a measure of uncertainty, and explained in light of a strong theoretical background.

  8. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in photochemically aged air from the eastern and western Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derstroff, Bettina; Hüser, Imke; Bourtsoukidis, Efstratios; Crowley, John N.; Fischer, Horst; Gromov, Sergey; Harder, Hartwig; Janssen, Ruud H. H.; Kesselmeier, Jürgen; Lelieveld, Jos; Mallik, Chinmay; Martinez, Monica; Novelli, Anna; Parchatka, Uwe; Phillips, Gavin J.; Sander, Rolf; Sauvage, Carina; Schuladen, Jan; Stönner, Christof; Tomsche, Laura; Williams, Jonathan

    2017-08-01

    During the summertime CYPHEX campaign (CYprus PHotochemical EXperiment 2014) in the eastern Mediterranean, multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured from a 650 m hilltop site in western Cyprus (34° 57' N/32° 23' E). Periodic shifts in the northerly Etesian winds resulted in the site being alternately impacted by photochemically processed emissions from western (Spain, France, Italy) and eastern (Turkey, Greece) Europe. Furthermore, the site was situated within the residual layer/free troposphere during some nights which were characterized by high ozone and low relative humidity levels. In this study we examine the temporal variation of VOCs at the site. The sparse Mediterranean scrub vegetation generated diel cycles in the reactive biogenic hydrocarbon isoprene, from very low values at night to a diurnal median level of 80-100 pptv. In contrast, the oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) methanol and acetone exhibited weak diel cycles and were approximately an order of magnitude higher in mixing ratio (ca. 2.5-3 ppbv median level by day, range: ca. 1-8 ppbv) than the locally emitted isoprene and aromatic compounds such as benzene and toluene. Acetic acid was present at mixing ratios between 0.05 and 4 ppbv with a median level of ca. 1.2 ppbv during the daytime. When data points directly affected by the residual layer/free troposphere were excluded, the acid followed a pronounced diel cycle, which was influenced by various local effects including photochemical production and loss, direct emission, dry deposition and scavenging from advecting air in fog banks. The Lagrangian model FLEXPART was used to determine transport patterns and photochemical processing times (between 12 h and several days) of air masses originating from eastern and western Europe. Ozone and many OVOC levels were ˜ 20 and ˜ 30-60 % higher, respectively, in air arriving from the east. Using the FLEXPART calculated transport time, the contribution of photochemical

  9. Contributions of hydroclimate variability and associated North-African riverine fluxes to eastern-Mediterranean sapropel formation and related seawater circulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wu, Jiawang

    2017-01-01

    The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed basin surrounded by catchment areas characterized by different climate regimes, as it lies at the interface between the African tropical and European temperate zones. Moreover, the Mediterranean has a dynamic thermohaline circulation, making it particularly

  10. Contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storelli, Maria Maddalena; Barone, Grazia; Giacominelli-Stuffler, Roberto; Marcotrigiano, Giuseppe Onofrio

    2012-09-01

    Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) including dioxin-like PCBs (non-ortho, PCB 77, PCB 126, and PCB 169 and mono-ortho, PCB 105, PCB 118, and PCB 156) were measured in different organs and tissues (melon, blubber, liver, kidney, lung, heart, and muscle tissue) of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (Adriatic Sea). The mean highest levels were in blubber and melon, followed by liver, kidney, lung, heart, and muscle tissue. PCB profiles were similar in all tissues and organs being dominated by the higher chlorinated homologues (hexa-CBs, 55.8-62.1%; penta-CBs, 15.4-20.0%; and hepta-CB PCB 180, 12.7-16.5%). Major PCBs in all tissues were congeners 138 and 153 collectively accounting for 50.6-58.3% of the total PCB concentrations, followed by PCB 101, 105, 118, and 180 constituting from 27.0% to 31.0%. PCB levels were higher in adult males than in adult females. The estimated 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxic equivalents of non- and mono-ortho PCBs were much higher than the threshold level above which adverse effects have been observed in other marine mammals species, suggesting that striped dolphins in this region are at risk for toxic effects.

  11. Characterization of intense aerosol episodes in the Mediterranean basin from satellite observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gkikas, Antonis; Hatzianastassiou, Nikos; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2014-05-01

    The properties and distribution of aerosols over the broader Mediterranean region are complex since particles of different nature are either produced within its boundaries or transported from other regions. Thus, coarse dust aerosols are transported primarily from Sahara and secondarily from Middle East, while fine polluted aerosols are either produced locally from anthropogenic activities or they are transported from neighbouring or remote European areas. Also during summer biomass aerosols are transported towards the Mediterranean, originating from massive and extended fires occurring in northern Balkans and Eastern Europe and favoured by the prevailing synoptic conditions. In addition, sea-salt aerosols originate from the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. Occasionally, aerosols are encountered at very high concentrations (aerosol episodes or events) significantly affecting atmospheric dynamics and climate as well as human health. Given the coexistence of different aerosols as internal and external mixtures characterizing and discriminating between the different types of aerosol episodes is a big challenge. A characterization and classification of intense aerosol episodes in the Mediterranean basin (March 2000 - February 2007) is attempted in the present study. This is achieved by implementing an objective and dynamic algorithm which uses daily aerosol optical properties derived from satellite measurements, namely MODIS-Terra, Earth Probe (EP)-TOMS and OMI-Aura. The aerosol episodes are first classified into strong and extreme ones, according to their intensity, by means of aerosol optical depth at 550nm (AOD550nm). Subsequently, they are discriminated into the following aerosol types: (i) biomass/urban-industrial (BU), (ii) desert dust (DD), (iii) sea-salt like (SS), (iv) mixed (MX) and (v) undetermined (UN). The classification is based on aerosol optical properties accounting for the particles' size (Ångström exponent, Effective radius), the

  12. Phosphorus and nitrogen trajectories in the Mediterranean Sea (1950-2030): Diagnosing basin-wide anthropogenic nutrient enrichment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powley, Helen R.; Krom, Michael D.; Van Cappellen, Philippe

    2018-03-01

    Human activities have significantly modified the inputs of land-derived phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) to the Mediterranean Sea (MS). Here, we reconstruct the external inputs of reactive P and N to the Western Mediterranean Sea (WMS) and Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) over the period 1950-2030. We estimate that during this period the land derived P and N loads increased by factors of 3 and 2 to the WMS and EMS, respectively, with reactive P inputs peaking in the 1980s but reactive N inputs increasing continuously from 1950 to 2030. The temporal variations in reactive P and N inputs are imposed in a coupled P and N mass balance model of the MS to simulate the accompanying changes in water column nutrient distributions and primary production with time. The key question we address is whether these changes are large enough to be distinguishable from variations caused by confounding factors, specifically the relatively large inter-annual variability in thermohaline circulation (THC) of the MS. Our analysis indicates that for the intermediate and deep water masses of the MS the magnitudes of changes in reactive P concentrations due to changes in anthropogenic inputs are relatively small and likely difficult to diagnose because of the noise created by the natural circulation variability. Anthropogenic N enrichment should be more readily detectable in time series concentration data for dissolved organic N (DON) after the 1970s, and for nitrate (NO3) after the 1990s. The DON concentrations in the EMS are predicted to exhibit the largest anthropogenic enrichment signature. Temporal variations in annual primary production over the 1950-2030 period are dominated by variations in deep-water formation rates, followed by changes in riverine P inputs for the WMS and atmospheric P deposition for the EMS. Overall, our analysis indicates that the detection of basin-wide anthropogenic nutrient concentration trends in the MS is rendered difficult due to: (1) the Atlantic Ocean

  13. Analysis of L-band radiometric data over the Mediterranean Sea from the SMOS Validation Rehearsal campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabarro, C.; Talone, M.; Font, J.

    2009-04-01

    L-band radiometric data obtained with a real aperture airborne radiometer during SMOS validation Rehearsal campaign (April-May 2008) over the NW Mediterranean Sea have been analysed. EMIRAD, a fully polarimetric radiometer developed by the Technical University of Denmark operating in the 1400 - 1427 MHz band, was mounted on board a Skyvan aircraft from the Helsinki University of Technology. Two antennas were used: one facing nadir with 37.6° full aperture at half-power; and one placed towards the rear of the aircraft at 40° zenith angle with 30.6° full aperture at half-power. Two transit flights over the sea from Marseille to Valencia (19 April 2008) and from Valencia to Marseille (3 May 2008) have been studied. Two meteorological and oceanographic buoys were moored 40 Km offshore in front of Tarragona and were overflown during these transits. Additionally, information on sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) was obtained from operational model outputs (Mediterranean Forecasting System - Mediterranean Operational Oceanography Network) and wind speed from QuikSCAT. Measured brightness temperatures (Tb) have been compared with modelled Tb, using a semi-empirical emissivity model: Klein and Swift model is used to define the dielectric constant and Hollinger model for the rough sea emissivity contribution. Comparisons show that in general measured Tb variability fits with modelled variability, although a bias is observed in the aft V channel.

  14. Air-sea Exchange of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammel, G. P.; Heil, A.; Kukucka, P.; Meixner, F. X.; Mulder, M. D.; Prybilova, P.; Prokes, R.; Rusina, T. S.; Song, G. Z.; Vrana, B.

    2015-12-01

    The marine atmospheric environment is a receptor for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which are advected from sources on land, primary, such as biomass burning by-products (PAHs, dioxins), and secondary, such as volatilization from contaminated soils (PCBs, pesticides). Primary sources do not exist in the marine environment, except for PAHs (ship engines) but following previous atmospheric deposition, the sea surface may turn to a secondary source by reversal of diffusive air-sea mass exchange. No monitoring is in place. We studied the vertical fluxes of a wide range of primary and secondary emitted POPs based on measurements in air and surface seawater at a remote coastal site in the eastern Mediterranean (2012). To this end, silicon rubbers were used as passive water samplers, vertical concentration gradients were determined in air and fluxes were quantified based on Eddy covariance. Diffusive air-sea exchange fluxes of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and semivolatile PAHs were found close to phase equilibrium, except one PAH, retene, a wood burning tracer, was found seasonally net-volatilisational. Some PCBs, p,p'-DDE, penta- and hexachlorobenzene (PeCB, HCB) were mostly net-depositional, while PBDEs were net-volatilizational. Fluxes determined at a a remote coastal site ranged -33 - +2.4 µg m-2 d-1 for PAHs and -4.0 - +0.3 µg m-2 d-1for halogenated compounds ( 0 means net-volatilization). It is concluded that nowadays in open seas more pollutants are undergoing reversal of the direction of air-sea exchange. Recgional fire activity records in combination with box model simulations suggest that deposition of retene during summer is followed by a reversal of air-sea exchange. The seawater surface as secondary source of pollution should be assessed based on flux measurements across seasons and over longer time periods.

  15. Torrential precipitations on the Spanish east coast: The role of the Mediterranean sea surface temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millán, M.; Estrela, M. J.; Caselles, V.

    Floods constitute one of the most important natural risks on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Although it is very difficult to avoid them, a correct understanding of their principal cause, which is torrential rain, can facilitate their prediction and in this way avoid, at least partially, their catastrophic effects (both loss of human lives and material damage). The work presented here is part of a more extensive study underway in the CEAM (Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo). Its objective is the analysis of the conditions that produce torrential precipitations. These can be explained by the hypothesis of the Back Door Front, a mechanism which on its own permits the development of a potentially unstable mass above the Mediterranean sea. Among the different factors that are valued in this hypothesis, the Sea Surface Temperature is considered to play an important role. It is studied by means of satellite images since this is the only technique that permits a synoptic view of this parameter. NOAH satellite images have been used, applying the split-window operative technique. This work presents initial results that confirm the importance of the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) as a moisture source in the Mediterranean cyclogenesis.

  16. Comparative technical aspects of the Nephrops norvegicus (L. fishery in the northern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesc Sarda

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available A comparative study of the technical characteristics of the Norway lobster fishery in the Mediterranean Sea is presented. The different trawl vessels, trawl gears, trawling manoeuvres, and status of the statistics compiled by the administrations are described. The main conclusions are that catchability has increased with technological advances, official landings statistics are flawed in most of the Mediterranean, and fishing methods differed from country to country.

  17. First record of the Indo-Pacific species Iphione muricata Savigny in Lamarck, 1818 (Polychaeta: Iphionidae from the Mediterranean Sea, Israel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. GOREN

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Indo-Pacific scaleworm Iphione muricata was observed and caught in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of Israel. Morphological and molecular diagnostic characters of the species are discussed. This is the first record of this alien species in the Mediterranean Sea, and its previous reports in the Suez Canal suggest its introduction via Lessepsian migration.

  18. Nile damming as plausible cause of extinction and drop in abundance of deep-sea shrimp in the western Mediterranean over broad spatial scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartes, J. E.; Maynou, F.; Fanelli, E.

    2011-11-01

    Greatly increased retention of flow in Nile River reservoirs was initiated in 1964, after completion of the Aswan High Dam, which induced important oceanographic changes in the Mediterranean Sea, including deep waters (below a depth of 150 m). Based on an analysis of data series starting in the 1940s/1950s, the giant red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea has become locally extinct off of the Catalonian coasts (and elsewhere in the northwestern Mediterranean) at depths of 400-900 m, with a simultaneous and significant drop in the catches of red shrimp, Aristeus antennatus, in the second half of the 1960s. The extinction and sharp decline of deep-shrimp populations off Catalonian coast (at ca. 3200 km westwards from Nile Delta) followed the 1964 drop in Nile discharge with a delay of ca. 3-5 yrs (breakpoint analysis applied to data series). The breakpoints detected in the second half of 1960s both in Nile runoff and shrimps’ abundance were independent of climatic events in the study area (e.g. changes in NAO) and occurred before the increase in fishing effort off Catalonian coasts (breakpoint in 1973-1974). The Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW), inhabited by A. foliacea in the western Basin, had significant temperature (T) and salinity (S) increases in the 1950-1970 period, and Nile damming has contributed about 45% of the total S increase of Western Mediterranean deep-water masses from the 1960s to the late 1990s (Skliris and Lascaratos, 2004). This had to increase, for instance, LIW salinity at its formation site in the eastern Mediterranean. Nile damming was probably a triggering factor for the extinction/drop in abundance of deep-sea shrimp off Catalonian coasts.

  19. The resurrection of Charybdis (Gonioinfradens) giardi (Nobili, 1905), newly recorded from the SE Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galil, Bella S; Douek, Jacob; Gevili, Roy; Goren, Menachem; Yudkovsky, Yana; Paz, Guy; Rinekvich, Baruch

    2018-01-15

    A single adult specimen of Gonioinfradens giardi, a portunid crab known from the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf, was recently collected off the southern Israeli coast, in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. Morphological characters, as well as molecular analyses based on the mitochondrial barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase sub unit I (COI), support its distinction from the widely distributed G. paucidentata. Therefore, G. giardi is reinstated as a valid species, and withdrawn from its synonymy with G. paucidentata. Previous Mediterranean records of the latter species are misidentifications and should be referred to G. giardi. The species is described, illustrated, and differentiated from its cogener.

  20. Corals, Canyons, and Conservation: Science Based Fisheries Management Decisions in the Eastern Bering Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steve A. MacLean

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available When making science matter for conservation, marine conservation practitioners, and managers must be prepared to make the appropriate decision based on the results of the best available science used to inform it. For nearly a decade, many stakeholders encouraged the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to enact protections for deep-sea corals in several canyons in the Eastern Bering Sea slope. In 2014, at the request of the Council, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center conducted a strip-transect survey along the Eastern Bering Sea slope to validate the results of a model predicting the occurrence of deep-sea coral habitat. More than 250,000 photos were analyzed to estimate coral, sponge, and sea whip abundance, distribution, height, and vulnerability to anthropogenic damage. The results of the survey confirmed that coral habitat and occurrence was concentrated around Pribilof Canyon and the adjacent slope. The results also confirmed that the densities of corals in the Eastern Bering Sea were low, even where they occurred. After reviewing the best available scientific information, the Council concluded that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that deep-sea corals in the Eastern Bering Sea slope or canyons are at risk from commercial fisheries under the current management structure, and that special protections for deep-sea corals were not warranted.

  1. Spatiotemporal variability and contribution of different aerosol types to the aerosol optical depth over the Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. K. Georgoulias

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study characterizes the spatiotemporal variability and relative contribution of different types of aerosols to the aerosol optical depth (AOD over the Eastern Mediterranean as derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Terra (March 2000–December 2012 and Aqua (July 2002–December 2012 satellite instruments. For this purpose, a 0.1° × 0.1° gridded MODIS dataset was compiled and validated against sun photometric observations from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET. The high spatial resolution and long temporal coverage of the dataset allows for the determination of local hot spots like megacities, medium-sized cities, industrial zones and power plant complexes, seasonal variabilities and decadal averages. The average AOD at 550 nm (AOD550 for the entire region is ∼ 0.22 ± 0.19, with maximum values in summer and seasonal variabilities that can be attributed to precipitation, photochemical production of secondary organic aerosols, transport of pollution and smoke from biomass burning in central and eastern Europe and transport of dust from the Sahara and the Middle East. The MODIS data were analyzed together with data from other satellite sensors, reanalysis projects and a chemistry–aerosol-transport model using an optimized algorithm tailored for the region and capable of estimating the contribution of different aerosol types to the total AOD550. The spatial and temporal variability of anthropogenic, dust and fine-mode natural aerosols over land and anthropogenic, dust and marine aerosols over the sea is examined. The relative contribution of the different aerosol types to the total AOD550 exhibits a low/high seasonal variability over land/sea areas, respectively. Overall, anthropogenic aerosols, dust and fine-mode natural aerosols account for ∼ 51, ∼ 34 and ∼ 15 % of the total AOD550 over land, while, anthropogenic aerosols, dust and marine aerosols account ∼ 40, ∼ 34

  2. Implementation and test of a coastal forecasting system for wind waves in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inghilesi, R.; Catini, F.; Orasi, A.; Corsini, S.

    2010-09-01

    A coastal forecasting system has been implemented in order to provide a coverage of the whole Mediterranean Sea and of several enclosed coastal areas as well. The problem is to achieve a good definition of the small scale coastal processes which affect the propagation of waves toward the shores while retaining the possibility of selecting any of the possible coastal areas in the whole Mediterranean Sea. The system is built on a very high resolution parallel implementation of the WAM and SWAN models, one-way chain-nested in key areas. The system will shortly be part of the ISPRA SIMM forecasting system which has been operative since 2001. The SIMM sistem makes available the high resolution wind fields (0.1/0.1 deg) used in the coastal system. The coastal system is being tested on several Italian coastal areas (Ligurian Sea, Lower Tyrrenian Sea, Sicily Channel, Lower Adriatic Sea) in order to optimise the numerics of the coastal processes and to verify the results in shallow waters and complex bathymetries. The results of the comparison between hindcast and buoy data in very shallow (14m depth) and deep sea (150m depth) will be shown for several episodes in the upper Tyrrenian Sea.

  3. Seasonal dynamics in colored dissolved organic matter in the Mediterranean Sea: Patterns and drivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Xiaogang; Claustre, Hervé; Wang, Haili; Poteau, Antoine; D`Ortenzio, Fabrizio

    2014-01-01

    Two autonomous profiling “Bio-Argo” floats were deployed in the northwestern and eastern sub-basins of the Mediterranean Sea in 2008. They recorded at high vertical (1 m) and temporal (5 day) resolution, the vertical distribution and seasonal variation of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), as well as of chlorophyll-a concentration and hydrological variables. The CDOM standing stock presented a clear seasonal dynamics with the progressive summer formation and winter destruction of subsurface CDOM maxima (YSM, for Yellow Substance Maximum). It was argued that subsurface CDOM is a by-product of phytoplankton, based on two main characteristics, (1) the YSM was located at the same depth than the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) and (2) the CDOM increased in summer parallels the decline in chlorophyll-a. These observations suggested an indirect but tight coupling between subsurface CDOM and phytoplankton via microbial activity or planktonic foodweb interactions. Moreover, the surface CDOM variations observed both by floats and MODIS displayed different seasonal dynamics from what recorded at subsurface one. This implies that CDOM standing stock can be hardly detected by satellite. It is worthnoting that surface CDOM was found to be more related to the sea surface temperature (SST) than chlorophyll-a concentration, suggesting its physical origin, in contrast to the biological origin of YSM and subsurface standing stocks.

  4. Impact study of the Argo array definition in the Mediterranean Sea based on satellite altimetry gridded data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Roman, Antonio; Ruiz, Simón; Pascual, Ananda; Guinehut, Stéphanie; Mourre, Baptiste

    2016-04-01

    The existing Argo network provides essential data in near real time to constrain monitoring and forecasting centers and strongly complements the observations of the ocean surface from space. The comparison of Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) provided by satellite altimeters with in-situ Dynamic Heights Anomalies (DHA) derived from the temperature and salinity profiles of Argo floats contribute to better characterize the error budget associated with the altimeter observations. In this work, performed in the frame of the E-AIMS FP7 European Project, we focus on the Argo observing system in the Mediterranean Sea and its impact on SLA fields provided by satellite altimetry measurements in the basin. Namely, we focus on the sensitivity of specific SLA gridded merged products provided by AVISO in the Mediterranean to the reference depth (400 or 900 dbar) selected in the computation of the Argo Dynamic Height (DH) as an integration of the Argo T/S profiles through the water column. This reference depth will have impact on the number of valid Argo profiles and therefore on their temporal sampling and the coverage by the network used to compare with altimeter data. To compare both datasets, altimeter grids and synthetic climatologies used to compute DHA were spatially and temporally interpolated at the position and time of each in-situ Argo profile by a mapping method based on an optimal interpolation scheme. The analysis was conducted in the entire Mediterranean Sea and different sub-regions of the basin. The second part of this work is devoted to investigate which configuration in terms of spatial sampling of the Argo array in the Mediterranean will properly reproduce the mesoscale dynamics in this basin, which is comprehensively captured by new standards of specific altimeter products for this region. To do that, several Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) were conducted assuming that altimetry data computed from AVISO specific reanalysis gridded merged product for

  5. Characterization of the lipid fraction of wild sea urchin from the Sardinian Sea (western Mediterranean).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angioni, Alberto; Addis, Pierantonio

    2014-02-01

    The fatty acid (FA) composition of Spatangus purpureus, Echinus melo, Sphaerechinus granularis, and Paracentrotus lividus, sea urchins, has been studied. Sea urchins were collected at different depth along Sardinia coast in the Mediterranean sea, and their gonad was measured, separated, and analyzed for FA composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 53 FAs were detected, 16 saturated (SFA), 10 monounsaturated (MUFA), 9 polyunsaturated (PUFA), and 13 highly unsaturated (HUFA). Moreover, 5 furan FAs (FFAs) were revealed for the first time in sea urchin. The HUFA and PUFA classes were the most represented accounting for almost 80% of total FAs. Among these compounds, C20:4 n6 (19.64, 20.52, 23.37, and 8.48 mg/g, respectively) and C22:6 n3 (19.68, 20.05, 3.83, and 1.78 mg/g, respectively) were the most abundant. The results of principal component analysis indicated that the sea urchin samples could be clearly discriminated with respect to their FAs composition. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

  6. Input of transuranic elements through rivers into the Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukai, R.; Ballestra, S.; Thein, M.

    1981-01-01

    Measurements of 137 Cs, 238 Pu, sup(239+240)Pu and 241 Am were carried out on river water as well as its suspended matter collected seasonally in 1977 from two Mediterranean rivers, the Var and the Rhone. The results show that although the concentrations of the soluble fractions of these radionuclides are higher in the Rhone than in the Var, even the elevated concentrations of soluble 137 Cs (approximately 40 fCi.ltr -1 ) and sup(239+240)Pu (approximately 0.1 fCi.ltr -1 ) in the Rhone are much lower than the average concentrations of these nuclides in Mediterranean surface waters. On the other hand, the concentrations of the nuclides measured in suspended matter are roughly an order of magnitude higher in the Rhone than in the Var. Based on the results of measurements on the two rivers, and assuming that the annual average concentrations of the radionuclides in the Var and the Rhone respectively represent those in radiologically uncontaminated and contaminated Mediterranean rivers, the total inputs of 137 Cs, 238 Pu, sup(239+240)Pu and 241 Am through rivers into the Mediterranean Sea have been estimated. Comparison of these estimated values with the inputs of fallout radionuclides by rain indicates that although local accumulation of transuranic nuclides may be observed on sediments taken from some limited estuarine areas, the geochemical behaviour of transuranic elements in the Mediterranean, as a whole, is exclusively governed today by the fallout input of these elements. (author)

  7. Subduction and vertical coastal motions in the eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, Andy; Jackson, James; Copley, Alex; McKenzie, Dan; Nissen, Ed

    2017-10-01

    Convergence in the eastern Mediterranean of oceanic Nubia with Anatolia and the Aegean is complex and poorly understood. Large volumes of sediment obscure the shallow structure of the subduction zone, and since much of the convergence is accommodated aseismically, there are limited earthquake data to constrain its kinematics. We present new source models for recent earthquakes, combining these with field observations, published GPS velocities and reflection-seismic data to investigate faulting in three areas: the Florence Rise, SW Turkey and the Pliny and Strabo Trenches. The depths and locations of earthquakes reveal the geometry of the subducting Nubian plate NE of the Florence Rise, a bathymetric high that is probably formed by deformation of sediment at the surface projection of the Anatolia-Nubia subduction interface. In SW Turkey, the presence of a strike-slip shear zone has often been inferred despite an absence of strike-slip earthquakes. We show that the GPS-derived strain-rate field is consistent with extension on the orthogonal systems of normal faults observed in the region and that strike-slip faulting is not required to explain observed GPS velocities. Further SW, the Pliny and Strabo Trenches are also often interpreted as strike-slip shear zones, but almost all nearby earthquakes have either reverse-faulting or normal-faulting focal mechanisms. Oblique convergence across the trenches may be accommodated either by a partitioned system of strike-slip and reverse faults or by oblique slip on the Aegean-Nubia subduction interface. The observed late-Quaternary vertical motions of coastlines close to the subduction zone are influenced by the interplay between: (1) thickening of the material overriding the subduction interface associated with convergence, which promotes coastal uplift; and (2) subsidence due to extension and associated crustal thinning. Long-wavelength gravity data suggest that some of the observed topographic contrasts in the eastern

  8. Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797) in the Mediterranean Sea: Genetic Diversity and Population Structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Luca, Daniele; Catanese, Gaetano; Procaccini, Gabriele; Fiorito, Graziano

    2016-01-01

    The common octopus, Octopus vulgaris Cuvier 1797, is a largely exploited cephalopod species in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as along the coasts of Africa, Brazil and Japan, where its taxonomic identity is still debated. The assessment of its genetic structure is a pressing need to correctly manage the resource and to avoid overfishing and collapsing of local stocks. Here we analysed genetic variation and population structure of O. vulgaris using thirteen microsatellite loci in seven sampling localities from the Mediterranean Sea and one from the Atlantic Ocean. We also used a DNA barcoding approach by COI gene fragment to understand the phylogenetic relationships among the specimens here investigated and the ones whose sequences are available in literature. Our results reveal high levels of allelic richness and moderate heterozygosity in all samples investigated, and a pronounced differentiation of the Atlantic and Sicilian specimens. This latter aspect seems to support the isolation of the biota within the Strait of Messina. A certain degree of differentiation was detected among the other geographic samples within the Mediterranean Sea, which is more compatible with an island model than isolation by distance. The occurrence of null alleles affected more genetic diversity indices than population structure estimations. This study provides new insights about the genetic diversity and structure of O. vulgaris in the area of interest, which can be used as guidelines for a fisheries management perspective.

  9. Modelling the water and heat balances of the Mediterranean Sea using a two-basin model and available meteorological, hydrological, and ocean data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Shaltout

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a two-basin model of the water and heat balances of the Western and Eastern Mediterranean sub-basins (WMB and EMB, respectively over the 1958–2010 period using available meteorological and hydrological data. The results indicate that the simulated temperature and salinity in both studied Mediterranean sub-basins closely follow the reanalysed data. In addition, simulated surface water in the EMB had a higher mean temperature (by approximately 1.6°C and was more saline (by approximately 0.87 g kg−1 than in the WMB over the studied period. The net evaporation over the EMB (1.52 mm day−1 was approximately 1.7 times greater than over the WMB (0.88 mm day−1. The water balance of the Mediterranean Sea was controlled by net inflow through the Gibraltar Strait and Sicily Channel, the net evaporation rate and freshwater input. The heat balance simulations indicated that the heat loss from the water body was nearly balanced by the solar radiation to the water body, resulting in a net export (import of approximately 13 (11 W m−2 of heat from the WMB (to the EMB.

  10. Gonioinfradens paucidentatus (A. Milne Edwards, 1861 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae: a new alien crab in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. CORSINI-FOKA

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The first record for the Mediterranean Sea of the Red Sea/Indo-Pacific portunid Gonioinfradens paucidentatus (red swimming crab is documented. A detailed description of the specimens collected at Rodos Island (southeastern Aegean Sea is given, while possible introduction vectors of the species in the area are discussed.

  11. Re-Emerging Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in War-Affected Peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean Region—An Update

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rasha Raslan

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available For the past few decades, the Eastern Mediterranean Region has been one area of the world profoundly shaped by war and political instability. On-going conflict and destruction have left the region struggling with innumerable health concerns that have claimed the lives of many. Wars, and the chaos they leave behind, often provide the optimal conditions for the growth and re-emergence of communicable diseases. In this article, we highlight a few of the major re-emerging vaccine preventable diseases in four countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region that are currently affected by war leading to a migration crisis: Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. We will also describe the impact these infections have had on patients, societies, and national health care services. This article also describes the efforts, both local and international, which have been made to address these crises, as well as future endeavors that can be done to contain and control further devastation left by these diseases.

  12. The dissolved yellow substance and the shades of blue in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Gentili

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available When the nominal algorithms commonly in use in Space Agencies are applied to satellite Ocean Color data, the retrieved chlorophyll concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea are recurrently notable overestimates of the field values. Accordingly, several regionally tuned algorithms have been proposed in the past to correct for this deviation. Actually, the blueness of the Mediterranean waters is not as deep as expected from the actual (low chlorophyll content, and the modified algorithms account for this peculiarity. Among the possible causes for such a deviation, an excessive amount of yellow substance (or of chromophoric dissolved organic matter, CDOM has been frequently cited. This conjecture is presently tested, by using a new technique simply based on the simultaneous consideration of marine reflectance determined at four spectral bands, namely at 412, 443, 490, and 555 nm, available on the NASA-SeaWiFS sensor (Sea–viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor. It results from this test that the concentration in yellow colored material (quantified as ay, the absorption coefficient of this material at 443 nm is about twice that one observed in the nearby Atlantic Ocean at the same latitude. There is a strong seasonal signal, with maximal ay values in late fall and winter, an abrupt decrease beginning in spring, and then a flat minimum during the summer months, which plausibly results from the intense photo-bleaching process favored by the high level of sunshine in these areas. Systematically, the ay values, reproducible from year to year, are higher in the western basin compared with those in the eastern basin (by about 50%. The relative importance of the river discharges into this semi-enclosed sea, as well as the winter deep vertical mixing occurring in the northern parts of the basins may explain the high yellow substance background. The regionally tuned [Chl] algorithms, actually reflect the

  13. Contemporary genetic structure and postglacial demographic history of the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boissin, E; Micu, D; Janczyszyn-Le Goff, M; Neglia, V; Bat, L; Todorova, V; Panayotova, M; Kruschel, C; Macic, V; Milchakova, N; Keskin, Ç; Anastasopoulou, A; Nasto, I; Zane, L; Planes, S

    2016-05-01

    Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity in the light of past demographic events linked with climatic shifts will help to forecast evolutionary trajectories of ecosystems within the current context of climate change. In this study, mitochondrial sequences and microsatellite loci were analysed using traditional population genetic approaches together with Bayesian dating and the more recent approximate Bayesian computation scenario testing. The genetic structure and demographic history of a commercial fish, the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, was investigated throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The results suggest that the species recently underwent population expansions, in both seas, likely concomitant with the warming period following the Last Glacial Maximum, 20 000 years ago. A weak contemporaneous genetic differentiation was identified between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. However, the genetic diversity was similar for populations of the two seas, suggesting a high number of colonizers entered the Black Sea during the interglacial period and/or the presence of a refugial population in the Black Sea during the glacial period. Finally, within seas, an east/west genetic differentiation in the Adriatic seems to prevail, whereas the Black Sea does not show any structured spatial genetic pattern of its population. Overall, these results suggest that the Black Sea is not that isolated from the Mediterranean, and both seas revealed similar evolutionary patterns related to climate change and changes in sea level. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Bridging knowledge translation gap in health in developing countries: visibility, impact and publishing standards in journals from the Eastern Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utrobičić, Ana; Chaudhry, Nauman; Ghaffar, Abdul; Marušić, Ana

    2012-05-11

    Local and regional scientific journals are important factors in bridging gaps in health knowledge translation in low-and middle-income countries. We assessed indexing, citations and publishing standards of journals from the Eastern Mediterranean region. For journals from 22 countries in the collection of the Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR), we analyzed indexing in bibliographical databases and citations during 2006-2009 to published items in 2006 in Web of Science (WoS) and SCOPUS. Adherence to editorial and publishing standards was assessed using a special checklist. Out of 419 journals in IMEMR, 19 were indexed in MEDLINE, 23 in WoS and 46 in SCOPUS. Their impact factors ranged from 0.016 to 1.417. For a subset of 175 journals with available tables of contents from 2006, articles published in 2006 from 93 journals received 2068 citations in SCOPUS (23.5% self-citations) and articles in 86 journals received 1579 citations in WoS (24.3% self-citations) during 2006-2009. Citations to articles came mostly from outside of the Eastern Mediterranean region (76.8% in WoS and 75.4% in SCOPUS). Articles receiving highest number of citations presented topics specific for the region. Many journals did not follow editorial and publishing standards, such addressing requirements about the patient's privacy rights (68.0% out of 244 analyzed), policy on managing conflicts of interest (66.4%), and ethical conduct in clinical and animal research (66.4%). Journals from the Eastern Mediterranean are visible in and have impact on global scientific community. Coordinated effort of all stakeholders in journal publishing, including researchers, journal editors and owners, policy makers and citation databases, is needed to further promote local journals as windows to the research in the developing world and the doors for valuable regional research to the global scientific community.

  15. Bridging knowledge translation gap in health in developing countries: visibility, impact and publishing standards in journals from the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Local and regional scientific journals are important factors in bridging gaps in health knowledge translation in low-and middle-income countries. We assessed indexing, citations and publishing standards of journals from the Eastern Mediterranean region. Methods For journals from 22 countries in the collection of the Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR), we analyzed indexing in bibliographical databases and citations during 2006–2009 to published items in 2006 in Web of Science (WoS) and SCOPUS. Adherence to editorial and publishing standards was assessed using a special checklist. Results Out of 419 journals in IMEMR, 19 were indexed in MEDLINE, 23 in WoS and 46 in SCOPUS. Their impact factors ranged from 0.016 to 1.417. For a subset of 175 journals with available tables of contents from 2006, articles published in 2006 from 93 journals received 2068 citations in SCOPUS (23.5% self-citations) and articles in 86 journals received 1579 citations in WoS (24.3% self-citations) during 2006–2009. Citations to articles came mostly from outside of the Eastern Mediterranean region (76.8% in WoS and 75.4% in SCOPUS). Articles receiving highest number of citations presented topics specific for the region. Many journals did not follow editorial and publishing standards, such addressing requirements about the patient’s privacy rights (68.0% out of 244 analyzed), policy on managing conflicts of interest (66.4%), and ethical conduct in clinical and animal research (66.4%). Conclusion Journals from the Eastern Mediterranean are visible in and have impact on global scientific community. Coordinated effort of all stakeholders in journal publishing, including researchers, journal editors and owners, policy makers and citation databases, is needed to further promote local journals as windows to the research in the developing world and the doors for valuable regional research to the global scientific community. PMID:22577965

  16. Assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea using mussels as sentinel organisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zorita, Izaskun; Apraiz, Itxaso; Ortiz-Zarragoitia, Maren; Orbea, Amaia; Cancio, Ibon; Soto, Manu; Marigomez, Ionan; Cajaraville, Miren P.

    2007-01-01

    With the aim of assessing the biological effects of pollution along three gradients of pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea, a biomonitoring survey was implemented using a battery of biomarkers (lysosomal membrane stability, lysosomal structural changes, metallothionein (MT) induction and peroxisome proliferation) in mussels over a period of two years as part of the EU-funded BEEP project. Mussels from the most impacted zones (Fos, Genova and Barcelona harbours) showed enlarged lysosomes accompanied by reduced labilisation period of lysosomal membranes, indicating disturbed health. MT levels did not reveal significant differences between stations and were significantly correlated with gonad index, suggesting that they were influenced by gamete development. Peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity was significantly inhibited in polluted stations possibly due to interactions among mixtures of pollutants. In conclusion, the application of a battery of effect and exposure biomarkers provided relevant data for the assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea. - The biomarker approach is suitable for assessment of environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea

  17. Assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea using mussels as sentinel organisms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zorita, Izaskun [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Apraiz, Itxaso [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Ortiz-Zarragoitia, Maren [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Orbea, Amaia [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Cancio, Ibon [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Soto, Manu [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Marigomez, Ionan [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Cajaraville, Miren P. [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Univ. del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain)]. E-mail: mirenp.cajaraville@ehu.es

    2007-07-15

    With the aim of assessing the biological effects of pollution along three gradients of pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea, a biomonitoring survey was implemented using a battery of biomarkers (lysosomal membrane stability, lysosomal structural changes, metallothionein (MT) induction and peroxisome proliferation) in mussels over a period of two years as part of the EU-funded BEEP project. Mussels from the most impacted zones (Fos, Genova and Barcelona harbours) showed enlarged lysosomes accompanied by reduced labilisation period of lysosomal membranes, indicating disturbed health. MT levels did not reveal significant differences between stations and were significantly correlated with gonad index, suggesting that they were influenced by gamete development. Peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity was significantly inhibited in polluted stations possibly due to interactions among mixtures of pollutants. In conclusion, the application of a battery of effect and exposure biomarkers provided relevant data for the assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea. - The biomarker approach is suitable for assessment of environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea.

  18. Evidence-Informed Health Policies in Eastern Mediterranean Countries: Comparing Views of Policy Makers and Researchers

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Jardali, Fadi; Lavis, John N.; Jamal, Diana; Ataya, Nour; Dimassi, Hani

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to conduct comparative analysis about the views and practices of policy makers and researchers on the use of health systems evidence in policy making in selected Eastern Mediterranean countries. We analysed data from two self-reported surveys, one targeted at policy makers and the other at researchers. Results show a…

  19. Revision of Chone Krøyer, 1856 (Polychaeta: Sabellidae from the eastern central Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea with descriptions of two new species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Ana Tovar-Hernández

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available A neotype specimen is designated for Chone acustica (Claparède, 1870 with a full description. The original descriptions of Chone arenicola Langerhans, 1880 and Chone collaris Langerhans, 1880, both from Madeira, did not include some details and incomplete or misleading information was provided, so both species are redescribed. Amendments to the description of Chone longiseta Giangrande, 1992 are also given together with the methyl green staining pattern of Chone usticensis Giangrande et al. 2006. Two new species are described: Chone gambiae sp. nov., from the Gulf of Naples and Chone dunerificta sp. nov., from the Gulf of Salerno. This study shows the distribution of Chone duneri Krøyer, 1856, and Chone filicaudata Southern, 1914, to be restricted to the Arctic seas and North Atlantic Ocean, respectively. Records from the Mediterranean Sea are found to be erroneous.

  20. Identification of bacterial strains isolated from the Mediterranean Sea exhibiting different abilities of biofilm formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brian-Jaisson, Florence; Ortalo-Magné, Annick; Guentas-Dombrowsky, Linda; Armougom, Fabrice; Blache, Yves; Molmeret, Maëlle

    2014-07-01

    The Mediterranean Sea has rarely been investigated for the characterization of marine bacteria as compared to other marine environments such as the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. Bacteria recovered from inert surfaces are poorly studied in these environments, when it has been shown that the community structure of attached bacteria can be dissimilar from that of planktonic bacteria present in the water column. The objectives of this study were to identify and characterize marine bacteria isolated from biofilms developed on inert surfaces immersed in the Mediterranean Sea and to evaluate their capacity to form a biofilm in vitro. Here, 13 marine bacterial strains have been isolated from different supports immersed in seawater in the Bay of Toulon (France). Phylogenetic analysis and different biological and physico-chemical properties have been investigated. Among the 13 strains recovered, 8 different genera and 12 different species were identified including 2 isolates of a novel bacterial species that we named Persicivirga mediterranea and whose genus had never been isolated from the Mediterranean Sea. Shewanella sp. and Pseudoalteromonas sp. were the most preponderant genera recovered in our conditions. The phenotypical characterization revealed that one isolate belonging to the Polaribacter genus differed from all the other ones by its hydrophobic properties and poor ability to form biofilms in vitro. Identifying and characterizing species isolated from seawater including from Mediterranean ecosystems could be helpful for example, to understand some aspects of bacterial biodiversity and to further study the mechanisms of biofilm (and biofouling) development in conditions approaching those of the marine environment.

  1. Quantity and biochemical composition of particulate organic matter in a highly trawled area (Thermaikos Gulf, Eastern Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Pusceddu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Bottom trawling represents nowadays one of the most severe anthropogenic disturbances at sea, and determines large impacts on benthic communities and processes. Bottom trawling determines also local sediment resuspension and the effects of the injection of large amounts of surface sediments into the water column have been repeatedly investigated. Few studies have assessed the consequences of sediment resuspension caused by bottom trawling on the quantity, biochemical composition and bioavailability of suspended organic particles and how these eventually rival those exerted by natural storms. To provide insights on this poorly addressed issue, we investigated concentrations and biochemical composition of total and enzymatically digestible pools of particulate organic matter (POM in the Thermaikos Gulf (Mediterranean Sea under calm sea conditions, during intensive trawling activities, and after a severe storm. We show here that sediment resuspension caused by trawling can cause large effects on POM quantity, biochemical composition and bioavailability. Both during trawling and after the storm, the relative importance of the carbohydrate pools increased (in the upper water column and the total lipid concentrations decreased (in the intermediate and bottom layers when compared to values measured during calm conditions. These results would suggest that bottom trawling could inject in the upper water column POM pools more refractory in nature (e.g., carbohydrates than those present in calm or after-storm conditions. By contrast, we show also that the bioavailable fraction of biopolymeric C increased significantly during trawling in the upper water column of the shallowest stations and in the bottom water column layer of the deepest ones. These results provide evidence that bottom trawling can influence the overall trophic status of coastal waters, exerting effects similar or stronger than those caused by natural storms, though of variable amplitude

  2. Large-Scale Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Mediterranean Cephalopod Diversity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Keller

    Full Text Available Species diversity is widely recognized as an important trait of ecosystems' functioning and resilience. Understanding the causes of diversity patterns and their interaction with the environmental conditions is essential in order to effectively assess and preserve existing diversity. While diversity patterns of most recurrent groups such as fish are commonly studied, other important taxa such as cephalopods have received less attention. In this work we present spatio-temporal trends of cephalopod diversity across the entire Mediterranean Sea during the last 19 years, analysing data from the annual bottom trawl survey MEDITS conducted by 5 different Mediterranean countries using standardized gears and sampling protocols. The influence of local and regional environmental variability in different Mediterranean regions is analysed applying generalized additive models, using species richness and the Shannon Wiener index as diversity descriptors. While the western basin showed a high diversity, our analyses do not support a steady eastward decrease of diversity as proposed in some previous studies. Instead, high Shannon diversity was also found in the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, and high species richness in the eastern Ionian Sea. Overall diversity did not show any consistent trend over the last two decades. Except in the Adriatic Sea, diversity showed a hump-shaped trend with depth in all regions, being highest between 200-400 m depth. Our results indicate that high Chlorophyll a concentrations and warmer temperatures seem to enhance species diversity, and the influence of these parameters is stronger for richness than for Shannon diversity.

  3. Prediction of dissolved oxygen in the Mediterranean Sea along Gaza, Palestine - an artificial neural network approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaqoot, Hossam Adel; Ansari, Abdul Khalique; Unar, Mukhtiar Ali; Khan, Shaukat Hyat

    2009-01-01

    Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are flexible tools which are being used increasingly to predict and forecast water resources variables. The human activities in areas surrounding enclosed and semi-enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean Sea always produce in the long term a strong environmental impact in the form of coastal and marine degradation. The presence of dissolved oxygen is essential for the survival of most organisms in the water bodies. This paper is concerned with the use of ANNs - Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Radial Basis Function neural networks for predicting the next fortnight's dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea water along Gaza. MLP and Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural networks are trained and developed with reference to five important oceanographic variables including water temperature, wind velocity, turbidity, pH and conductivity. These variables are considered as inputs of the network. The data sets used in this study consist of four years and collected from nine locations along Gaza coast. The network performance has been tested with different data sets and the results show satisfactory performance. Prediction results prove that neural network approach has good adaptability and extensive applicability for modelling the dissolved oxygen in the Mediterranean Sea along Gaza. We hope that the established model will help in assisting the local authorities in developing plans and policies to reduce the pollution along Gaza coastal waters to acceptable levels.

  4. Communication Barriers: A Study of Eastern Mediterranean University Students' and Teachers' of Online Program and Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isman, Aytekin; Altinay, Fahriye

    2005-01-01

    This research study defines communication barriers in online programs and courses by determining the perceptions of students and teachers at Eastern Mediterranean University. It aims to get the answers to the questions of what sorts of problems students and teachers face while being involved in online courses and online programs. Distance…

  5. The physiological adaptations and toxin profiles of the toxic Alexandrium fundyense on the eastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea shelves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natsuike, Masafumi; Oikawa, Hiroshi; Matsuno, Kohei; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Imai, Ichiro

    2017-03-01

    Abundant cyst distributions of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense (previous A. tamarense north American clade) were recently observed on the north Chukchi Sea shelf and on the eastern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that A. fundyense is both highly adapted to the local environments in the high latitude areas and might cause toxin contamination of plankton feeders. However, little is known about the physiological characteristics and toxin profiles of A. fundyense in these areas, which are characterized by low water temperatures, weak sunlight, and more or less permanent ice cover during winter. To clarify the physiological characteristics of A. fundyense, the effects of water temperature and light intensity on the vegetative growth and toxin profiles of this species were examined using A. fundyense strains isolated from one sediment sample collected from each area. Using the same sediments samples, seasonal changes of the cyst germination in different water temperatures were investigated. Vegetative cells grew at temperatures as low as 5°C and survived at 1°C under relatively low light intensity. They also grew at moderate water temperatures (10-15°C). Their cysts could germinate at low temperatures (1°C) and have an endogenous dormancy period from late summer to early spring, and warmer water temperatures (5-15°C) increased germination success. These physiological characteristics suggest that A. fundyense in the Chukchi Sea and eastern Bering Sea is adapted to the environments of high latitude areas. In addition, the results suggest that in the study areas A. fundyense has the potential to germinate and grow when water temperatures increase. Cellular toxin amounts of A. fundyense strains from the eastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea were ranged from 7.2 to 38.2 fmol cell -1 . These toxin amounts are comparable with A. fundyense strains isolated from other areas where PSP toxin contamination of bivalves occurs. The dominant toxin of the strains isolated

  6. Comparison of two different sea-salt aerosol schemes as implemented in air quality models applied to the Mediterranean Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Jiménez-Guerrero

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available A number of attempts have been made to incorporate sea-salt aerosol (SSA source functions in chemistry transport models with varying results according to the complexity of the scheme considered. This contribution compares the inclusion of two different SSA algorithms in two chemistry transport models: CMAQ and CHIMERE. The main goal is to examine the differences in average SSA mass and composition and to study the seasonality of the prediction of SSA when applied to the Mediterranean area with high resolution for a reference year. Dry and wet deposition schemes are also analyzed to better understand the differences observed between both models in the target area. The applied emission algorithm in CHIMERE uses a semi-empirical formulation which obtains the surface emission rate of SSA as a function of the particle size and the surface wind speed raised to the power 3.41. The emission parameterization included within CMAQ is somehow more sophisticated, since fluxes of SSA are corrected with relative humidity. In order to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, the participating algorithms as implemented in the chemistry transport models were evaluated against AOD measurements from Aeronet and available surface measurements in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean area, showing biases around −0.002 and −1.2 μg m−3, respectively. The results indicate that both models represent accurately the patterns and dynamics of SSA and its non-uniform behavior in the Mediterranean basin, showing a strong seasonality. The levels of SSA strongly vary across the Western and the Eastern Mediterranean, reproducing CHIMERE higher annual levels in the Aegean Sea (12 μg m−3 and CMAQ in the Gulf of Lion (9 μg m−3. The large difference found for the ratio PM2.5/total SSA in CMAQ and CHIMERE is also investigated. The dry and wet removal rates are very similar for both models despite the different schemes

  7. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs in photochemically aged air from the eastern and western Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Derstroff

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available During the summertime CYPHEX campaign (CYprus PHotochemical EXperiment 2014 in the eastern Mediterranean, multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs were measured from a 650 m hilltop site in western Cyprus (34° 57′ N/32° 23′ E. Periodic shifts in the northerly Etesian winds resulted in the site being alternately impacted by photochemically processed emissions from western (Spain, France, Italy and eastern (Turkey, Greece Europe. Furthermore, the site was situated within the residual layer/free troposphere during some nights which were characterized by high ozone and low relative humidity levels. In this study we examine the temporal variation of VOCs at the site. The sparse Mediterranean scrub vegetation generated diel cycles in the reactive biogenic hydrocarbon isoprene, from very low values at night to a diurnal median level of 80–100 pptv. In contrast, the oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs methanol and acetone exhibited weak diel cycles and were approximately an order of magnitude higher in mixing ratio (ca. 2.5–3 ppbv median level by day, range: ca. 1–8 ppbv than the locally emitted isoprene and aromatic compounds such as benzene and toluene. Acetic acid was present at mixing ratios between 0.05 and 4 ppbv with a median level of ca. 1.2 ppbv during the daytime. When data points directly affected by the residual layer/free troposphere were excluded, the acid followed a pronounced diel cycle, which was influenced by various local effects including photochemical production and loss, direct emission, dry deposition and scavenging from advecting air in fog banks. The Lagrangian model FLEXPART was used to determine transport patterns and photochemical processing times (between 12 h and several days of air masses originating from eastern and western Europe. Ozone and many OVOC levels were  ∼  20 and  ∼  30–60 % higher, respectively, in air arriving from the east. Using the FLEXPART

  8. Testing and Implementation of the Navy's Operational Circulation Model for the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrar, P. D.; Mask, A. C.

    2012-04-01

    The US Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) has the responsibility for running ocean models in support of Navy operations. NAVOCEANO delivers Navy-relevant global, regional, and coastal ocean forecast products on a 24 hour/7 day a week schedule. In 2011, NAVOCEANO implemented an operational version of the RNCOM (Regional Navy Coastal Ocean Model) for the Mediterranean Sea (MedSea), replacing an older variation of the Princeton Ocean Model originally set up for this area back in the mid-1990's. RNCOM is a gridded model that assimilates both satellite data and in situ profile data in near real time. This 3km MedSea RNCOM is nested within a lower resolution global NCOM in the Atlantic at the 12.5 degree West longitude. Before being accepted as a source of operational products, a Navy ocean model must pass a series of validation tests and then once in service, its skill is monitored by software and regional specialists. This presentation will provide a brief summary of the initial evaluation results. Because of the oceanographic peculiarities of this basin, the MedSea implementation posed a set of new problems for an RNCOM operation. One problem was the present Navy satellite altimetry model assimilation techniques do not improve Mediterranean NCOM forecasts, so it has been turned off, pending improvements. Another problem was that since most in-situ observations were profiling floats with short five-day profiling intervals, there was a problem with temporal aliasing when comparing these observations to the NCOM predictions. Because of the time and spatial correlations in the MedSea and in the model, the observation/model comparisons would give an unrealistically optimistic estimate of model accuracy of the Mediterranean's temperature/salinity structure. Careful pre-selection of profiles for comparison during the evaluation stage, based on spatial distribution and novelty, was used to minimize this effect. NAVOCEANO's operational customers are interested primarily in

  9. Sea surface temperature variations in the western Mediterranean Sea over the last 20 kyr: A dual-organic proxy (U

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodrigo-Gámiz, M.; Martínez-Ruiz, F.; Rampen, S.W.; Schouten, S.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.

    2014-01-01

    A high-resolution sea surface temperature (SST) reconstruction of the western Mediterranean was accomplished using two independent, algae-based molecular organic proxies, i.e., the U-37(K) index based on long-chain unsaturated ketones and the novel long-chain diol index (LDI) based on the relative

  10. Is the distribution of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus ecotypes in the Mediterranean Sea affected by global warming?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mella-Flores, D.; Mazard, S.; Humily, F.; Partensky, F.; Mahé, F.; Bariat, L.; Courties, C.; Marie, D.; Ras, J.; Mauriac, R.; Jeanthon, C.; Mahdi Bendif, E.; Ostrowski, M.; Scanlan, D. J.; Garczarek, L.

    2011-09-01

    Biological communities populating the Mediterranean Sea, which is situated at the northern boundary of the subtropics, are often claimed to be particularly affected by global warming. This is indicated, for instance, by the introduction of (sub)tropical species of fish or invertebrates that can displace local species. This raises the question of whether microbial communities are similarly affected, especially in the Levantine basin where sea surface temperatures have significantly risen over the last 25 years (0.50 ± 0.11 °C in average per decade, P Lions and by clade III and groups genetically related to clades WPC1 and VI in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, only a few sequences of clade II, a group typical of warm waters, were observed. These data indicate that local cyanobacterial populations have not yet been displaced by their (sub)tropical counterparts.

  11. Linking home ranges to protected area size: The case study of the Mediterranean Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Franco, Antonio; Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah Grahm; Di Lorenzo, Manfredi

    2018-01-01

    in the Mediterranean Sea, and related this to the size of 184 Mediterranean fully protected areas. We also investigated the influence of fully protected areas size on fish density in contrast to fished areas with respect to home ranges. Home range estimations were available for 11 species (10 fishes and 1 lobster......). The European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas had the smallest home range (0.0039 ± 0.0014 km2; mean ± 1 SE), while the painted comber Serranus scriba (1.1075 ± 0.2040 km2) had the largest. Approximately 25% of Mediterranean fully protected areas are larger than 2 times the size of the largest home range...

  12. Links of the significant wave height distribution in the Mediterranean sea with the Northern Hemisphere teleconnection patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Lionello

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzes the link between the SWH (Significant Wave Height distribution in the Mediterranean Sea during the second half of the 20th century and the Northern Hemisphere SLP (Sea Level Pressure teleconnection patterns.

    The SWH distribution is computed using the WAM (WAve Model forced by the surface wind fields provided by the ERA-40 reanalysis for the period 1958–2001. The time series of mid-latitude teleconnection patterns are downloaded from the NOAA web site. This study shows that several mid-latitude patterns are linked to the SWH field in the Mediterranean, especially in its western part during the cold season: East Atlantic Pattern (EA, Scandinavian Pattern (SCA, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO, East Atlantic/West Russia Pattern (EA/WR and East Pacific/ North Pacific Pattern (EP/NP. Though the East Atlantic pattern exerts the largest influence, it is not sufficient to characterize the dominant variability. NAO, though relevant, has an effect smaller than EA and comparable to other patterns. Some link results from possibly spurious structures. Patterns which have a very different global structure are associated to similar spatial features of the wave variability in the Mediterranean Sea. These two problems are, admittedly, shortcomings of this analysis, which shows the complexity of the response of the Mediterranean SWH to global scale SLP teleconnection patterns.

  13. Historical changes of the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem: modelling the role and impact of primary productivity and fisheries changes over time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piroddi, Chiara; Coll, Marta; Liquete, Camino; Macias, Diego; Greer, Krista; Buszowski, Joe; Steenbeek, Jeroen; Danovaro, Roberto; Christensen, Villy

    2017-03-01

    The Mediterranean Sea has been defined “under siege” because of intense pressures from multiple human activities; yet there is still insufficient information on the cumulative impact of these stressors on the ecosystem and its resources. We evaluate how the historical (1950-2011) trends of various ecosystems groups/species have been impacted by changes in primary productivity (PP) combined with fishing pressure. We investigate the whole Mediterranean Sea using a food web modelling approach. Results indicate that both changes in PP and fishing pressure played an important role in driving species dynamics. Yet, PP was the strongest driver upon the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem. This highlights the importance of bottom-up processes in controlling the biological characteristics of the region. We observe a reduction in abundance of important fish species (~34%, including commercial and non-commercial) and top predators (~41%), and increases of the organisms at the bottom of the food web (~23%). Ecological indicators, such as community biomass, trophic levels, catch and diversity indicators, reflect such changes and show overall ecosystem degradation over time. Since climate change and fishing pressure are expected to intensify in the Mediterranean Sea, this study constitutes a baseline reference for stepping forward in assessing the future management of the basin.

  14. Hospital management training for the Eastern Mediterranean Region: time for a change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabbani, Fauziah; Hashmani, Farah Naz; Mukhi, Aftab A Ali; Gul, Xaher; Pradhan, Nousheen; Hatcher, Peter; Farag, Mounir; Abbas, Farhat

    2015-01-01

    The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office has emphasized health system strengthening among the top five strategic priorities. One of the integral elements of health systems are the hospitals. The purpose of this paper is to review the need for formalized training in hospital management to improve the quality of care. Literature review and hands on experience of conducting a regional training in hospital management for Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries. Majority of patients in EMR bypass Primary Health Care facilities due to inadequate quality of services and prefer seeking specialized care at a tertiary level. There is mounting evidence of mediocre to poor patient satisfaction due to inefficient health care practices in hospitals of EMR. Strengthening the management capacity of the hospitals through a formal training programme is therefore necessary for improving the performance of health care delivery and the overall health system. Hospital management encompasses hospital planning and operational activities including development and implementation of organizational strategies to ensure adequate numbers and quality of trained human resources and effective financial management, disaster management, health management information system utilization, support services, biomedical engineering, transport and waste management. Such training will prepare health care professionals with leadership skills to deliver quality hospital services. This is one of the first papers emphasizing the need for a formal structured regional training in hospital management for the countries of EMR. A modular incremental training approach developing an EMR Credit Transfer and Accumulation system is proposed.

  15. 77 FR 23209 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Delisting of Eastern DPS of Steller Sea Lions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-18

    ... of these fisheries are not likely to cause the eastern DPS to become in danger of extinction in the... coastal habitats is likely to cause the eastern DPS of Steller sea lion to become in danger of extinction... likely to cause the eastern DPS of Steller sea lions to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable...

  16. Genetic Differentiation between Mullus barbatus from the Western Part of the Black Sea andMullus surmuletus (Pisces, Mullidae from the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petya P. Ivanova

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationship of two species Mullus barbatus from the western part of Black Sea (Varna and M. surmuletus from the Mediterranean Sea (Thessaloniki were investigated using the electrophoretic data from enzymatic systems, codifying for 15 putative loci, and the patterns of general muscle proteins (PROT coded from nine loci. Several loci PROT- 4*, PROT-5* and PROT-8* as well as two mMDH and two sMDH loci, and LDH-A* showed different electrophoretic patterns among species and can be used as species-specific markers. Only one esterase locus (EST-9* was found to be polymorphic for both species. The remaining enzymes and proteins were monomorphic. In this study for the first time existence of hybrids between two species were reported. Hybrids were registered in the Mediterranean Sea (Thessaloniki as well in the northeastern part of Black Sea (Balshoj Utrish using electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing methods. Genetic distance D Nei (0.526 and time of divergence (tNei = 3 215 000 years between M. barbatus (Varna Bay and M. surmuletus (Thessaloniki give evidence for existence of these two well diverged species in one genus.

  17. Syllidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) from the deep Mediterranean Sea, with the description of three new species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langeneck, Joachim; Musco, Luigi; Busoni, Giulio; Conese, Ilaria; Aliani, Stefano; Castelli, Alberto

    2018-01-03

    Despite almost two centuries of research, the diversity of Mediterranean deep-sea environments remain still largely unexplored. This is particularly true for the polychaete family Syllidae. We report herein 14 species; among them, we describe Erinaceusyllis barbarae n. sp., Exogone sophiae n. sp. and Prosphaerosyllis danovaroi n. sp. and report Parexogone wolfi San Martín, 1991, Exogone lopezi San Martín, Ceberio Aguirrezabalaga, 1996 and Anguillosyllis Day, 1963 for the first time from the Western Mediterranean, the latter based on a single individual likely belonging to an undescribed species. Moreover, we re-establish Syllis profunda Cognetti, 1955 based on type and new material. Present data, along with a critical analysis of available literature, show that Syllidae are highly diverse in deep Mediterranean environments, even though they are rarely reported, probably due to the scarce number of studies devoted to the size-fraction of benthos including deep-sea syllids. Most deep-sea Syllidae have wide distributions, which do not include shallow-waters. 100 m depth apparently represents the boundary between the assemblages dominated by generalist shallow water syllids like Exogone naidina Ørsted, 1843 and Syllis parapari San Martín López, 2000, and those deep-water assemblages characterised by strictly deep-water species like Parexogone campoyi San Martín, Ceberio Aguirrezabalaga, 1996, Parexogone wolfi San Martín, 1991 and Syllis sp. 1 (= Langerhansia caeca Katzmann, 1973).

  18. The possible designation of the Mediterranean Sea as a SECA: A case study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Panagakos, George P.; Stamatopoulou, Eirini V.; Psaraftis, Harilaos N.

    2014-01-01

    In view of the ongoing discussions concerning the possible designation of the Mediterranean Sea as a Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), a modal split model was applied to a case involving the transportation of consolidated cargoes between Thessaloniki, Greece and industrial hubs of northern...... with a small transport service provider, typical for Greece, and are based on actual trips made (revealed preferences). The results predict that the designation of the Mediterranean as a SECA will cause a modal shift in favour of the road-only route by 5.2%, which under certain assumptions can reach 17...

  19. Spatial Gradients in Trace Metal Concentrations in the Surface Microlayer of the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio eTovar-Sanchez

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between dust deposition and surface water metal concentrations is poorly understood. Dissolution, solubility, and partitioning reactions of trace metals from dust particles are governed by complex chemical, biological, and physical processes occurring in the surface ocean. Despite that, the role of the sea surface microlayer (SML, a thin, but fundamental component modulating the air-sea exchange of materials has not been properly evaluated. Our study revealed that the SML of the Mediterranean Sea is enriched with bioactive trace metals (i.e., Cd, Co, Cu and Fe, ranging from 8 (for Cd to 1000 (for Fe times higher than the dissolved metal pool in the underlying water column. The highest enrichments were spatially correlated with the atmospheric deposition of mineral particles. Our mass balance results suggest that the SML in the Mediterranean Sea contains about 2 tonnes of Fe. However, we did not detect any trends between the concentrations of metals in SML with the subsurface water concentrations and biomass distributions. These findings suggest that future studies are needed to quantify the rate of metal exchange between the SML and the bioavailable pool and that the SML should be considered to better understand the effect of atmospheric inputs on the biogeochemistry of trace metals in the ocean.

  20. The Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryawanshi, Vandana

    2017-04-01

    Learning is always a joyful experience for any human being and must always remain so. Children are happiest when they learn through play. The philosophy of my life is to keep encouraging children to think beyond they could achieve easily. I understand children are adaptive to change and take things with an open mind. They are ready to experiment new things and dare to dream big. I am fortunate to be a teacher by profession and thus I always attempt experimenting, observing and participating with other children and adults. Education is not about moulding children the way you think they should be. It is about organizing the natural longing in a human being to know. From birth children are active participants in building their own understanding. I always prepare the environment to help each child build on what they already know. It is such a great pleasure to observe every young kid become excited and curious to know when we teach them. Std 8 Geography the students are very excited to learn about this continent, with the help of Videos and a wall map the Political map of Europe with its countries shown I introduced the topic by asking 'If given a chance which place they would like to visit in Europe' , students are familiar with the countries of their favourite football players and happily pointed out their destination. The Mediterranean Region is a paradise the scenic beauty, the climate, the food along with a variety of fruits which are totally different from Asia increased the curiosity among the students. With the help of case study of the Mediterranean Sea the students were able to research and present the history, the adventure sports the aquatic life and the twenty three beautiful islands located in the Mediterranean Sea. Photos and videos helped me to explain the Mediterranean Sea The Formation of the Mediterranean Sea ( Youtube Video) which is otherwise completely enclosed by land. (The evaporating Mediterranean Sea - BBC (Video) Gibraltar Breach.mov . The

  1. AFSC/ABL: Eastern Bering Sea (EMA-BASIS) Zooplankton data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O....

  2. Assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea using red mullets as sentinel organisms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zorita, Izaskun; Ortiz-Zarragoitia, Maren; Apraiz, Itxaso; Cancio, Ibon; Orbea, Amaia; Soto, Manu; Marigomez, Ionan [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Universidad del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain); Cajaraville, Miren P. [Biologia Zelularra eta Histologia Laborategia, Zoologia eta Biologia Zelularra Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea/Universidad del Pais Vasco, 644 P.K., E-48080 Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain)], E-mail: mirenp.cajaraville@ehu.es

    2008-05-15

    A biomonitoring program was carried out in spring and autumn in three pollution hot-spots and sensitive areas of the NW Mediterranean Sea using red mullets (Mullus barbatus) as sentinel organisms and a battery of biomarkers together with gonad histology. In fish from anthropogenic impacted areas (Fos-sur-mer, Cortiou, Arenzano, Delta of Ebro) lysosomal membrane destabilization occurred indicating disturbed health. There were no significant differences in metallothionein (MT) levels among stations. Peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity was highest in fish from Cortiou. Both MT levels and AOX activities were significantly correlated with gamete development. Prevalence of melanomacrophage centers were high in Cortiou in all samplings and in Fos-sur-mer in September samplings. In conclusion, the application of a battery of biomarkers in red mullets provided relevant data for the assessment of environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea but also showed the difficulties of using native fish as sentinels. For future studies caging strategies are recommended. - Application of biomarkers in red mullets is promising to assess environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea.

  3. Assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea using red mullets as sentinel organisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zorita, Izaskun; Ortiz-Zarragoitia, Maren; Apraiz, Itxaso; Cancio, Ibon; Orbea, Amaia; Soto, Manu; Marigomez, Ionan; Cajaraville, Miren P.

    2008-01-01

    A biomonitoring program was carried out in spring and autumn in three pollution hot-spots and sensitive areas of the NW Mediterranean Sea using red mullets (Mullus barbatus) as sentinel organisms and a battery of biomarkers together with gonad histology. In fish from anthropogenic impacted areas (Fos-sur-mer, Cortiou, Arenzano, Delta of Ebro) lysosomal membrane destabilization occurred indicating disturbed health. There were no significant differences in metallothionein (MT) levels among stations. Peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity was highest in fish from Cortiou. Both MT levels and AOX activities were significantly correlated with gamete development. Prevalence of melanomacrophage centers were high in Cortiou in all samplings and in Fos-sur-mer in September samplings. In conclusion, the application of a battery of biomarkers in red mullets provided relevant data for the assessment of environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea but also showed the difficulties of using native fish as sentinels. For future studies caging strategies are recommended. - Application of biomarkers in red mullets is promising to assess environmental pollution in the NW Mediterranean Sea

  4. Structure elucidation of the new citharoxazole from the Mediterranean deep-sea sponge Latrunculia (Biannulata) citharistae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genta-Jouve, Grégory; Francezon, Nellie; Puissant, Alexandre; Auberger, Patrick; Vacelet, Jean; Pérez, Thierry; Fontana, Angelo; Mourabit, Ali Al; Thomas, Olivier P

    2011-08-01

    Citharoxazole (1), a new batzelline derivative featuring a benzoxazole moiety, was isolated from the Mediterranean deep-sea sponge Latrunculia (Biannulata) citharistae Vacelet, 1969, together with the known batzelline C (2). This is the first chemical study of a Mediterranean Latrunculia species and the benzoxazole moiety is unprecedented for this family of marine natural products. The structure was mainly elucidated by the interpretation of NMR spectra and especially HMBC correlations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Hydrocarbons in surface sediments from the Sfax coastal zone, (Tunisia) Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaghden, Hatem; Kallel, Monem; Louati, Afifa; Elleuch, Boubaker; Oudot, Jean; Saliot, Alain

    2005-11-01

    The Semi-enclosed Mediterranean Sea records various signals of high anthropic pressures from surrounding countries and the industrialized European countries. This is particularly true for oil pollution. Although accounting for 1% of the world's ocean surface, it receives about 25% of the petroleum inputs to the ocean. To achieve a global budget we need to collect information from different parts of the Mediterranean. Particularly, we focus in this paper on the Southern Mediterranean, where data are presently very scarce. In this context, the University of Sfax has undertaken an estimation of hydrocarbon pollution along the coasts of Sfax and Gabès Gulf. Non-aromatic hydrocarbons were analysed in 8 surface sediments by FT/IR and GC/MS. Non-aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations vary in the range 310-1406 microg g(-1) sediments dry weight, which is high, compared to other Mediterranean sites. GC/MS data indicate a large group of unresolved compounds suggesting a petroleum contamination, confirmed by the identification of hopanes with predominant C29 and C30alpha,beta compounds and steranes with predominance of C27 over C28) and C29 compounds.

  6. Critically endangered fish species of Turkish Seas (Mediterranean and Aegean): Longfin gurnard, Chelidonichthys obscurus (Walbaum, 1792)

    OpenAIRE

    Cemal Turan; Deniz Ergüden; Mevlüt Gürlek

    2016-01-01

    Longfin gurnard Chelidonichthys obscurus (Walbaum, 1792) is reported several times from various researchers in the checklist of Turkish marine fishes. However, last three decades, the species is not occurred in the distributional range, comprising the northeastern Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Sea coast of Turkey. It is possibly critically endangered or absent in the Turkish Seas. Moreover, there has no any biological study been carried out on C. obscurus in Turkey. C. obscurus is considered t...

  7. Defining Mediterranean and Black Sea biogeochemical subprovinces and synthetic ocean indicators using mesoscale oceanographic features

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nieblas, Anne-Elise; Drushka, Kyla; Reygondeau, Gabriel

    2014-01-01

    variables to define integrative indices to monitor the environmental changes within each resultant subprovince at monthly resolutions. Using both the classical and mesoscale features, we find five biogeochemical subprovinces for the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Interestingly, the use of mesoscale variables......The Mediterranean and Black Seas are semi-enclosed basins characterized by high environmental variability and growing anthropogenic pressure. This has led to an increasing need for a bioregionalization of the oceanic environment at local and regional scales that can be used for managerial...... applications as a geographical reference. We aim to identify biogeochemical subprovinces within this domain, and develop synthetic indices of the key oceanographic dynamics of each subprovince to quantify baselines from which to assess variability and change. To do this, we compile a data set of 101 months...

  8. Record of an established population of Palaemon macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 (Decapoda, Palaemonidae in the Mediterranean Sea: confirming a prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. A. CUESTA

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The capture of larvae of Palaemon macrodactylus off Mallorca (Balearic Islands has been recently reported as evidence of a potential presence of a population of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. Photos of this species, taken during dives in the Sacca di Goro (northern Adriatic were published in the same year, but no specimen could be collected at that time. Herein we report the capture in 2013 of numerous individuals of the oriental shrimp, including ovigerous females, both in the Sacca di Goro and in the Lagoon of Marano and Grado (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy, confirming the existence of a well-established population of this species in the Mediterranean Sea.

  9. Seamount physiography and biology in North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

    OpenAIRE

    T. Morato; K. Ø. Kvile; G. H. Taranto; F. Tempera; B. E. Narayanaswamy; D. Hebbeln; G. Menezes; C. Wienberg; R. S. Santos; T. J. Pitcher

    2012-01-01

    This work aims at characterising the seamount physiography and biology in the OSPAR Convention limits (North-East Atlantic Ocean) and Mediterranean Sea. We first inferred potential abundance, location and morphological characteristics of seamounts, and secondly, summarized the existing biological, geological and oceanographic in-situ research, identifying examples of well-studied seamounts. Our study showed that the seamount population in the OSPAR area (North-East Atlantic) and in Mediterran...

  10. Taking the pulse of the Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osterberg, C.

    1977-01-01

    The staff at the International Laboratory of Marine Radioactivity in Monaco realized that they were favourably located to ?take the pulse of the Mediterranean? and begin an enquiry into its health. Practically all of the radioactivity in the water and sediments could be attributed to world-wide fallout from the nuclear tests of the 1960's. Unable to find enough radioactivity in the Mediterranean to work with in a meaningful way, the laboratory imported sediments from the Bikini-Eniwetok sites of the American thermonuclear tests, and sediments from the Irish Sea near the Windscale effluent pipe to do their experiments. Other experiments were carried out with relatively innocuous, short half-lived 237 Pu, made especially for the laboratory in Japan and in the USA. A proposal was made to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to monitor the levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons and heavy elements in the Mediterranean. This report briefly discusses that work. Three sets of studies were carried out by the Monaco group to assess the current levels of pollutants in the Mediterranean: 1) Radioactivity; 2) Chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT's and polychlorinated biphenyls); 3) Heavy elements. As stated earlier, measurements showed that radioactivity in the ocean off Monaco is quite low, indicating that there are no major sources of radionuclides reaching the open ocean other than fallout. Polychlorinated biphenyls were measured by gas-chromatography. The results of this study were being published (Marine Pollution Bulletin, 1977) but it can be said that the data are not much different than that for the Atlantic Ocean and Saragasso Sea. The western Mediterranean is clearly higher in PCB's than the eastern Mediterranean, but not unduly so. Less can be said about the trace or heavy elements because the patterns are so variable. Atomic absorption spectrometry is used to detect and measure most trace elements. For the lower levels that appear in seawater, chemical

  11. Contaminants of emerging concern in the open sea waters of the Western Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brumovský, Miroslav; Bečanová, Jitka; Kohoutek, Jiří; Borghini, Mireno; Nizzetto, Luca

    2017-01-01

    Pollution by chemical substances is of concern for the maintenance of healthy and sustainable aquatic environments. While the occurrence and fate of numerous emerging contaminants, especially pharmaceuticals, is well documented in freshwater, their occurrence and behavior in coastal and marine waters is much less studied and understood. This study investigates the occurrence of 58 chemicals in the open surface water of the Western Mediterranean Sea for the first time. 70 samples in total were collected in 10 different sampling areas. 3 pesticides, 11 pharmaceuticals and personal care products and 2 artificial sweeteners were detected at sub-ng to ng/L levels. Among them, the herbicide terbuthylazine, the pharmaceuticals caffeine, carbamazepine, naproxen and paracetamol, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the antibacterial triclocarban and the two artificial sweeteners acesulfame and saccharin were detected in all samples. The compound detected at the highest concentration was saccharin (up to 5.23 ng/L). Generally small spatial differences among individual sampling areas point to a diffuse character of sources which are likely dominated by WWTP effluents and runoffs from agricultural areas or even, at least for pharmaceuticals and artificial food additives, from offshore sources such as ferries and cruising ships. The implications of the ubiquitous presence in the open sea of chemicals that are bio-active or toxic at low doses on photosynthetic organisms and/or bacteria (i.e., terbuthylazine, sulfamethoxazole or triclocarban) deserve scientific attention, especially concerning possible subtle impacts from chronic exposure of pelagic microorganisms. - Highlights: • First report on several classes of emerging contaminants in the open Mediterranean Sea. • 3 pesticides, 11 PPCPs and 2 artificial sweeteners detected in the surface marine water. • Saccharin, naproxen and DEET detected at the highest concentrations. • Spatial distribution independent of distance

  12. Modelling retention and dispersion mechanisms of bluefin tuna eggs and larvae in the Northwest Mediterranean Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mariani, Patrizio; MacKenzie, Brian; Iudicone, D.

    2010-01-01

    Knowledge of early life history of most fish species in the Mediterranean Sea is sparse and processes affecting their recruitment are poorly understood. This is particularly true for bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, even though this species is one of the world's most valued fish species. Here we...... develop, apply and validate an individually based coupled biological-physical oceanographic model of fish early life history in the Mediterranean Sea. We first validate the general structure of the coupled model with a 12-day Lagrangian drift study of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) larvae in the Catalan...... mesoscale processes in the Balearic area and thus potentially affect bluefin tuna larvae. These modelling approaches can increase understanding of bluefin tuna recruitment processes and eventually contribute to management of bluefin tuna fisheries....

  13. Biomass assimilation in coupled ecohydrodynamical model of the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crispi, G.; Bournaski, E.; Crise, A.

    2003-04-01

    Data assimilation has raised new interest in the last years in the context of the environmental sciences. The swift increment of the attention paid to it in oceanography is due to the coming age of operational services for the marine environment which is going to dramatically increase the demand for accurate, timely and reliable estimates of the space and time distribution both for physical and in a near future for biogeochemical fields. Data assimilation combines information derived from measurements with knowledge of the rules that govern the evolution of the system of interest through formalization and implementation in numerical models. The importance of ocean data assimilation has been recognized by several international programmes as JGOFS, GOOS and CLIVAR. This work presents an eco-hydrodynamic model of the Mediterranean Sea developed at the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale - OGS, Trieste, Italy. It includes 3-D MOM-based hydrodynamics of the Mediterranean Sea, coupled with biochemical model of Nitrogen, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, and Detritus (NPZD). Monthly mean wind forcings are adopted to force this MOM-NPZD model. For better prediction and analysis of N, P, Z and D distributions in the sea the model needs data assimilation from biomass observations on the sea surface. Chosen approach for evaluating performances of data assimilation techniques in coupled model is the definition of a twin experiment testbed where a reference run is carried out assuming its result as the truth. We define a sampling strategy to obtain different datasets to be incorporated in another ecological model in successive runs in order to appraise the potential of the data assimilation and sampling strategy. The runs carried out with different techniques and different spatio-temporal coverages are compared in order to evaluate the sensitivity to different coverage of dataset. The discussed alternative way is to assume the ecosystem at steady state and

  14. Mediterranean moisture source for an Early-Holocene humid period in the Northern Red Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arz, H.W.; Lamy, F.; Paetzold, J.; Mueller, P.J.; Prins, M.A.

    2003-01-01

    Paleosalinity and terrigenous sediment input changes reconstructed on two sediment cores from the northernmost Red Sea were used to infer hydrological changes at the southern margin of the Mediterranean climate zone during the Holocene. Between approximately 9.25 and 7.25 thousand years ago, about

  15. Artificial radioactivity and marine environment. Study of 238Pu, 239Pu+240Pu, 241Pu and 241Am in the Mediterranean sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballestra, Serge.

    1980-10-01

    This paper is in two parts. Part one is about the methods for analyzing transuranium elements particularly the development of an analytical process for plutonium and for perfecting an Americium analyzing method, capable of treating samples of 200 litres of sea water, 100 grams of sediment and 100 grams of biological matter. Part two concerns the in situ determinations carried out within the scope of the study on the distribution and behaviour of transuranium elements in the Mediterranean sea. The high sea studies concerned the effects of atmospheric fall out and the vertical distribution of Pu and Am. Studies along the coasts enabled a quantitative study to be made of the contribution of rivers to the Mediterranean and to study the distribution of Pu along the French Mediterranean coast line [fr

  16. Is Posidonia oceanica regression a general feature in the Mediterranean Sea?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. BONACORSI

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Over the last few years, a widespread regression of Posidonia oceanica meadows has been noticed in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the magnitude of this decline is still debated. The objectives of this study are (i to assess the spatio-temporal evolution of Posidonia oceanica around Cap Corse (Corsica over time comparing available ancient maps (from 1960 with a new (2011 detailed map realized combining different techniques (aerial photographs, SSS, ROV, scuba diving; (ii evaluate the reliability of ancient maps; (iii discuss observed regression of the meadows in relation to human pressure along the 110 km of coast. Thus, the comparison with previous data shows that, apart from sites clearly identified with the actual evolution, there is a relative stability of the surfaces occupied by the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. The recorded differences seem more related to changes in mapping techniques. These results confirm that in areas characterized by a moderate anthropogenic impact, the Posidonia oceanica meadow has no significant regression and that the changes due to the evolution of mapping techniques are not negligible. However, others facts should be taken into account before extrapolating to the Mediterranean Sea (e.g. actually mapped surfaces and assessing the amplitude of the actual regression.

  17. Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking Prevalence and Correlates in 25 Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern European Countries: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jawad, Mohammed; Lee, John Tayu; Millett, Christopher

    2016-04-01

    Waterpipe tobacco smoking is highly prevalent among young people in some settings. There is an absence of nationally representative prevalence studies of waterpipe tobacco use and dual use with other tobacco products in young people. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional study of students aged 13-15 years. Of 180 participating countries, 25 included optional waterpipe tobacco smoking questions: 15 Eastern Mediterranean and 10 Eastern European countries. We calculated the prevalence of current (past 30-day) waterpipe tobacco use, including dual waterpipe and other tobacco use, and used logistic regression models to identify sociodemographic correlates of waterpipe tobacco smoking. Individual country results were combined in a random effects meta-analysis. Waterpipe tobacco smoking prevalence was highest in Lebanon (36.9%), the West Bank (32.7%) and parts of Eastern Europe (Latvia 22.7%, the Czech Republic 22.1%, Estonia 21.9%). These countries also recorded greater than 10% prevalence of dual waterpipe and cigarette use. In a meta-analysis, higher odds of waterpipe tobacco smoking were found among males (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18% to 1.59%), cigarette users (AOR = 6.95, 95% CI = 5.74% to 8.42%), those whose parents (AOR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.31% to 1.82%) or peers smoked (AOR = 3.53, 95% CI = 2.97% to 4.20%) and those whose parents had higher educational attainment (Father, AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.14% to 1.89%; Mother, AOR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.07% to 2.46%). We report on regional- and country income-level differences. Waterpipe tobacco smoking, including dual waterpipe and cigarette use, is alarmingly high in several Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern European countries. Ongoing waterpipe tobacco smoking surveillance is warranted. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All

  18. Patterns of diversity of the Rissoidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ávila, Sérgio P; Goud, Jeroen; de Frias Martins, António M

    2012-01-01

    The geographical distribution of the Rissoidae in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea was compiled and is up-to-date until July 2011. All species were classified according to their mode of larval development (planktotrophic and nonplanktotrophic), and bathymetrical zonation (shallow species--those living between the intertidal and 50 m depth, and deep species--those usually living below 50 m depth). 542 species of Rissoidae are presently reported to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to 33 genera. The Mediterranean Sea is the most diverse site, followed by Canary Islands, Caribbean, Portugal, and Cape Verde. The Mediterranean and Cape Verde Islands are the sites with higher numbers of endemic species, with predominance of Alvania spp. in the first site, and of Alvania and Schwartziella at Cape Verde. In spite of the large number of rissoids at Madeira archipelago, a large number of species are shared with Canaries, Selvagens, and the Azores, thus only about 8% are endemic to the Madeira archipelago. Most of the 542-rissoid species that live in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean are shallow species (323), 110 are considered as deep species, and 23 species are reported in both shallow and deep waters. There is a predominance of nonplanktotrophs in islands, seamounts, and at high and medium latitudes. This pattern is particularly evident in the genera Crisilla, Manzonia, Onoba, Porosalvania, Schwartziella, and Setia. Planktotrophic species are more abundant in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea. The results of the analysis of the probable directions of faunal flows support the patterns found by both the Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity and the geographical distribution. Four main source areas for rissoids emerge: Mediterranean, Caribbean, Canaries/Madeira archipelagos, and the Cape Verde archipelago. We must stress the high percentage of endemics that occurs in the isolated islands of Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Cape

  19. Patterns of Diversity of the Rissoidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ávila, Sérgio P.; Goud, Jeroen; de Frias Martins, António M.

    2012-01-01

    The geographical distribution of the Rissoidae in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea was compiled and is up-to-date until July 2011. All species were classified according to their mode of larval development (planktotrophic and nonplanktotrophic), and bathymetrical zonation (shallow species—those living between the intertidal and 50 m depth, and deep species—those usually living below 50 m depth). 542 species of Rissoidae are presently reported to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to 33 genera. The Mediterranean Sea is the most diverse site, followed by Canary Islands, Caribbean, Portugal, and Cape Verde. The Mediterranean and Cape Verde Islands are the sites with higher numbers of endemic species, with predominance of Alvania spp. in the first site, and of Alvania and Schwartziella at Cape Verde. In spite of the large number of rissoids at Madeira archipelago, a large number of species are shared with Canaries, Selvagens, and the Azores, thus only about 8% are endemic to the Madeira archipelago. Most of the 542-rissoid species that live in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean are shallow species (323), 110 are considered as deep species, and 23 species are reported in both shallow and deep waters. There is a predominance of nonplanktotrophs in islands, seamounts, and at high and medium latitudes. This pattern is particularly evident in the genera Crisilla, Manzonia, Onoba, Porosalvania, Schwartziella, and Setia. Planktotrophic species are more abundant in the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea. The results of the analysis of the probable directions of faunal flows support the patterns found by both the Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity and the geographical distribution. Four main source areas for rissoids emerge: Mediterranean, Caribbean, Canaries/Madeira archipelagos, and the Cape Verde archipelago. We must stress the high percentage of endemics that occurs in the isolated islands of Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha

  20. Important aspects of Eastern Mediterranean large-scale variability revealed from data of three fixed observatories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bensi, Manuel; Velaoras, Dimitris; Cardin, Vanessa; Perivoliotis, Leonidas; Pethiakis, George

    2015-04-01

    Long-term variations of temperature and salinity observed in the Adriatic and Aegean Seas seem to be regulated by larger-scale circulation modes of the Eastern Mediterranean (EMed) Sea, such as the recently discovered feedback mechanisms, namely the BiOS (Bimodal Oscillating System) and the internal thermohaline pump theories. These theories are the results of interpretation of many years' observations, highlighting possible interactions between two key regions of the EMed. Although repeated oceanographic cruises carried out in the past or planned for the future are a very useful tool for understanding the interaction between the two basins (e.g. alternating dense water formation, salt ingressions), recent long time-series of high frequency (up to 1h) sampling have added valuable information to the interpretation of internal mechanisms for both areas (i.e. mesoscale eddies, evolution of fast internal processes, etc.). During the last 10 years, three deep observatories were deployed and maintained in the Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean Seas: they are respectively, the E2-M3A, the Pylos, and the E1-M3A. All are part of the largest European network of Fixed Point Open Ocean Observatories (FixO3, http://www.fixo3.eu/). Herein, from the analysis of temperature and salinity, and potential density time series collected at the three sites from the surface down to the intermediate and deep layers, we will discuss the almost perfect anti-correlated behavior between the Adriatic and the Aegean Seas. Our data, collected almost continuously since 2006, reveal that these observatories well represent the thermohaline variability of their own areas. Interestingly, temperature and salinity in the intermediate layer suddenly increased in the South Adriatic from the end of 2011, exactly when they started decreasing in the Aegean Sea. Moreover, Pylos data used together with additional ones (e.g. Absolute dynamic topography, temperature and salinity data from other platforms) collected

  1. Climate Change and its Impact on the Energy Sector in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, M. A.

    2009-04-01

    It is anticipated that the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus will be disproportionally and adversely affected by future climate change. Impacts of these changes include rising summer temperatures and decreasing annual precipitation thereby causing strains on the energy sector in the region. Increases in the frequency of heat waves and tropical nights will lead to rising demands for air-conditioning of private and public housing on the one hand and to growing water scarcity, which will have to be satisfied by additional seawater desalination, on the other, to name just two of the repercussions of climate change on energy demand. Coping with these impacts will require additional electricity generation and will lead to enhanced energy demands. In the case of Cyprus, this will add to an already strained sector of the economy. The current electricity production is entirely based on fossil-fuel fired power plants. However, the use of conventional energy sources is clearly an undesirable option. It enhances the economic burden on energy consumers and at the same time increases Cyprus' dependency on external providers of hydrocarbon products. Moreover, it leads to growing emissions of carbon dioxide and thereby worsens Cyprus' already challenged greenhouse gas emission budget. While current emissions amount to app. 9.9 Mill. t of CO2, the total allowance according to EU regulations lies at 5.5 Mill. t. Possible remedies, which will be relevant for other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well include energy saving measures in the building sector and the use of renewable energy sources. With regard to sustainable building technologies, new and innovative building materials will have to be introduced. This includes advanced thermochromic materials based on nanotechnology techniques combined with phase change microcapsules, photochromic coatings able to present very high or low solar reflectance, chameleon coatings presenting very low emissivity and time varying

  2. Plankton in the open Mediterranean Sea: a review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Siokou-Frangou

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available We present an overview of the plankton studies conducted during the last 25 years in the epipelagic offshore waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This quasi-enclosed sea is characterized by a rich and complex physical dynamics with distinctive traits, especially in regard to the thermohaline circulation. Recent investigations have basically confirmed the long-recognised oligotrophic nature of this sea, which increases along both the west-east and the north-south directions. Nutrient availability is low, especially for phosphorous (N:P up to 60, though this limitation may be buffered by inputs from highly populated coasts and from the atmosphere. Phytoplankton biomass, as chl a, generally displays low values (less than 0.2 μg chl a l−1 over large areas, with a modest late winter increase. A large bloom (up to 3 μg l−1 is observed throughout the late winter and spring exclusively in the NW area. Relatively high biomass values are recorded in fronts and cyclonic gyres. A deep chlorophyll maximum is a permanent feature for the whole basin, except during the late winter mixing. It is found at increasingly greater depths ranging from 30 m in the Alboran Sea to 120 m in the easternmost Levantine basin. Primary production reveals a west-east decreasing trend and ranges between 59 and 150 g C m−2 y−1 (in situ measurements. Overall, the basin is largely dominated by small autotrophs, microheterotrophs and egg-carrying copepod species. The microorganisms (phytoplankton, viruses, bacteria, flagellates and ciliates and zooplankton components reveal a considerable diversity and variability over spatial and temporal scales, although the latter is poorly studied. Examples are the wide diversity of dinoflagellates and coccolithophores, the multifarious role of diatoms or picoeukaryotes, and the distinct seasonal or spatial patterns of the species-rich copepod genera or families which dominate the

  3. Evolution of nuclear weapon-produced tritium and its decay product He-3 in the Mediterranean Sea, 1952-2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roether, Wolfgang [IUP Univ. Bremen (Germany)

    2015-07-01

    After 1952, tritium in the Mediterranean Sea (Med) rose 100-fold up to a 30 TU peak in 1965 (1 TU = [H-3/H] . 10{sup 18}) and thereafter declined to about 1 TU in 2011. This resulted in a strong supply of its stable daughter He-3, concentrated in the 1960s. Terrigenic He being low in He-3 due to a predominantly crustal origin allowed precise determination of the tritiugenic He-3 (± 0.7% in delta He-3). The highest He-3 was found off the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1983 (delta He-3 ∝ 16%). The principle input into the subsurface waters occurs in the Eastern Med by way of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW), which moves as a high-salinity core westward toward the Strait of Gibraltar. The observations demonstrate strong longitudinal flow dispersion. As tritium-He-3 ages are biased toward times of strong input, one finds an age increase with calendar year of observation, attributed to fast flow contributions showing up first. A realistic estimate for transfer from the LIW source up to the Western Med is 22 years. Especially in the East, He-3 lately decreased distinctly, in response to the reduced He-3 generation.

  4. Performance of a rain retrieval algorithm using TRMM data in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Katsanos

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to make a regional characterization of the performance of the rain retrieval algorithm BRAIN. This algorithm estimates the rain rate from brightness temperatures measured by the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI onboard the TRMM satellite. In this stage of the study, a comparison between the rain estimated from Precipitation Radar (PR onboard TRMM (2A25 version 5 and the rain retrieved by the BRAIN algorithm is presented, for about 30 satellite overpasses over the Central and Eastern Mediterranean during the period October 2003–March 2004, in order to assess the behavior of the algorithm in the Eastern Mediterranean region. BRAIN was built and tested using PR rain estimates distributed randomly over the whole TRMM sampling region. Characterization of the differences between PR and BRAIN over a specific region is thus interesting because it might show some local trend for one or the other of the instrument. The checking of BRAIN results against the PR rain-estimate appears to be consistent with former results i.e. a somewhat marked discrepancy for the highest rain rates. This difference arises from a known problem that affect rain retrieval based on passive microwave radiometers measurements, but some of the higher radar rain rates could also be questioned. As an independent test, a good correlation between the rain retrieved by BRAIN and lighting data (obtained by the UK Met. Office long range detection system is also emphasized in the paper.

  5. MIS 5e relative sea-level changes in the Mediterranean Sea: Contribution of isostatic disequilibrium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocchi, Paolo; Vacchi, Matteo; Lorscheid, Thomas; de Boer, Bas; Simms, Alexander R.; van de Wal, Roderik S. W.; Vermeersen, Bert L. A.; Pappalardo, Marta; Rovere, Alessio

    2018-04-01

    Sea-level indicators dated to the Last Interglacial, or Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, have a twofold value. First, they can be used to constrain the melting of Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets in response to global warming scenarios. Second, they can be used to calculate the vertical crustal rates at active margins. For both applications, the contribution of glacio- and hydro-isostatic adjustment (GIA) to vertical displacement of sea-level indicators must be calculated. In this paper, we re-assess MIS 5e sea-level indicators at 11 Mediterranean sites that have been generally considered tectonically stable or affected by mild tectonics. These are found within a range of elevations of 2-10 m above modern mean sea level. Four sites are characterized by two separate sea-level stands, which suggest a two-step sea-level highstand during MIS 5e. Comparing field data with numerical modeling we show that (i) GIA is an important contributor to the spatial and temporal variability of the sea-level highstand during MIS 5e, (ii) the isostatic imbalance from the melting of the MIS 6 ice sheet can produce a >2.0 m sea-level highstand, and (iii) a two-step melting phase for the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets reduces the differences between observations and predictions. Our results show that assumptions of tectonic stability on the basis of the MIS 5e records carry intrinsically large uncertainties, stemming either from uncertainties in field data and GIA models. The latter are propagated to either Holocene or Pleistocene sea-level reconstructions if tectonic rates are considered linear through time.

  6. Buried paleo-sedimentary basins in the north-eastern Black Sea-Azov Sea area and tectonic implications (DOBRE-2)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starostenko, Vitaly; Stephenson, Randell; Janik, Tomasz; Tolkunov, Anatoly

    2014-05-01

    A number of independent but inter-related projects carried out under the auspices of various national and international programmes in Ukraine including DARIUS were aimed at imaging the upper lithosphere, crustal and sedimentary basin architecture in the north-eastern Black Sea, southern Crimea and Kerch peninsulas and the Azov Sea. This region marks the transition from relatively undisturbed Precambrian European cratonic crust and lithosphere north of the Azov Sea to areas of significant Phanerozoic tectonics and basin development, in both extensional as well as compressional environments, to the south, including the eastern Black Sea rift, which is the main sedimentary basin of the study area. The wide-angle reflection and refraction (WARR) profile DOBRE-2, a Ukrainian national project with international participation (see below), overlapping some 115 km of the southern end of the DOBREfraction'99 profile (that crosses the intracratonic Donbas Foldbelt) in the north and running to the eastern Black Sea basin in the south, utilised on- and offshore recording and energy sources. It maps crustal velocity structure across the craton margin and documents, among other things, that the Moho deepens from 40 km to ~47 km to the southwest below the Azov Sea and Crimean-Caucasus deformed zone. A regional CDP seismic profile coincident with DOBRE-2, crossing the Azov Sea, Kerch Peninsula and the north-eastern Black Sea southwest to the Ukraine-Turkey border, acquired by Ukrgeofisika (the Ukrainian national geophysical company) reveals in its inferred structural relationships the ages of Cretaceous and younger extensional and subsequent basin inversion tectonic events as well as the 2D geometry of basement displacement associated with post mid-Eocene inversion. A direct comparison of the results of the WARR velocity model and the near-vertical reflection structural image has been made by converting the former into the time domain. The results dramatically demonstrate that

  7. Cloud amount/frequency, NITRATE and other data from ERNST KRENKEL, MUSSON and other platforms in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea from 1978-02-11 to 1979-12-20 (NODC Accession 9000266)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Ocean Station data in this accession was collected in Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea as part of the International Council for the Exploration of Seas (ICES)...

  8. Danger ahead: the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-05-01

    The Eastern Mediterranean Region faces several health challenges at a difficult time with wars, unrest, and economic change. We used the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study to present the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region from 1990 to 2015. Ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the region in 2015, followed by cerebrovascular disease. Changes in total deaths ranged from a reduction of 25% for diarrheal diseases to an increase of about 42% for diabetes and tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer. Collective violence and legal intervention increased by 850% during the time period. Diet was the leading risk factor for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for men compared to maternal malnutrition for females. Childhood undernutrition was the leading risk factor for DALYs in 1990 and 2005, but the second in 2015 after high blood pressure. Our study shows that the region is facing several health challenges and calls for global efforts to stabilise the region and to address the current and future burden of disease.

  9. Direct and semi-direct aerosol radiative effect on the Mediterranean climate variability using a coupled regional climate system model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabat, Pierre; Somot, Samuel; Mallet, Marc; Sevault, Florence; Chiacchio, Marc; Wild, Martin

    2015-02-01

    stabilizing the troposphere. The comparison with the model response in atmosphere-only simulations shows that these feedbacks are attenuated if SST cannot be modified by aerosols, highlighting the importance of using coupled regional models over the Mediterranean. Oceanic convection is also strengthened by aerosols, which tends to reinforce the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation. In parallel, two case studies are presented to illustrate positive feedbacks between dust aerosols and regional climate. First, the eastern Mediterranean was subject to high dust aerosol loads in June 2007 which reduce land and sea surface temperature, as well as air-sea humidity fluxes. Because of northern wind over the eastern Mediterranean, drier and cooler air has been consequently advected from the sea to the African continent, reinforcing the direct dust effect over land. On the contrary, during the western European heat wave in June 2006, dust aerosols have contributed to reinforcing an important ridge responsible for dry and warm air advection over western Europe, and thus to increasing lower troposphere (+0.8 °C) and surface temperature (+0.5 °C), namely about 15 % of this heat wave.

  10. Mercury Studies around the Mediterranean Sea Basin: Ten years of Measurements and Modeling results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sprovieri F.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Only a few years ago the presence of Reactive Gaseous Mercury (RGM was believed to be almost exclusively the result of anthropogenic emissions and that sustained high RGM concentrations in the MBL were not considered likely. During the past ten years, an in-depth investigation was carried out in the Marine Boundary Layer (MBL of the Mediterranean Sea to quantify and possibly explain spatial and temporal patterns of Hg-species concentrations. This paper provides an overview of modeling results and atmospheric measurements performed during several cruise campaigns performed aboard the Research Vessel (RV URANIA of the CNR over the Mediterranean sea basin. RGM concentrations have been modelled using a photochemical box model of the MBL and compared to measured data obtained during the research cruises. The comparison results supports the hypothesis that there are daytime mercury oxidation reactions occurring which have not yet been identified. Major findings of key studies carried out during ten years of ship-borne activities have been highlighted.

  11. First records of two planktonic Indo-Pacific diatoms: Chaetoceros bacteriastroides and C. pseudosymmetricus in the Adriatic Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marijeta Čalić

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Unusual occurrence of planktonic diatom species, Chaetoceros bacteriastroides and Chaetoceros pseudosymmetricus, was noticed in three different marine ecosystems of Adriatic Sea: the Krka Estuary and Telaščica Bay in the Central Adriatic, and in southern Adriatic offshore. From 2010 to 2015, these two Chaetoceros species were recorded in heterogeneous environmental conditions and in a very low abundances. Both species are regarded as very rare in world oceans, and consequently knowledge of their distribution and ecology is rather poor. Primarily described from tropical waters and showing Indo-Pacific distribution, C. bacteriastroides and C. pseudosymmetricus findings in Adriatic represent the northernmost records in world's oceans and seas. For C. pseudosymmetricus this is also the first occurrence in European seas. Areal expansion and introduction of new phytoplankton species in the Adriatic Sea might be related to different circulation regimes in the Ionian Sea and the concurrent rise in sea temperature in the Mediterranean in the last decade. Recent investigations have shown that entering currents, of either Atlantic/Western Mediterranean or Eastern Mediterranean origin, modify the composition of the plankton community in the Adriatic by bringing different newcomers.

  12. Sea truth validation of sea WiFS ocean colour sensor in the coastal waters of the eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Desa, E.S.; Suresh, T.; Matondkar, S.G.P.; Desa, E.

    In this paper we report bio-optical measurements made during an ocean colour validation cruise SK 149C in November 1999 of the research vessel Sagar Kanya in the coastal waters of the Eastern Arabian Sea. The chlorophyll concentration...

  13. An evaluation of surface micro- and mesoplastic pollution in pelagic ecosystems of the Western Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faure, Florian; Saini, Camille; Potter, Gaël; Galgani, François; de Alencastro, Luiz Felippe; Hagmann, Pascal

    2015-08-01

    This study examines the distribution, abundance and characteristics of surface micro- and mesoplastic debris in the Western Mediterranean Sea. 41 samples were collected in 2011 (summer) and 2012 (summer). Results, firstly, revealed that micro- (micro- and mesoplastic concentrations was identified. Secondly, a classification based on the shape and appearance of microplastics indicated the predominant presence of fragments (73%) followed by thin films (14%). Thirdly, the average mass ratio of microplastic to dry organic matter has been measured at 0.5, revealing a significant presence of microplastics in comparison to plankton. Finally, a correction method was applied in order to correct wind mixing effect on microplastics' vertical distribution. This data allows for a comprehensive view, for the first time, of the spatial distribution and nature of plastic debris in the Western Mediterranean Sea.

  14. A success story of regional projects implemented for the management of marine environment. Turkish experience related to the black sea and the mediterranean sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goktepe, B.G.; Gungor, N.; Gungor, E.; Karakelle, B.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: A wide scope Regional Technical Co-operation Project RER/2/003 'Marine Environmental Assessment of the Black Sea Region' is implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the period 1995-2001. This project was initiated in response to the needs of participating Member States - the six Black Sea coastal countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russian Federation, Georgia and Turkey) to establish capabilities for reliably assessing radionuclides in the Black Sea environment and applying tracer techniques to marine pollution studies The project has various important aspects: Scientifically; one of the major environmental issue radioactivity pollution is addressed. Technically; laboratory capability for transuranic analysis is being developed. Economically; the reversing the ecological deterioration and developing sustainable uses of the Black Sea and its natural resources is one of the major interests. Politically; responsibility of pollution control and rehabilitation plans of six Black Sea countries are addressed through various convention and declarations. Socio-economically, fisheries and tourism sectors are expected to benefit. Highlights from the joint radioactivity-monitoring program of the project among six Black Sea countries are outlined. Examples from the Turkish monitoring work consist of the routine sampling of seawater, algae, mussels, fish samples and beach sand from the selected stations along the Black Sea coast are presented for illustration. The success of the Black Sea regional project has given rise to a new regional project 'Marine Environmental Assessment of the Mediterranean Region' based on the request of the member countries, which will be initiated in 2005 by the IAEA. The initial phase the project, its objectives and the schedule will be summarized. Key words: marine radioactivity, environmental management, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, regional cooperation

  15. Which future for natural gas in the European-Mediterranean area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giesbert, J.Ch.

    1997-01-01

    In the Mediterranean sea surrounding countries, energy consumption and in particular natural gas, is growing up. However, this development requires the mobilization of important capitals and the creation of multilateral partnerships. These investments must be realized when southern and eastern Mediterranean countries will change for a market economy and when the energy market in the European Union is liberalizing. This paper describes the situation of the development of natural gas uses in the Maghreb countries (power production, development of cogeneration systems, supply of LPG fuels for domestic uses, development of distribution and transportation systems) and the position of European gas companies with respect to this developing market: investments, risks assessment, European Union warranty, liberalization of gas markets in the Maghreb countries and in the European union. (J.S.)

  16. A time series study on the effects of heat on mortality and evaluation of heterogeneity into European and Eastern-Southern Mediterranean cities: results of EU CIRCE project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leone, Michela; D'Ippoliti, Daniela; De Sario, Manuela; Analitis, Antonis; Menne, Bettina; Katsouyanni, Klea; De' Donato, Francesca K; Basagana, Xavier; Salah, Afif Ben; Casimiro, Elsa; Dörtbudak, Zeynep; Iñiguez, Carmen; Peretz, Chava; Wolf, Tanja; Michelozzi, Paola

    2013-07-03

    The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to the effect of summer temperature.Within the CIRCE project this time-series study aims to quantify for the first time the effect of summer temperature in Eastern-Southern Mediterranean cities and compared it with European cities around the Mediterranean basin, evaluating city characteristics that explain between-city heterogeneity. The city-specific effect of maximum apparent temperature (Tappmax) was assessed by Generalized Estimation Equations, assuming a linear threshold model. Then, city-specific estimates were included in a random effect meta-regression analysis to investigate the effect modification by several city characteristics. Heterogeneity in the temperature-mortality relationship was observed among cities. Thresholds recorded higher values in the warmest cities of Tunis (35.5°C) and Tel-Aviv (32.8°C) while the effect of Tappmax above threshold was greater in the European cities. In Eastern-Southern Mediterranean cities a higher effect was observed among younger age groups (0-14 in Tunis and 15-64 in Tel-Aviv and Istanbul) in contrast with the European cities where the elderly population was more vulnerable. Climate conditions explained most of the observed heterogeneity and among socio-demographic and economic characteristics only health expenditure and unemployment rate were identified as effect modifiers. The high vulnerability observed in the young populations in Eastern-Southern Mediterranean cities represent a major public health problem. Considering the large political and economic changes occurring in this region as well future temperature increase due to climate change, it is important to strengthen research and public health efforts in these Mediterranean countries.

  17. Growth Rate Potential of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Warmer and Cooler Years on the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward V. Farley

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available A spatially explicit bioenergetics model was used to predict juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka growth rate potential (GRP on the eastern Bering Sea shelf during years with cooler and warmer spring sea surface temperatures (SSTs. Annual averages of juvenile sockeye salmon GRP were generally lower among years with cooler SSTs and generally higher in offshore than nearshore regions of the eastern Bering Sea shelf during years with warmer SSTs. Juvenile sockeye salmon distribution was significantly (P<.05 related to GRP and their prey densities were positively related to spring SST (P<.05. Juvenile sockeye salmon GRP was more sensitive to changes in prey density and observed SSTs during years when spring SSTs were warmer (2002, 2003, and 2005. Our results suggest that the pelagic productivity on the eastern Bering Sea shelf was higher during years with warmer spring SSTs and highlight the importance of bottom-up control on the eastern Bering Sea ecosystem.

  18. Seamount physiography and biology in the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

    OpenAIRE

    Morato, T.; Kvile, K. Ø.; Taranto, G. H.; Tempera, F.; Narayanaswamy, B. E.; Hebbeln, D.; Menezes, G. M.; Wienberg, C.; Santos, R. S.; Pitcher, T. J.

    2013-01-01

    This work aims at characterising the seamount physiography and biology in the OSPAR Convention limits (north-east Atlantic Ocean) and Mediterranean Sea. We first inferred potential abundance, location and morphological characteristics of seamounts, and secondly, summarized the existing biological, geological and oceanographic in situ research, identifying examples of well-studied seamounts. Our study showed that the seamount population in the OSPAR area (north-east Atlantic) and in the Medite...

  19. The Messinian/Early Pliocene transition in Eastern Mediterranean: New palaeoenvironmental data from the Kalamaki section (Zakynthos Island, Greece)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drinia, Hara; Antonarakou, Assimina; Tsourou, Theodora; Tzortzaki, Evi; Filippidi, Amalia; Nikolaou, Konstantinos

    2010-05-01

    foraminiferal facies distribution in the studied part of the Kalamaki section is in accordance with isotope oxygen data from basins in the central and eastern Mediterranean basin which indicates the existence of a salinity gradient during this time span. Ostracod fauna is characterised by low diversity and abundance. It is consisting mainly of Bythocypris and Cytherella species, which confirm the bathyal depositional environment. The study of the late Messinian-Early Pliocene sediments in Zakynthos island (Kalamaki section) correlated with time equivalent sections in Crete (e.g. Drinia et al., 2007) and the comparison with the offshore coeval deposits drilled in the ODP Leg 160 boreholes, illustrate the environmental changes which occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the salinity crisis. References Dermitzakis, M.D., 1978. Stratigraphy and sedimentary history of the Miocene of Zakynthos (Ionian Islands, Greece). Ann. Geol. Pays Hell., 29:47 186. Drinia, H., Antonarakou, A., Kontakiotis, G., 2007. On the occurrence of Early Pliocene marine deposits in the Ierapetra Basin, Eastern Crete, Greece. Bulletin of Geosciences, 83 (1), 63-78. Jorissen, F.J., 1988. Benthic foraminifera from the Adriatic Sea: principles of phenotypic variation. Utrecht Micropaleontological Bulletins, 37, 1-174. Murray, J., 2006. Ecology and applications of Benthic foraminifera. Cambridge University press, 426pp. Nikolaou, K.A., 1986. Contribution to the knowledge of the Neogene , the geology and the limits of the Ionian and Preapulian zones, in relation to the petroleum exploration , observations in Strofades , Zakynthos and Kefallinia islands. The doct. University of Athens. Pierre, C., Caruso, A., Blanc-Valleron, M., Rouchy, J. M., Orzsag-Sperber, F., 2006. Reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental changes around the Miocene-Pliocene boundary along a West-East transect across the Mediterranean. Sedimentary Geology 188-189, 319-340. The Messinian Salinity Crisis Revisited. Pujos, M., 1976

  20. Early diagenetic processes and sulphur speciation in pore waters and sediments of the hypersaline Tyro and Bannock basins, eastern Mediterranean

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Henneke, E.

    1993-01-01

    Anoxic hypersaline basins have been found in two different tectonic environments in the eastern Mediterranean. Within the Tyro area (the western Strabo Trench) there are three pull apart basins: the Tyro Basin, presently filled with anoxic hypersaline bottomwater, and the Poseidon and Kretheus

  1. Modeling the biogeochemical impact of atmospheric phosphate deposition from desert dust and combustion sources to the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richon, Camille; Dutay, Jean-Claude; Dulac, François; Wang, Rong; Balkanski, Yves

    2018-04-01

    Daily modeled fields of phosphate deposition to the Mediterranean from natural dust, anthropogenic combustion and wildfires were used to assess the effect of this external nutrient on marine biogeochemistry. The ocean model used is a high-resolution (1/12°) regional coupled dynamical-biogeochemical model of the Mediterranean Sea (NEMO-MED12/PISCES). The input fields of phosphorus are for 2005, which are the only available daily resolved deposition fields from the global atmospheric chemical transport model LMDz-INCA. Traditionally, dust has been suggested to be the main atmospheric source of phosphorus, but the LMDz-INCA model suggests that combustion is dominant over natural dust as an atmospheric source of phosphate (PO4, the bioavailable form of phosphorus in seawater) for the Mediterranean Sea. According to the atmospheric transport model, phosphate deposition from combustion (Pcomb) brings on average 40.5×10-6 mol PO4 m-2 yr-1 over the entire Mediterranean Sea for the year 2005 and is the primary source over the northern part (e.g., 101×10-6 mol PO4 m-2 yr-1 from combustion deposited in 2005 over the north Adriatic against 12.4×10-6 from dust). Lithogenic dust brings 17.2×10-6 mol PO4 m-2 yr-1 on average over the Mediterranean Sea in 2005 and is the primary source of atmospheric phosphate to the southern Mediterranean Basin in our simulations (e.g., 31.8×10-6 mol PO4 m-2 yr-1 from dust deposited in 2005 on average over the south Ionian basin against 12.4×10-6 from combustion). The evaluation of monthly averaged deposition flux variability of Pdust and Pcomb for the 1997-2012 period indicates that these conclusions may hold true for different years. We examine separately the two atmospheric phosphate sources and their respective flux variability and evaluate their impacts on marine surface biogeochemistry (phosphate concentration, chlorophyll a, primary production). The impacts of the different phosphate deposition sources on the biogeochemistry of the

  2. isotopic and hydrochemical studies on the groundwater of the eastern part of nile delta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nada, A.A.I.

    1984-01-01

    the present work deals with the study of trace elements, chemical composition and isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen in groundwater in the eastern part of the nile delta, surface water from the nile and ismaillia canal and sea water from the mediterranean sea and suez canal. this study involves chemical analysis for water samples and distribution of trace elements and major elements, some water-rock interactions, groundwater recharge relationships between surface and groundwater and some flow mechanism. the combination between isotopic composition and chemical composition of surface and groundwater

  3. A fully coupled Mediterranean regional climate system model: design and evaluation of the ocean component for the 1980–2012 period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florence Sevault

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available A fully coupled regional climate system model (CNRM-RCSM4 dedicated to the Mediterranean region is described and evaluated using a multidecadal hindcast simulation (1980–2012 driven by global atmosphere and ocean reanalysis. CNRM-RCSM4 includes the regional representation of the atmosphere (ALADIN-Climate model, land surface (ISBA model, rivers (TRIP model and the ocean (NEMOMED8 model, with a daily coupling by the OASIS coupler. This model aims to reproduce the regional climate system with as few constraints as possible: there is no surface salinity, temperature relaxation, or flux correction; the Black Sea budget is parameterised and river runoffs (except for the Nile are fully coupled. The atmospheric component of CNRM-RCSM4 is evaluated in a companion paper; here, we focus on the air–sea fluxes, river discharges, surface ocean characteristics, deep water formation phenomena and the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation. Long-term stability, mean seasonal cycle, interannual variability and decadal trends are evaluated using basin-scale climatologies and in-situ measurements when available. We demonstrate that the simulation shows overall good behaviour in agreement with state-of-the-art Mediterranean RCSMs. An overestimation of the shortwave radiation and latent heat loss as well as a cold Sea Surface Temperature (SST bias and a slight trend in the bottom layers are the primary current deficiencies. Further, CNRM-RCSM4 shows high skill in reproducing the interannual to decadal variability for air–sea fluxes, river runoffs, sea surface temperature and salinity as well as open-sea deep convection, including a realistic simulation of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. We conclude that CNRM-RCSM4 is a mature modelling tool allowing the climate variability of the Mediterranean regional climate system to be studied and understood. It is used in hindcast and scenario modes in the HyMeX and Med-CORDEX programs.

  4. New gas markets: new gases, new companies; Gas jackpot in Uncle Sam's country; The gas rush; 'Deep sea gas is one of the new markets'; El senor gas; 'It is absolutely essential to accelerate the energy transition in the Mediterranean area'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Icart, Laura

    2016-01-01

    World gas market is entering a new era: the LNG advent, the discovery of new fields and the development of unconventional gases have revealed an undeniable gas potential. This potential, present in significant quantities over the world, raises economical, technical and environmental issues. This dossier provides an overview of these new markets: shale gas and oil in the USA and the US energy strategy trend reversal; the Australian LNG rush and its environmental impact; the deep-sea gas fields exploitation and Technips' know-how; the South-American gas resources and the role of LNG; the Eastern Mediterranean offshore gas potential and the energy transition in the Mediterranean area

  5. Shallow Investigations of the Deep Seafloor: Quantitative Morphology in the Levant Basin, Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanari, M.; Ketter, T.; Tibor, G.; Schattner, U.

    2017-12-01

    We aim to characterize the seafloor morphology and its shallow sub-surface structures and deformations in the deep part of the Levant basin (eastern Mediterranean) using recently acquired high-resolution shallow seismic reflection data and multibeam bathymetry, which allow quantitative analysis of morphology and structure. The Levant basin at the eastern Mediterranean is considered a passive continental margin, where most of the recent geological processes were related in literature to salt tectonics rooted at the Messinian deposits from 6Ma. We analyzed two sets of recently acquired high-resolution data from multibeam bathymetry and 3.5 kHz Chirp sub-bottom seismic reflection in the deep basin of the continental shelf offshore Israel (water depths up to 2100 m). Semi-automatic mapping of seafloor features and seismic data interpretation resulted in quantitative morphological analysis of the seafloor and its underlying sediment with penetration depth up to 60 m. The quantitative analysis and its interpretation are still in progress. Preliminary results reveal distinct morphologies of four major elements: channels, faults, folds and sediment waves, validated by seismic data. From the spatial distribution and orientation analyses of these phenomena, we identify two primary process types which dominate the formation of the seafloor in the Levant basin: structural and sedimentary. Characterization of the geological and geomorphological processes forming the seafloor helps to better understand the transport mechanisms and the relations between sediment transport and deposition in deep water and the shallower parts of the shelf and slope.

  6. Violent storms within the sea: Dense water formation episodes in the Mediterranean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salat, J.

    2009-09-01

    The Mediterranean is a semi enclosed basin which receives surface water from the Atlantic Ocean. Most of this water is returned into the Ocean with higher density, spreading at more than 1000 m depth (the rest is transported by the atmosphere and the rivers to the Ocean surface). In terms of water budget, the Mediterranean is considered an evaporation basin, but the loss of water is neither the only process that increases the water density nor it is a steady or uniform process. The factors affecting the water density, temperature and salinity, are driven by mass and heat exchanges with the atmosphere. Those exchanges may be by direct contact or mediated by the land. Therefore, changes in water density depend on the water circulation and local weather conditions, both with seasonal and geographical constraints. As the compressibility of water is very low, stratification is expected and horizontal motion is the predominant in the sea interior. Among the few processes that may introduce a vertical component in the water motion are surface heat loss or evaporation that increase the surface water density triggering convective cells. Such processes will be enhanced by surface cooling or by dry continental winds, and counterbalanced by rain, river runoff, solar heating and condensation. Therefore dense water formation are more likely to occur when sea surface temperature is higher than the surface air temperature. There are several scales of convective motions in the ocean, starting from the formation of the surface mixed layer during summer, by night cooling, breezes, and occasional wind storms. During autumn and winter, the vertical scale of the mixing is increasing by steps, through wind storms and progressive cooling, to easily reach the bottom over the continental shelves, typically not deeper than 150 m. However, as the Gibraltar sill is relatively shallow (~350 m) in relation to the average Mediterranean basin (2000-3000 m), the stratification of the deeper layers

  7. Upper-Level Mediterranean Oscillation index and seasonal variability of rainfall and temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redolat, Dario; Monjo, Robert; Lopez-Bustins, Joan A.; Martin-Vide, Javier

    2018-02-01

    The need for early seasonal forecasts stimulates continuous research in climate teleconnections. The large variability of the Mediterranean climate presents a greater difficulty in predicting climate anomalies. This article reviews teleconnection indices commonly used for the Mediterranean basin and explores possible extensions of one of them, the Mediterranean Oscillation index (MOi). In particular, the anomalies of the geopotential height field at 500 hPa are analyzed using segmentation of the Mediterranean basin in seven spatial windows: three at eastern and four at western. That is, different versions of an Upper-Level Mediterranean Oscillation index (ULMOi) were calculated, and monthly and annual variability of precipitation and temperature were analyzed for 53 observatories from 1951 to 2015. Best versions were selected according to the Pearson correlation, its related p value, and two measures of standardized error. The combination of the Balearic Sea and Libya/Egypt windows was the best for precipitation and temperature, respectively. The ULMOi showed the highest predictive ability in combination with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index (AMOi) for the annual temperature throughout the Mediterranean basin. The best model built from the indices presented a final mean error between 15 and 25% in annual precipitation for most of the studied area.

  8. Fishery-independent surface abundance and density estimates of swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from aerial surveys in the Central Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauriano, Giancarlo; Pierantonio, Nino; Kell, Laurence; Cañadas, Ana; Donovan, Gregory; Panigada, Simone

    2017-07-01

    Fishery-independent surface density and abundance estimates for the swordfish were obtained through aerial surveys carried out over a large portion of the Central Mediterranean, implementing distance sampling methodologies. Both design- and model-based abundance and density showed an uneven occurrence of the species throughout the study area, with clusters of higher density occurring near converging fronts, strong thermoclines and/or underwater features. The surface abundance was estimated for the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals in the summer of 2009 (n=1152; 95%CI=669.0-1981.0; %CV=27.64), the Sea of Sardinia, the Pelagos Sanctuary and the Central Tyrrhenian Sea for the summer of 2010 (n=3401; 95%CI=2067.0-5596.0; %CV=25.51), and for the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea during the winter months of 2010-2011 (n=1228; 95%CI=578-2605; %CV=38.59). The Mediterranean swordfish stock deserves special attention in light of the heavy fishing pressures. Furthermore, the unreliability of fishery-related data has, to date, hampered our ability to effectively inform long-term conservation in the Mediterranean Region. Considering that the European countries have committed to protect the resources and all the marine-related economic and social dynamics upon which they depend, the information presented here constitute useful data towards the international legal requirements under the Marine Strategy Framework Directory, the Common Fisheries Policy, the Habitats and Species Directive and the Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning, among the others.

  9. First record of the sipunculan worm Phascolion (Phascolion caupo Hendrix, 1975 in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.M. FERRERO-VICENTE

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Specimens of the sipunculan worm Phascolion (Phascolion caupo Hendrix, 1975 have been collected for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, thus increasing the number of known sipunculan species of up to 36 in this area. They were encountered on soft bottoms from the coast of San Pedro del Pinatar (Western Mediterranean. Thirty specimens were collected at a depth ranging from 32.6 to 37.2 m, mainly in sandy substrata with high load of silt and clays. 80% of the individuals were found inhabiting empty shells of gastropods or empty tubes of serpulid polychaetes.

  10. Hydrological changes in the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean, DYFAMED site during 1995–2007 and biogeochemical consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. C. Marty

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Data obtained during the monthly cruises of the DYFAMED time-series study (northwestern Mediterranean Sea in the period 1995–2007 were compiled to examine the hydrological changes and the linked variation of some biogeochemical characteristics (nutrients and pigments. A regular increase of temperature and salinity (0.005 °C y−1, 0.0022 psu y−1 was recorded in deep waters of the NW Mediterranean Sea (2000 m depth during 1995–2005. In February 2006 an abrupt increase in T (+0.1 °C and S (+0.03 psu was measured at 2000 m depth as the result of successive intense winter mixing events during the 3 previous years. The February 2006 event led to the mixing of the whole water column (0 to >2000 m and increased salt and heat content of the Western Mediterranean Deep Water by mixing with saltier and warmer Levantine Intermediate Water. The deficit in fresh water inputs to the western Mediterranean basin in three successive years (2003–2005 was suspected to be the major cause of this event since an increase of salinity in surface waters was monitored during these years. The measured phytoplankton biomass was specifically high after the periods of intense mixing. Chlorophyll a integrated biomass reached 230 mg m−2 in 1999, 175 mg m−2 in 2003, and 206 mg m−2 in 2006. The high levels of biomass were related to the particularly high increases in nutrients content in surface layers following the intense water column mixing and the subsequent development of a diatom bloom (as seen by fucoxanthin content. The occurrence of extreme events (high mixing, high nutrients, and high biomass increased in recent drought years (2003 to 2006. Our results indicated that the NW Mediterranean Sea productivity is increasing.

  11. Obsidians from the Kerkennah Islands (eastern Tunisia) and the PIXE elemental compositions of the Mediterranean peralkaline obsidians

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Bourdonnec, François-Xavier; Poupeau, Gérard; Boussofara, Ridha

    2015-01-01

    The provenance of 37 obsidians from the Kerkennah Islands (central Mediterranean Sea) was determined by PIXE. It is shown that they came from the two main obsidian sources, Balata dei Turchi and Lago di Venere, of the Pantelleria Island. A comparison of the PIXE elemental composition of geological vs. archaeological obsidians of central and western Mediterranean shows that their sources present elemental compositions homogeneous enough to make possible sourcing studies. However, a comparison between the distributions of geological and archaeological obsidians chemistry shows that the PIXE source qualifications do not cover yet the whole of their internal variations

  12. Obsidians from the Kerkennah Islands (eastern Tunisia) and the PIXE elemental compositions of the Mediterranean peralkaline obsidians

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Bourdonnec, François-Xavier, E-mail: Francois-Xavier.Le-Bourdonnec@u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr [Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux (IRAMAT), Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), UMR 5060, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l’Archéologie, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cédex (France); Poupeau, Gérard [Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux (IRAMAT), Centre de Recherche en Physique Appliquée à l’Archéologie (CRP2A), UMR 5060, CNRS-Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Maison de l’Archéologie, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac Cédex (France); UMR 7194 CNRS et Département de Préhistoire du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris (France); Boussofara, Ridha, E-mail: ridha57@yahoo.fr [The National Heritage Institute, 4 Place du Château, 1008 Tunis (Tunisia); and others

    2015-09-01

    The provenance of 37 obsidians from the Kerkennah Islands (central Mediterranean Sea) was determined by PIXE. It is shown that they came from the two main obsidian sources, Balata dei Turchi and Lago di Venere, of the Pantelleria Island. A comparison of the PIXE elemental composition of geological vs. archaeological obsidians of central and western Mediterranean shows that their sources present elemental compositions homogeneous enough to make possible sourcing studies. However, a comparison between the distributions of geological and archaeological obsidians chemistry shows that the PIXE source qualifications do not cover yet the whole of their internal variations.

  13. Assessment of metal element concentrations in mussel (M. Galloprovincialis) in Eastern Black Sea, Turkey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cevik, U. [Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Physics, 61080 Trabzon (Turkey)], E-mail: berrenazli@yahoo.com; Damla, N.; Kobya, A.I. [Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Physics, 61080 Trabzon (Turkey); Bulut, V.N. [Giresun University, Department of Chemistry, 28049 Giresun (Turkey); Duran, C. [Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Chemistry, 61080 Trabzon (Turkey); Dalgic, G. [Rize University, Faculty of Fisheries, 53100 Rize (Turkey); Bozaci, R. [Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Physics, 61080 Trabzon (Turkey)

    2008-12-30

    The main goal of this work is to determine the effects of pollution of copper, lead and zinc mines on the Eastern Black Sea. Metal and heavy metal concentrations in the Eastern Black Sea mussels were measured using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS). The analytical results showed that the tissue of mussel in Eastern Black Sea contains K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Sr elements, and the shell of mussel contains Ca, Cu, Sr, and Ba elements. Due to the detection limit of EDXRF, the mussels were analyzed with FAAS for Cr, Mn, Ni, Cd and Pb elements. An ANOVA and Pearson correlation analyses were performed. The results showed although that the mean concentrations of Cu and Zn for the tissue of the mussels were markedly above the permissible levels of the Turkish regulations, Zn concentration is in the limits of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

  14. Morphometric variability of Arctodiaptomus salinus (Copepoda) in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region

    OpenAIRE

    ANUFRIIEVA, Elena V.; SHADRIN, Nickolai V.

    2015-01-01

    Inter-species variability in morphological traits creates a need to know the range of variability of characteristics in the species for taxonomic and ecological tasks. Copepoda Arctodiaptomus salinus, which inhabits water bodies across Eurasia and North Africa, plays a dominant role in plankton of different water bodies-from fresh to hypersaline. This work assesses the intra- and inter-population morphometric variability of A. salinus in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region and discusses some o...

  15. A model study of ozone in the eastern Mediterranean free troposphere during MINOS (August 2001

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. J. Roelofs

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available A coupled tropospheric chemistry-climate model is used to analyze tropospheric ozone distributions observed during the MINOS campaign in the eastern Mediterranean region (August, 2001. Modeled ozone profiles are generally in good agreement with the observations. Our analysis shows that the atmospheric dynamics in the region are strongly influenced by the occurrence of an upper tropospheric anti-cyclone, associated with the Asian summer monsoon and centered over the Tibetan Plateau. The anti-cyclone affects the chemical composition of the upper troposphere, where ozone concentrations of about 50 ppbv were measured, through advection of boundary layer air from South-East Asia. A layer between 4-6 km thickness was present beneath, containing up to 120 ppbv of ozone with substantial contributions by transport from the stratosphere and through lightning NOx. Additionally, pollutant ozone from North America was mixed in. Ozone in the lower troposphere originated mainly from the European continent. The stratospheric influence may be overestimated due to too strong vertical diffusion associated with the relatively coarse vertical resolution. The estimated tropospheric ozone column over the eastern Mediterranean is ~50 DU in summer, to which ozone from recent stratospheric origin contributes about 30%, ozone from lightning 13%, and from South-East Asia, North America and Europe about 7%, 8% and 14%, respectively, adding to a long-term hemispheric background of 25% of the column.

  16. The impact of temperature changes on summer time ozone and its precursors in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    U. Im

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Changes in temperature due to variability in meteorology and climate change are expected to significantly impact atmospheric composition. The Mediterranean is a climate sensitive region and includes megacities like Istanbul and large urban agglomerations such as Athens. The effect of temperature changes on gaseous air pollutant levels and the atmospheric processes that are controlling them in the Eastern Mediterranean are here investigated. The WRF/CMAQ mesoscale modeling system is used, coupled with the MEGAN model for the processing of biogenic volatile organic compound emissions. A set of temperature perturbations (spanning from 1 to 5 K is applied on a base case simulation corresponding to July 2004. The results indicate that the Eastern Mediterranean basin acts as a reservoir of pollutants and their precursor emissions from large urban agglomerations. During summer, chemistry is a major sink at these urban areas near the surface, and a minor contributor at downwind areas. On average, the atmospheric processes are more effective within the first 1000 m above ground. Temperature increases lead to increases in biogenic emissions by 9±3% K−1. Ozone mixing ratios increase almost linearly with the increases in ambient temperatures by 1±0.1 ppb O3 K−1 for all studied urban and receptor stations except for Istanbul, where a 0.4±0.1 ppb O3 K−1 increase is calculated, which is about half of the domain-averaged increase of 0.9±0.1 ppb O3 K−1. The computed changes in atmospheric processes are also linearly related with temperature changes.

  17. Modelling retention and dispersion mechanisms of bluefin tuna eggs and larvae in the northwest Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariani, Patrizio; MacKenzie, Brian R.; Iudicone, Daniele; Bozec, Alexandra

    2010-07-01

    Knowledge of early life history of most fish species in the Mediterranean Sea is sparse and processes affecting their recruitment are poorly understood. This is particularly true for bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, even though this species is one of the world’s most valued fish species. Here we develop, apply and validate an individually based coupled biological-physical oceanographic model of fish early life history in the Mediterranean Sea. We first validate the general structure of the coupled model with a 12-day Lagrangian drift study of anchovy ( Engraulis encrasicolus) larvae in the Catalan Sea. The model reproduced the drift and growth of anchovy larvae as they drifted along the Catalan coast and yielded similar patterns as those observed in the field. We then applied the model to investigate transport and retention processes affecting the spatial distribution of bluefin tuna eggs and larvae during 1999-2003, and we compared modelled distributions with available field data collected in 2001 and 2003. Modelled and field distributions generally coincided and were patchy at mesoscales (10s-100s km); larvae were most abundant in eddies and along frontal zones. We also identified probable locations of spawning bluefin tuna using hydrographic backtracking procedures; these locations were situated in a major salinity frontal zone and coincided with distributions of an electronically tagged bluefin tuna and commercial bluefin tuna fishing vessels. Moreover, we hypothesized that mesoscale processes are responsible for the aggregation and dispersion mechanisms in the area and showed that these processes were significantly correlated to atmospheric forcing processes over the NW Mediterranean Sea. Interannual variations in average summer air temperature can reduce the intensity of ocean mesoscale processes in the Balearic area and thus potentially affect bluefin tuna larvae. These modelling approaches can increase understanding of bluefin tuna recruitment processes and

  18. Effect of ocean warming and acidification on a plankton community in the NW Mediterranean Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maugendre, L.; Gattuso, J.-P.; Louis, J.; de Kluijver, A.; Marro, S.; Soetaert, K.; Gazeau, F.

    2015-01-01

    The effect of ocean warming and acidification was investigated on a natural plankton assemblage from an oligotrophic area, the bay of Villefranche (NW Mediterranean Sea). The assemblage was sampled in March 2012 and exposed to the following four treatments for 12 days: control (~360 µatm, 14°C),

  19. A Mediterranean coastal database for assessing the impacts of sea-level rise and associated hazards

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolff, Claudia; Vafeidis, Athanasios T.; Muis, Sanne; Lincke, Daniel; Satta, Alessio; Lionello, Piero; Jimenez, Jose A.; Conte, Dario; Hinkel, Jochen

    2018-01-01

    We have developed a new coastal database for the Mediterranean basin that is intended for coastal impact and adaptation assessment to sea-level rise and associated hazards on a regional scale. The data structure of the database relies on a linear representation of the coast with associated spatial

  20. Studies on the microzooplankton from the central and eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Gauns, M; Mohanraju, R.; Madhupratap, M

    Numerical abundance and composition of microzooplankton in the upper 200 m were studied from the central and eastern Arabian Sea during three seasons. Protozoans, comprising of ciliates (loricates and aloricates), flagellates and sarcodines were...

  1. Particle water and pH in the Eastern Mediterranean: sources variability and implications for nutrients availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolaou, P.; Bougiatioti, A.; Stavroulas, I.; Kouvarakis, G.; Nenes, A.; Weber, R.; Kanakidou, M.; Mihalopoulos, N.

    2015-10-01

    during early morning, late evening and nighttime hours. The aerosol was found to be highly acidic with calculated aerosol pH varying from 0.5 to 2.8 throughout the study period. Biomass burning aerosol presented the highest values of pH in the submicron fraction and the lowest values in total water mass concentration. The low pH values observed in the submicron mode and independently of air masses origin could increase nutrient availability and especially P solubility, which is the nutrient limiting sea water productivity of the eastern Mediterranean.

  2. Particle water and pH in the eastern Mediterranean: source variability and implications for nutrient availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bougiatioti, Aikaterini; Nikolaou, Panayiota; Stavroulas, Iasonas; Kouvarakis, Giorgos; Weber, Rodney; Nenes, Athanasios; Kanakidou, Maria; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2016-04-01

    contributed about 27.5 % to the total aerosol water, mostly during early morning, late evening, and nighttime hours.The aerosol was found to be highly acidic with calculated aerosol pH varying from 0.5 to 2.8 throughout the study period. Biomass burning aerosol presented the highest values of pH in the submicron fraction and the lowest values in total water mass concentration. The low pH values observed in the submicron mode and independently of air mass origin could increase nutrient availability and especially P solubility, which is the nutrient limiting sea water productivity of the eastern Mediterranean.

  3. First occurrence of knight rock shrimp, Sicyonia lancifer (Olivier, 1811 (Decapoda: Sicyoniidae in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. PATANIA

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The occurrence of the non-native species Sicyonia lancifer  (Olivier, 1811 belonging to Sicyoniidae family is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea. In the following  paper  the distinguishing features of the species are provided.

  4. Sedimentological imprint on subseafloor microbial communities in Western Mediterranean Sea Quaternary sediments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciobanu, M.-C.; Rabineau, M.; Droz, L.; Révillon, S.; Ghiglione, J.-F.; Dennielou, B.; Jorry, S.-J.; Kallmeyer, J.; Etoubleau, J.; Pignet, P.; Crassous, P.; Vandenabeele-Trambouze, O.; Laugier, J.; Guégan, M.; Godfroy, A.; Alain, K.

    2012-09-01

    An interdisciplinary study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between geological and paleoenvironmental parameters and the bacterial and archaeal community structure of two contrasting subseafloor sites in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Ligurian Sea and Gulf of Lion). Both depositional environments in this area are well-documented from paleoclimatic and paleooceanographic point of views. Available data sets allowed us to calibrate the investigated cores with reference and dated cores previously collected in the same area, and notably correlated to Quaternary climate variations. DNA-based fingerprints showed that the archaeal diversity was composed by one group, Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (MCG), within the Gulf of Lion sediments and of nine different lineages (dominated by MCG, South African Gold Mine Euryarchaeotal Group (SAGMEG) and Halobacteria) within the Ligurian Sea sediments. Bacterial molecular diversity at both sites revealed mostly the presence of the classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria within Proteobacteria phylum, and also members of Bacteroidetes phylum. The second most abundant lineages were Actinobacteria and Firmicutes at the Gulf of Lion site and Chloroflexi at the Ligurian Sea site. Various substrates and cultivation conditions allowed us to isolate 75 strains belonging to four lineages: Alpha-, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. In molecular surveys, the Betaproteobacteria group was consistently detected in the Ligurian Sea sediments, characterized by a heterolithic facies with numerous turbidites from a deep-sea levee. Analysis of relative betaproteobacterial abundances and turbidite frequency suggested that the microbial diversity was a result of main climatic changes occurring during the last 20 ka. Statistical direct multivariate canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) showed that the availability of electron acceptors and the quality of electron donors (indicated by age

  5. Earthquake source parameters along the Hellenic subduction zone and numerical simulations of historical tsunamis in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yolsal-Çevikbilen, Seda; Taymaz, Tuncay

    2012-04-01

    We studied source mechanism parameters and slip distributions of earthquakes with Mw ≥ 5.0 occurred during 2000-2008 along the Hellenic subduction zone by using teleseismic P- and SH-waveform inversion methods. In addition, the major and well-known earthquake-induced Eastern Mediterranean tsunamis (e.g., 365, 1222, 1303, 1481, 1494, 1822 and 1948) were numerically simulated and several hypothetical tsunami scenarios were proposed to demonstrate the characteristics of tsunami waves, propagations and effects of coastal topography. The analogy of current plate boundaries, earthquake source mechanisms, various earthquake moment tensor catalogues and several empirical self-similarity equations, valid for global or local scales, were used to assume conceivable source parameters which constitute the initial and boundary conditions in simulations. Teleseismic inversion results showed that earthquakes along the Hellenic subduction zone can be classified into three major categories: [1] focal mechanisms of the earthquakes exhibiting E-W extension within the overriding Aegean plate; [2] earthquakes related to the African-Aegean convergence; and [3] focal mechanisms of earthquakes lying within the subducting African plate. Normal faulting mechanisms with left-lateral strike slip components were observed at the eastern part of the Hellenic subduction zone, and we suggest that they were probably concerned with the overriding Aegean plate. However, earthquakes involved in the convergence between the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean lithospheres indicated thrust faulting mechanisms with strike slip components, and they had shallow focal depths (h < 45 km). Deeper earthquakes mainly occurred in the subducting African plate, and they presented dominantly strike slip faulting mechanisms. Slip distributions on fault planes showed both complex and simple rupture propagations with respect to the variation of source mechanism and faulting geometry. We calculated low stress drop

  6. Dissolved aluminium in the surface microlayer of the eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Narvekar, P.V.; Singbal, S.Y.S.

    Measurements of dissolved aluminium (Al) in surface microlayer (SML) samples from the eastern Arabian Sea during the southwest (summer) and northwast (winter) monsoon periods have revealed much higher concentrations (23-657 nmol kg sup(-1)) than...

  7. AFSC/ABL: Eastern Bering Sea (BASIS) Coastal Research on Juvenile Salmon

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O....

  8. Reanalysis of biogeochemical properties in the Mediterranean Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cossarini, Gianpiero; Teruzzi, Anna; Salon, Stefano; Solidoro, Cosimo

    2014-05-01

    In the 3D variational (3DVAR) assimilation approach the error covariance matrix can be decomposed in a series of operators. The decomposition makes the 3DVAR particularly suitable for marine biogeochemistry data assimilation, because of the reduced computational costs of the method and its modularity, which allows to define the covariance among the biogeochemical variables in a specific operator. In the present work, the results of 3DVAR assimilation of surface chlorophyll concentration in a multi-annual simulation of the Mediterranean Sea biogeochemistry are presented. The assimilated chlorophyll concentrations are obtained from satellite observations (Volpe et al. 2012). The multi-annual simulation is carried out using the OPATM-BFM model (Lazzari et al. 2012), which describes the low trophic web dynamics and is offline coupled with the MFS physical model (Oddo et al. 2009). In the OPATM-BFM four types of phytoplankton are simulated in terms of their content in carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, silicon and chlorophyll. In the 3DVAR the error covariance matrix has been decomposed in three different operators, which account for the vertical, the horizontal and the biogeochemical covariance (Teruzzi et al. 2014). The biogeochemical operator propagates the result of the assimilation to the OPATM-BFM variables, providing innovation for the components of the four phytoplankton types. The biogeochemical covariance has been designed supposing that the assimilation preserves the physiological status and the relative abundances of phytoplankton types. Practically, the assimilation preserves the internal quotas of the components for each phytoplankton as long as the optimal growth rate condition are maintained. The quotas preservation is not applied when the phytoplankton is in severe declining growth phase, and the correction provided by the assimilation is set equal to zero. Moreover, the relative abundances among the phytoplankton functional types are preserved. The 3DVAR

  9. Assessment of phenols and oil pollution in the eastern Levantine (Winter 1992)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noureddin, S.; Youssef, A.K.; Abousamra, F.; Youssef, H.

    1999-01-01

    Phenols and dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons were determined to assess the level of organic pollution in the waters of the eastern Levantine sea (eastern Mediterranean) and Syrian shoreline. Sampling program was carried out in February 1992. The phenols concentrations were ranged between non detectable values and 0.88 μg/l. The dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons concentrations were averaged from 1 to 37.5 μg/l in the studied seawater, 65.8% of petroleum hydrocarbons samples were ranged between 1 and 10 μg/l. The distribution of phenols and dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons in seawater indicate to be governed by water circulation and external sources. (author)

  10. Geothermal structure of the eastern Black Sea basin and the eastern Pontides orogenic belt: Implications for subduction polarity of Tethys oceanic lithosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nafiz Maden

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The numerical results of thermal modeling studies indicate that the lithosphere is cold and strong beneath the Black Sea basin. The thermal lithospheric thickness increases southward from the eastern Pontides orogenic belt (49.4 km to Black Sea basin (152.2 km. The Moho temperature increases from 367 °C in the trench to 978 °C in the arc region. The heat flow values for the Moho surface change between 16.4 mW m−2 in the Black Sea basin and 56.9 mW m−2 in the eastern Pontides orogenic belt. Along the southern Black Sea coast, the trench region has a relatively low geothermal potential with respect to the arc and back-arc region. The numerical studies support the existence of southward subduction beneath the Pontides during the late Mesozoic–Cenozoic.

  11. New records of five sponge species (Porifera) for the Black Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evcen, Alper; Çinar, Melih Ertan; Zengin, Mustafa; Süer, Serdar; Rüzgar, Melih

    2016-04-13

    The present study deals with five sponge species [Chalinula renieroides, Haliclona (Halichoclona) fulva, H. (Rhizoniera) rosea, Hymedesmia (Hymedesmia) pansa and Ircinia variabilis] belonging to 3 families (Chalinidae, Hymedesmiidae, and Irciniidae) found at one locality (near the opening of Kızılırmak River) on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. All these species are new records for the Black Sea. Three species (Chalinula renieroides, H. (R.) rosea and H. (H.) pansa] are also new records for the marine fauna of Turkey. All these species were previously reported from Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The morphological and distributional features of these species are presented.

  12. Application of ann for predicting water quality parameters in the mediterranean sea along gaza-palestine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaqoot, H.A.; Unar, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    Seawater pollution problems are gaining interest world wide because of their health impacts and other environmental issues. Intense human activities in areas surrounding enclosed and semi-enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean Sea always produce in the long term a strong environmental impact in the form of coastal and marine degradation. This paper is concerned with the use of ANNs (Artificial Neural Networks) MLP ( Multilayer Perceptron) model for the prediction of pH and EC (Electrical Conductivity) in water quality parameters along Gaza city coast. MLP neural networks are trained and developed with reference to three major oceanographic parameters (water temperature, wind speed and turbidity) to predict the values of pH and EC; these parameters are considered as inputs of the neural network. The data collected comprised of four years and collected from nine locations along Gaza coastline. Results show that the model has high capability and accuracy in predicting both parameters. The network performance has been validated with different data sets and the results show satisfactory performance. Results of the developed model have been compared with multiple regression statistical models and found that MLP predictions are slightly better than the conventional methods. Prediction results prove that the proposed approach is suitable for modeling the water quality in the Mediterranean Sea along Gaza. (author)

  13. Dynamics of particle sedimentation in the open NW Mediterranean Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miquel, J.C.; Fowler, S.W.; La Rosa, J.; Stemmann, L.; Chiaverini, J.; Chaabeni, Y.; Marty, J.C.

    1999-01-01

    As part of the DYFAMED program (DYnamique des Flux en MEDiterranee) the downward flux of particles, carbon and other elements has been studied in the open northwestern Mediterranean Sea since 1987. Also, during the last few years biological (primary) production using the in-situ 14 C incubation method has been measured and the vertical distribution of large particulate material and aggregates in the water column assessed by an underwater video profiler in order to relate sedimentation to surface production. The primary objective of the experiment is the observation and prediction of biogeochemical cycles of particles and associated compounds through long-term study in the central Ligurian Sea, where biological productivity ranges from oligotrophic to mesotrophic. Since these characteristics are observed over large areas of the ocean, the DYFAMED site can be considered as a model area. Particle flux is especially important in controlling the vertical transport and cycling of contaminants such as particle reactive radionuclides, metals and organochlorine compounds

  14. Obsolete - AFSC/RACE/Eco-FOCI: 2010 Eastern Bering Sea Juvenile Survey

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data collected on this cruise included the following: We conducted a juvenile fish and benthic fish prey survery in the eastern Bering Sea (61 3-meter beam trawls,...

  15. Temporal and Spatial Variations of Bacterial and Faunal Communities Associated with Deep-Sea Wood Falls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bienhold, Christina; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Rossel, Pamela E.; Boetius, Antje

    2017-01-01

    Sinking of large organic food falls i.e. kelp, wood and whale carcasses to the oligotrophic deep-sea floor promotes the establishment of locally highly productive and diverse ecosystems, often with specifically adapted benthic communities. However, the fragmented spatial distribution and small area poses challenges for the dispersal of their microbial and faunal communities. Our study focused on the temporal dynamics and spatial distributions of sunken wood bacterial communities, which were deployed in the vicinity of different cold seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Norwegian deep-seas. By combining fingerprinting of bacterial communities by ARISA and 454 sequencing with in situ and ex situ biogeochemical measurements, we show that sunken wood logs have a locally confined long-term impact (> 3y) on the sediment geochemistry and community structure. We confirm previous hypotheses of different successional stages in wood degradation including a sulphophilic one, attracting chemosynthetic fauna from nearby seep systems. Wood experiments deployed at similar water depths (1100–1700 m), but in hydrographically different oceanic regions harbored different wood-boring bivalves, opportunistic faunal communities, and chemosynthetic species. Similarly, bacterial communities on sunken wood logs were more similar within one geographic region than between different seas. Diverse sulphate-reducing bacteria of the Deltaproteobacteria, the sulphide-oxidizing bacteria Sulfurovum as well as members of the Acidimicrobiia and Bacteroidia dominated the wood falls in the Eastern Mediterranean, while Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia colonized the Norwegian Sea wood logs. Fauna and bacterial wood-associated communities changed between 1 to 3 years of immersion, with sulphate-reducers and sulphide-oxidizers increasing in proportion, and putative cellulose degraders decreasing with time. Only 6% of all bacterial genera, comprising the core community, were found at any time

  16. Temporal and Spatial Variations of Bacterial and Faunal Communities Associated with Deep-Sea Wood Falls.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Pop Ristova

    Full Text Available Sinking of large organic food falls i.e. kelp, wood and whale carcasses to the oligotrophic deep-sea floor promotes the establishment of locally highly productive and diverse ecosystems, often with specifically adapted benthic communities. However, the fragmented spatial distribution and small area poses challenges for the dispersal of their microbial and faunal communities. Our study focused on the temporal dynamics and spatial distributions of sunken wood bacterial communities, which were deployed in the vicinity of different cold seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Norwegian deep-seas. By combining fingerprinting of bacterial communities by ARISA and 454 sequencing with in situ and ex situ biogeochemical measurements, we show that sunken wood logs have a locally confined long-term impact (> 3y on the sediment geochemistry and community structure. We confirm previous hypotheses of different successional stages in wood degradation including a sulphophilic one, attracting chemosynthetic fauna from nearby seep systems. Wood experiments deployed at similar water depths (1100-1700 m, but in hydrographically different oceanic regions harbored different wood-boring bivalves, opportunistic faunal communities, and chemosynthetic species. Similarly, bacterial communities on sunken wood logs were more similar within one geographic region than between different seas. Diverse sulphate-reducing bacteria of the Deltaproteobacteria, the sulphide-oxidizing bacteria Sulfurovum as well as members of the Acidimicrobiia and Bacteroidia dominated the wood falls in the Eastern Mediterranean, while Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia colonized the Norwegian Sea wood logs. Fauna and bacterial wood-associated communities changed between 1 to 3 years of immersion, with sulphate-reducers and sulphide-oxidizers increasing in proportion, and putative cellulose degraders decreasing with time. Only 6% of all bacterial genera, comprising the core community, were

  17. Cenozoic structures and the tectonic evolution of the eastern North Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, O.R.; Nielsen, S.B.; Egholm, D.L.

    2011-01-01

    Abundant seismic sections and well data from the Cenozoic succession in the eastern North Sea area generally reveal normal faulting, salt tectonics and localized tectonic inversion. However, inferences on the Cenozoic dynamic evolution of the region require thorough analysis of interactions between...... or cover tectonism took place. Our objectives are thus 1) to analyze the interaction between basement and cover structures, and if possible 2) to relate the structures to the regional tectonic evolution. The Zechstein evaporites pinch out onto the Ringkøbing-Fyn High, which in the eastern North Sea...... influencede.g. Miocene deposition and controlled the generation of second order faults. The latter detached along the top Chalk Group due to the topography generated during faulting, i.e. they are second order detachment surfaces. We conclude that the regional tectonic significance of the Cenozoic structures...

  18. A Comparison of Moment Rates for the Eastern Mediterranean Region from Competitive Kinematic Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, E. C.; Ozeren, M. S.; Shen-Tu, B.; Galgana, G. A.

    2017-12-01

    Relatively continuous, complex, and long-lived episodes of tectonic deformation gradually shaped the lithosphere of the eastern Mediterranean region into its present state. This large geodynamically interconnected and seismically active region absorbs, accumulates and transmits strains arising from stresses associated with: (1) steady northward convergence of the Arabian and African plates; (2) differences in lithospheric gravitational potential energy; and (3) basal tractions exerted by subduction along the Hellenic and Cyprus Arcs. Over the last twenty years, numerous kinematic models have been built using a variety of assumptions to take advantage of the extensive and dense GPS observations made across the entire region resulting in a far better characterization of the neotectonic deformation field than ever previously achieved. In this study, three separate horizontal strain rate field solutions obtained from three, region-wide, GPS only based kinematic models (i.e., a regional block model, a regional continuum model, and global continuum model) are utilized to estimate the distribution and uncertainty of geodetic moment rates within the eastern Mediterranean region. The geodetic moment rates from each model are also compared with seismic moment release rates gleaned from historic earthquake data. Moreover, kinematic styles of deformation derived from each of the modeled horizontal strain rate fields are examined for their degree of correlation with earthquake rupture styles defined by proximal centroid moment tensor solutions. This study suggests that significant differences in geodetically obtained moment rates from competitive kinematic models may introduce unforeseen bias into regularly updated, geodetically constrained, regional seismic hazard assessments.

  19. Biomarkers of physiological responses of Octopus vulgaris to different coastal environments in the western Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sillero-Ríos, J; Sureda, A; Capó, X; Oliver-Codorniú, M; Arechavala-Lopez, P

    2018-03-01

    The increase of pollutants in coastal seawater could produce several harmful biological effects on marine organisms related to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causing cellular and tissue damages through oxidative stress mechanisms. Common octopuses (Octopus vulgaris) inhabiting coastal areas under high anthropogenic activity of Mallorca (W-Mediterranean Sea) have the ability to control oxidative damage by triggering antioxidant enzyme responses. Analyzing the digestive glands, octopuses from human-altered coastal areas showed higher activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) compared to octopuses from non-influenced coastal waters (i.e. marine reserve area). Higher metallothionein (MT) concentrations and lack of malondialdehyde (MDA) variations also reflect adaptations of O. vulgaris to polluted areas. This is the first study assessing the levels of the oxidative stress biomarkers on O. vulgaris in the Mediterranean Sea, revealing their usefulness to assess diverse environmental pollution effects on this relevant ecological and commercial species.

  20. The major tectonic boundaries of the Northern Red Sea rift, Egypt derived from geophysical data analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleh, Salah; Pamukçu, Oya; Brimich, Ladislav

    2017-09-01

    In the present study, we have attempted to map the plate boundary between Arabia and Africa at the Northern Red Sea rift region including the Suez rift, Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform and southeastern Mediterranean region by using gravity data analysis. In the boundary analysis method which was used; low-pass filtered gravity anomalies of the Northern Red Sea rift region were computed. Different crustal types and thicknesses, sediment thicknesses and different heat flow anomalies were evaluated. According to the results, there are six subzones (crustal blocks) separated from each other by tectonic plate boundaries and/or lineaments. It seems that these tectonic boundaries reveal complex structural lineaments, which are mostly influenced by a predominant set of NNW-SSE to NW-SE trending lineaments bordering the Red Sea and Suez rift regions. On the other side, the E-W and N-S to NNE-SSW trended lineaments bordering the South-eastern Mediterranean, Northern Sinai and Aqaba-Dead Sea transform regions, respectively. The analysis of the low pass filtered Bouguer anomaly maps reveals that the positive regional anomaly over both the Red Sea rift and South-eastern Mediterranean basin subzones are considered to be caused by the high density of the oceanic crust and/or the anomalous upper mantle structures beneath these regions whereas, the broad medium anomalies along the western half of Central Sinai with the Suez rift and the Eastern Desert subzones are attributed to low-density sediments of the Suez rift and/or the thick upper continental crustal thickness below these zones. There are observable negative anomalies over the Northern Arabia subzone, particularly in the areas covered by Cenozoic volcanics. These negative anomalies may be attributed to both the low densities of the surface volcanics and/or to a very thick upper continental crust. On the contrary, the negative anomaly which belongs to the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform zone is due to crustal thickening

  1. Ethnobotany of medicinal plants used in Eastern Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Mediterranean Sea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrió, Esperança; Vallès, Joan

    2012-06-14

    This paper represents the first large-scale ethnobotanical study in the island of Mallorca, and provides significant information on pharmaceutical plant uses, built up from interviews with native people from this touristic hotspot, demonstrating its ethnopharmacological importance. To collect, analyse and evaluate the ethnobotanical knowledge concerning medicinal plants in a north-eastern Mallorcan area (municipalities of Artà, Capdepera and Son Servera; 298 km2, 31,764 inhabitants). We performed semi-structured interviews with 42 informants (mean age 77; 40% women, 60% men), identified the plant taxa reported and analysed the results, comparing them with those found in the current Mallorcan ethnobotanical information and in other territories. The informants reported data on 121 human medicinal plants representing 64 botanical families. Around 45 medicinal uses reported, concerning 37 species, have not or have very rarely been cited as medicinal. An index of medicinal importance is proposed. All efforts addressed to compiling ethnobotanical information in industrialised or touristised areas such as Eastern Mallorca are still valuable. New possibilities can be explored to give practical value to Mallorcan ethnobotanical data in the frame of considering traditional plant knowledge as part of the islanders’ lifestyle and healthy habits.

  2. Observing System Simulation Experiments for the assessment of temperature sampling strategies in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Raicich

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available For the first time in the Mediterranean Sea various temperature sampling strategies are studied and compared to each other by means of the Observing System Simulation Experiment technique. Their usefulness in the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System (MFS is assessed by quantifying their impact in a Mediterranean General Circulation Model in numerical twin experiments via univariate data assimilation of temperature profiles in summer and winter conditions. Data assimilation is performed by means of the optimal interpolation algorithm implemented in the SOFA (System for Ocean Forecasting and Analysis code. The sampling strategies studied here include various combinations of eXpendable BathyThermograph (XBT profiles collected along Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS tracks, Airborne XBTs (AXBTs and sea surface temperatures. The actual sampling strategy adopted in the MFS Pilot Project during the Targeted Operational Period (TOP, winter-spring 2000 is also studied. The data impact is quantified by the error reduction relative to the free run. The most effective sampling strategies determine 25–40% error reduction, depending on the season, the geographic area and the depth range. A qualitative relationship can be recognized in terms of the spread of information from the data positions, between basin circulation features and spatial patterns of the error reduction fields, as a function of different spatial and seasonal characteristics of the dynamics. The largest error reductions are observed when samplings are characterized by extensive spatial coverages, as in the cases of AXBTs and the combination of XBTs and surface temperatures. The sampling strategy adopted during the TOP is characterized by little impact, as a consequence of a sampling frequency that is too low. Key words. Oceanography: general (marginal and semi-enclosed seas; numerical modelling

  3. Observing System Simulation Experiments for the assessment of temperature sampling strategies in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Raicich

    Full Text Available For the first time in the Mediterranean Sea various temperature sampling strategies are studied and compared to each other by means of the Observing System Simulation Experiment technique. Their usefulness in the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System (MFS is assessed by quantifying their impact in a Mediterranean General Circulation Model in numerical twin experiments via univariate data assimilation of temperature profiles in summer and winter conditions. Data assimilation is performed by means of the optimal interpolation algorithm implemented in the SOFA (System for Ocean Forecasting and Analysis code. The sampling strategies studied here include various combinations of eXpendable BathyThermograph (XBT profiles collected along Volunteer Observing Ship (VOS tracks, Airborne XBTs (AXBTs and sea surface temperatures. The actual sampling strategy adopted in the MFS Pilot Project during the Targeted Operational Period (TOP, winter-spring 2000 is also studied.

    The data impact is quantified by the error reduction relative to the free run. The most effective sampling strategies determine 25–40% error reduction, depending on the season, the geographic area and the depth range. A qualitative relationship can be recognized in terms of the spread of information from the data positions, between basin circulation features and spatial patterns of the error reduction fields, as a function of different spatial and seasonal characteristics of the dynamics. The largest error reductions are observed when samplings are characterized by extensive spatial coverages, as in the cases of AXBTs and the combination of XBTs and surface temperatures. The sampling strategy adopted during the TOP is characterized by little impact, as a consequence of a sampling frequency that is too low.

    Key words. Oceanography: general (marginal and semi-enclosed seas; numerical modelling

  4. Organic pollution and its effects in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in Eastern Mediterranean coasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasiotis, Konstantinos M; Emmanouil, Christina; Anastasiadou, Pelagia; Papadi-Psyllou, Asimina; Papadopoulos, Antonis; Okay, Oya; Machera, Kyriaki

    2015-01-01

    Persistent chemicals and emerging pollutants are continuously detected in marine waters and biota. Out of these, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCs) are significant contaminants with decades of presence in the marine environment. The Mediterranean Sea is an ecosystem directly affected by a variety of anthropogenic activities including industry, municipal, touristic, commercial and agricultural. The Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) is a filter feeder, which presents wide distribution. In this regard, the specific organism was used as a biological indicator for the monitoring and evaluation of pollution in the studied areas with focus on the mentioned chemical groups. Pristine Turkish sites with minimum effect from anthropogenic activities, in contrast with Greek sites which were subjected to heavy industrial and shipping activity, were selected. A gas chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric method (GC-MS/MS) was developed and validated to monitor 34 compounds (16 EPA priority PAHs and 18 OCs). Analyses of mussel samples in 2011 from sites with the limited anthropogenic pollution shores have shown the occurrence of 11 pollutants (6 PAHs, 5 OCs), while in the samples from sites with intensive activity and expected pollution, 12 PAHs and 6 OCs were detected. Biochemical and biological responses studied only in mussels samples from the sites with the highest contamination showed a situation that was under strong seasonal influence. The intensity of the response was also influenced by deployment duration. Noteworthy correlations were detected among biochemical/biological effects and between mussel body burden and these effects. Continuous monitoring of priority pollutants of East Mediterranean Sea is vital both for ecological and human risk assessment purposes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Jawaldeh, Ayoub; Sayed, Ghada

    2018-04-05

    Optimal breastfeeding practices and appropriate complementary feeding improve child health, survival and development. The countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region have made significant strides in formulation and implementation of legislation to protect and promote breastfeeding based on The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the Code) and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly resolutions. To assess the implementation of the Code in the Region. Assessment was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean using a WHO standard questionnaire. Seventeen countries in the Region have enacted legislation to protect breastfeeding. Only 6 countries have comprehensive legislation or other legal measures reflecting all or most provisions of the Code; 4 countries have legal measures incorporating many provisions of the Code; 7 countries have legal measures that contain a few provisions of the Code; 4 countries are currently studying the issue; and only 1 country has no measures in place. Further analysis of the legislation found that the text of articles in the laws fully reflected the Code articles in only 6 countries. Most countries need to revisit and amend existing national legislation to implement fully the Code and relevant World Health Assembly resolutions, supported by systematic monitoring and reporting. Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).

  6. Frontal dynamics boost primary production in the summer stratified Mediterranean sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olita, Antonio; Capet, Arthur; Claret, Mariona; Mahadevan, Amala; Poulain, Pierre Marie; Ribotti, Alberto; Ruiz, Simón; Tintoré, Joaquín; Tovar-Sánchez, Antonio; Pascual, Ananda

    2017-06-01

    Bio-physical glider measurements from a unique process-oriented experiment in the Eastern Alboran Sea (AlborEx) allowed us to observe the distribution of the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) across an intense density front, with a resolution (˜ 400 m) suitable for investigating sub-mesoscale dynamics. This front, at the interface between Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, had a sharp density gradient (Δ ρ ˜ 1 kg/m3 in ˜ 10 km) and showed imprints of (sub-)mesoscale phenomena on tracer distributions. Specifically, the chlorophyll-a concentration within the DCM showed a disrupted pattern along isopycnal surfaces, with patches bearing a relationship to the stratification (buoyancy frequency) at depths between 30 and 60 m. In order to estimate the primary production (PP) rate within the chlorophyll patches observed at the sub-surface, we applied the Morel and Andrè (J Geophys Res 96:685-698 1991) bio-optical model using the photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) from Argo profiles collected simultaneously with glider data. The highest production was located concurrently with domed isopycnals on the fresh side of the front, suggestive that (sub-)mesoscale upwelling is carrying phytoplankton patches from less to more illuminated levels, with a contemporaneous delivering of nutrients. Integrated estimations of PP (1.3 g C m-2d-1) along the glider path are two to four times larger than the estimations obtained from satellite-based algorithms, i.e., derived from the 8-day composite fields extracted over the glider trip path. Despite the differences in spatial and temporal sampling between instruments, the differences in PP estimations are mainly due to the inability of the satellite to measure DCM patches responsible for the high production. The deepest (depth > 60 m) chlorophyll patches are almost unproductive and probably transported passively (subducted) from upper productive layers. Finally, the relationship between primary production and oxygen is also investigated

  7. Single particle analysis of eastern Mediterranean aerosol particles: Influence of the source region on the chemical composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemen, Hans-Christian; Schneider, Johannes; Köllner, Franziska; Klimach, Thomas; Pikridas, Michael; Stavroulas, Iasonas; Sciare, Jean; Borrmann, Stephan

    2017-04-01

    The Mediterranean region is one of the most climatically sensitive areas and is influenced by air masses of different origin. Aerosol particles are one important factor contributing to the Earth's radiative forcing, but knowledge about their composition and sources is still limited. Here, we report on results from the INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS campaign, which was conducted at the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory (CAO, Agia Marina Xyliatou) in Cyprus in April 2016. Our results show that the chemical composition of the aerosol particles in the eastern Mediterranean is strongly dependent on their source region. The composition of particles in a size range between 150 nm and 3 μm was measured using the Aircraft-based Laser ABlation Aerosol MAss spectrometer (ALABAMA), which is a single particle laser ablation instrument using a bipolar time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The mass spectral information on cations and anions allow for the analysis of different molecular fragments. The information about the source regions results from backward trajectories using HYSPLIT Trajectory Model (Trajectory Ensemble) on hourly basis. To assess the influence of certain source regions on the air masses arriving at CAO, we consider the number of trajectories that crossed the respective source region within defined time steps. For a more detailed picture also the height and the velocity of the air masses during their overpass above the source regions will be considered. During the campaign at CAO in April 2016 three main air mass source regions were observed: 1) Northern Central Europe, likely with an enhanced anthropogenic influence (e.g. sulfate and black carbon from combustion processes, fly ash particles from power plants, characterized by Sr and Ba), 2) Southwest Europe, with a higher influence of the Mediterranean Sea including sea salt particles (characterized by, e.g., NaxCly, NaClxNOy), 3) Northern Africa/Sahara, with air masses that are expected to have a higher load of mineral dust

  8. Sabellaria spinulosa (Polychaeta, Annelida) reefs in the Mediterranean Sea: Habitat mapping, dynamics and associated fauna for conservation management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravina, Maria Flavia; Cardone, Frine; Bonifazi, Andrea; Bertrandino, Marta Simona; Chimienti, Giovanni; Longo, Caterina; Marzano, Carlotta Nonnis; Moretti, Massimo; Lisco, Stefania; Moretti, Vincenzo; Corriero, Giuseppe; Giangrande, Adriana

    2018-01-01

    Bio-constructions by Sabellaria worms play a key functional role in the coastal ecosystems being an engineer organism and for this reason are the object of protection. The most widespread reef building species along Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts is S. alveolata (L.), while the aggregations of S. spinulosa are typically limited to the North Sea coasts. This paper constitutes the first detailed description of unusual large S. spinulosa reefs in the Mediterranean Sea. Defining current health status and evaluating the most important threats and impacts is essential to address conservation needs and design management plans for these large biogenic structures. Present knowledge on Mediterranean reefs of S. alveolata is fragmentary compared to Northeast Atlantic reefs, and concerning S. spinulosa, this paper represents a focal point in the knowledge on Mediterranean reefs of this species. A one-year study on temporal changes in reef structure and associated fauna is reported. The annual cycle of S. spinulosa reef shows a spawning event in winter-early spring, a period of growth and tubes aggregation from spring-early summer to autumn and a degeneration phase in winter. The variations exhibited in density of the worm aggregation and the changes in the reef elevation highlight a decline and regeneration of the structure over a year. The many ecological roles of the S. spinulosa reef were mainly in providing a diversity of microhabitats hosting hard and sandy bottom species, sheltering rare species, and producing biogenic structures able to provide coastal protection. The Mediterranean S. spinulosa reef does not shelter a distinctive associated fauna; however the richness in species composition underscores the importance of the reef as a biodiversity hot-spot. Finally, the roles of the biogenic formations and their important biotic and physical dynamics support the adoption of strategies for conservation of Mediterranean S.spinulosa reefs, according to the aims of the

  9. A massive update of non-indigenous species records in Mediterranean marinas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aylin Ulman

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The Mediterranean Sea is home to over 2/3 of the world’s charter boat traffic and hosts an estimated 1.5 million recreational boats. Studies elsewhere have demonstrated marinas as important hubs for the stepping-stone transfer of non-indigenous species (NIS, but these unique anthropogenic, and typically artificial habitats have largely gone overlooked in the Mediterranean as sources of NIS hot-spots. From April 2015 to November 2016, 34 marinas were sampled across the following Mediterranean countries: Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus to investigate the NIS presence and richness in the specialized hard substrate material of these marina habitats. All macroinvertebrate taxa were collected and identified. Additionally, fouling samples were collected from approximately 600 boat-hulls from 25 of these marinas to determine if boats host diverse NIS not present in the marina. Here, we present data revealing that Mediterranean marinas indeed act as major hubs for the transfer of marine NIS, and we also provide evidence that recreational boats act as effective vectors of spread. From this wide-ranging geographical study, we report here numerous new NIS records at the basin, subregional, country and locality level. At the basin level, we report three NIS new to the Mediterranean Sea (Achelia sawayai sensu lato, Aorides longimerus, Cymodoce aff. fuscina, and the re-appearance of two NIS previously known but currently considered extinct in the Mediterranean (Bemlos leptocheirus, Saccostrea glomerata. We also compellingly update the distributions of many NIS in the Mediterranean Sea showing some recent spreading; we provide details for 11 new subregional records for NIS (Watersipora arcuata, Hydroides brachyacantha sensu lato and Saccostrea glomerata now present in the Western Mediterranean; Symplegma brakenhielmi, Stenothoe georgiana, Spirobranchus tertaceros sensu lato, Dendostrea folium sensu lato and Parasmittina egyptiaca now

  10. A massive update of non-indigenous species records in Mediterranean marinas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulman, Aylin; Ferrario, Jasmine; Occhpinti-Ambrogi, Anna; Arvanitidis, Christos; Bandi, Ada; Bertolino, Marco; Bogi, Cesare; Chatzigeorgiou, Giorgos; Çiçek, Burak Ali; Deidun, Alan; Ramos-Esplá, Alfonso; Koçak, Cengiz; Lorenti, Maurizio; Martinez-Laiz, Gemma; Merlo, Guenda; Princisgh, Elisa; Scribano, Giovanni; Marchini, Agnese

    2017-01-01

    The Mediterranean Sea is home to over 2/3 of the world's charter boat traffic and hosts an estimated 1.5 million recreational boats. Studies elsewhere have demonstrated marinas as important hubs for the stepping-stone transfer of non-indigenous species (NIS), but these unique anthropogenic, and typically artificial habitats have largely gone overlooked in the Mediterranean as sources of NIS hot-spots. From April 2015 to November 2016, 34 marinas were sampled across the following Mediterranean countries: Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus to investigate the NIS presence and richness in the specialized hard substrate material of these marina habitats. All macroinvertebrate taxa were collected and identified. Additionally, fouling samples were collected from approximately 600 boat-hulls from 25 of these marinas to determine if boats host diverse NIS not present in the marina. Here, we present data revealing that Mediterranean marinas indeed act as major hubs for the transfer of marine NIS, and we also provide evidence that recreational boats act as effective vectors of spread. From this wide-ranging geographical study, we report here numerous new NIS records at the basin, subregional, country and locality level. At the basin level, we report three NIS new to the Mediterranean Sea ( Achelia sawayai sensu lato , Aorides longimerus , Cymodoce aff. fuscina ), and the re-appearance of two NIS previously known but currently considered extinct in the Mediterranean ( Bemlos leptocheirus, Saccostrea glomerata ). We also compellingly update the distributions of many NIS in the Mediterranean Sea showing some recent spreading; we provide details for 11 new subregional records for NIS ( Watersipora arcuata , Hydroides brachyacantha sensu lato and Saccostrea glomerata now present in the Western Mediterranean; Symplegma brakenhielmi , Stenothoe georgiana , Spirobranchus tertaceros sensu lato , Dendostrea folium sensu lato and Parasmittina egyptiaca now present in

  11. Macro- and megafauna recorded in the submarine Bari Canyon (southern Adriatic, Mediterranean Sea using different tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. D'ONGHIA

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Macro- and megafauna were recorded in the submarine Bari Canyon (southern Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea during an oceanographic cruise carried out in May-June 2012 and an experimental fishing survey conducted in November 2013. During the former, a total of 20 benthic samples were taken using a Van Veen grab at depths between 268 and 770 m and 4 deployments of a baited lander, for about 43 hours of video records, were carried out at depths between 443 and 788 m. During the latter, 8 longline fishing operations were conducted from 338 down to 612 m. Eighty-five living benthic and benthopelagic species were recorded: 29 Porifera, 1 Cnidaria, 2 Mollusca, 11 Annelida, 1 Arthropoda, 19 Bryozoa, 3 Echinodermata and 19 Chordata. A total of 51 species are new records for the Bari Canyon, 29 new records for the Adriatic Sea. Among the Porifera Cerbaris curvispiculifer is a new addition for the Italian Sponge Fauna. The first certain record of living specimens for the bryozoan Crisia tenella longinodata is reported. A total of 6 Mediterranean endemic species have been identified: 4 Porifera and 2 Annelida. The bathymetric range of some species has been extended. New information acquired for deep sea species confirms their importance in the structure of cold-water coral communities. This study has updated the knowledge on the biodiversity of the Adriatic Sea, as well as of the Bari Canyon in particular, one of the sites designated as “jewels of the Mediterranean” for which urgent conservation measures are needed.

  12. Assessment of sediment quality in the Mediterranean Sea-Boughrara lagoon exchange areas (southeastern Tunisia): GIS approach-based chemometric methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kharroubi, Adel; Gargouri, Dorra; Baati, Houda; Azri, Chafai

    2012-06-01

    Concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe) in surface sediments from 66 sites in both northern and eastern Mediterranean Sea-Boughrara lagoon exchange areas (southeastern Tunisia) were studied in order to understand current metal contamination due to the urbanization and economic development of nearby several coastal regions of the Gulf of Gabès. Multiple approaches were applied for the sediment quality assessment. These approaches were based on GIS coupled with chemometric methods (enrichment factors, geoaccumulation index, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis). Enrichment factors and principal component analysis revealed two distinct groups of metals. The first group corresponded to Fe and Mn derived from natural sources, and the second group contained Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu originated from man-made sources. For these latter metals, cluster analysis showed two distinct distributions in the selected areas. They were attributed to temporal and spatial variations of contaminant sources input. The geoaccumulation index (I (geo)) values explained that only Cd, Pb, and Cu can be considered as moderate to extreme pollutants in the studied sediments.

  13. Nanoplankton protists from the western Mediterranean Sea. II. Cryptomonads (Cryptophyceae = Crptomonadea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianfranco Novarino

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an electron microscopical account of cryptomonad flagellates (Cryptophyceae = Cryptomonadea in the plankton of the western Mediterranean Sea. Bottle samples collected during the spring-summer of 1998 in the Sea of Alboran and Barcelona coastal waters contained a total of eleven photosynthetic species: Chroomonas (sensu auctorum sp., Cryptochloris sp., 3 species of Hemiselmis, 3 species of Plagioselmis including Plagioselmis nordica stat. nov/sp. nov., Rhinomonas reticulata (Lucas Novarino, Teleaulax acuta (Butcher Hill, and Teleaulax amphioxeia (Conrad Hill. Identification was based largely on cell surface features, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM. Cells were either dispersed in the water-column or associated with suspended particulate matter (SPM. Plagioselmis prolonga was the most common species both in the water-column and in association with SPM, suggesting that it might be a key primary producer of carbon. Taxonomic keys are given based on SEM.

  14. Variations in swells along Eastern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Johnson, G.; SanilKumar, V.; Sanjiv, P.C.; Singh, J.; Pednekar, P.S.; AshokKumar, K.; Dora, G.U.; Gowthaman, R.

    A study was carried out to find the variation in wave characteristics along the eastern Arabian Sea and the influence of swells in the nearshore waves at 3 locations during summer monsoon in 2010. Percentage of swells in the measured waves was 75...

  15. Trace elements release from volcanic ash to seawater. Natural concentrations in Central Mediterranean sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randazzo, L. A.; Censi, P.; Saiano, F.; Zuddas, P.; Aricò, P.; Mazzola, S.

    2009-04-01

    Distributions and concentrations of many minor and trace elements in epicontinental basins, as Mediterranean Sea, are mainly driven to atmospheric fallout from surroundings. This mechanism supplies an estimated yearly flux of about 1000 kg km-2 of terrigenous matter of different nature on the whole Mediterranean basin. Dissolution of these materials and processes occurring at solid-liquid interface along the water column drive the distributions of many trace elements as V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, and Pb with contents ranging from pmol l-1 (Co, Cd, Pb) to nmol l-1 scale in Mediterranean seawater, with some local differences in the basin. The unwinding of an oceanographic cruise in the coastal waters of Ionian Sea during the Etna's eruptive activity in summer 2001 led to the almost unique chance to test the effects of large delivery of volcanic ash to a coastal sea water system through the analyses of distribution of selected trace elements along several seawater columns. The collection of these waters and their analyses about V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, and Pb contents evidenced trace element concentrations were always higher (about 1 order of magnitude at least) than those measured concentrations in the recent past in Mediterranean seawater, apart from Pb. Progressive increase of concentrations of some elements with depth, sometimes changing in a "conservative" behaviour without any clear reason and the observed higher concentrations required an investigation about interaction processes occurring at solid-liquid interface between volcanic ash and seawater along water columns. This investigation involving kinetic evaluation of trace element leaching to seawater, was carried out during a 6 months time period under laboratory conditions. X-ray investigations, SEM-EDS observations and analyses on freshly-erupted volcanic ash evidenced formation of alteration clay minerals onto glass fraction surfaces. Chemical analyses carried out on coexisting liquid phase demonstrated that trace

  16. Pediatric jellyfish envenomation in the Mediterranean Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glatstein, Miguel; Adir, Dikla; Galil, Bella; Scolnik, Dennis; Rimon, Ayelet; Pivko-Levy, Dikla; Hoyte, Christopher

    2017-06-20

    Several species of jellyfish native to the western Indian Ocean have entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. Since the late 1980s, each summer Rhopilema nomadica forms swarms as long as 100 km in the southeastern Levant and since the millennium aggregations of additional nonnative jellyfish have been sighted. The aim of this study was to evaluate children seen in the emergency department after jellyfish envenomations and to establish patterns of toxicity associated with this organism. A retrospective chart review was performed of all children presenting after jellyfish envenomations to the pediatric emergency department during the jellyfish swarming seasons (June-August) between 2010 and 2015. Extracted data included age, location of envenomation, pain scores, local and systemic manifestations, treatment provided in the emergency department and hospital, and disposition. Forty-one patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria; their ages ranged from 1 to 16 years and the median age was 9.4 years. Clinical manifestations were evident in all patients. Pain, present in 100% of patients, and an erythematous, whip-like, linear rash present in 87.8%, were the most common manifestations. The majority of 'burns' associated with jellyfish stings were first and second degree. The upper limb was affected in 34% and the lower limb was affected in 61% of cases. One patient suffered a sting to the abdomen and three patients suffered a sting to the face. Treatment in the emergency department included pain control, with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opiates, and antihistamines and topical corticosteroids in some cases. Nearly 49% of patients were seen during the summer of 2015 alone and seven patients in this group needed hospitalization. Reasons for hospitalization included systemic symptoms such as fever, chills, tachycardia, and muscle spasms. Two patients developed severe cellulitis, one patient had an anaphylactic reaction, and one was admitted to the

  17. Otolith atlas for the western Mediterranean, north and central eastern Atlantic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor M. Tuset

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The sagittal otolith of 348 species, belonging to 99 families and 22 orders of marine Teleostean fishes from the north and central eastern Atlantic and western Mediterranean were described using morphological and morphometric characters. The morphological descriptions were based on the otolith shape, outline and sulcus acusticus features. The morphometric parameters determined were otolith length (OL, mm, height (OH, mm, perimeter (P; mm and area (A; mm2 and were expressed in terms of shape indices as circularity (P2/A, rectangularity (A/(OL×OH, aspect ratio (OH/OL; % and OL/fish size. The present Atlas provides information that complements the characterization of some ichthyologic taxa. In addition, it constitutes an important instrument for species identification using sagittal otoliths collected in fossiliferous layers, in archaeological sites or in feeding remains of bony fish predators.

  18. Evidence of high genetic connectivity for the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. KOUSTENI

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Squalus blainville is one of the least studied Mediterranean shark species. Despite being intensively fished in several locations, biological knowledge is limited and no genetic structure information is available. This is the first study to examine the genetic structure of S. blainville in the Mediterranean Sea. Considering the high dispersal potential inferred for other squalid sharks, the hypothesis of panmixia was tested based on a 585 bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene from 107 individuals and six nuclear microsatellite loci from 577 individuals. Samples were collected across the Ionian, Aegean and Libyan Seas and off the Balearic Islands. Twenty three additional sequences of Mediterranean and South African origin were retrieved from GenBank and included in the mitochondrial DNA analysis. The overall haplotype diversity was high, in contrast to the low nucleotide diversity. Low and non-significant pairwise ΦST and FST values along with a Bayesian cluster analysis suggested high connectivity with subsequent genetic homogeneity among the populations studied, and thus a high dispersal potential for S. blainville similar to other squalids. The historical demography of the species was also assessed, revealing a pattern of population expansion since the middle Pleistocene. These findings could be considered in species-specific conservation plans, although sampling over a larger spatial scale and more genetic markers are required to fully elucidate the genetic structure and dispersal potential of S. blainville.

  19. Vulnerability of marginal seas to sea level rise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomis, Damia; Jordà, Gabriel

    2017-04-01

    Sea level rise (SLR) is a serious thread for coastal areas and has a potential negative impact on society and economy. SLR can lead for instance to land loss, beach reduction, increase of the damage of marine storms on coastal infrastructures and to the salinization of underground water streams. It is well acknowledged that future SLR will be inhomogeneous across the globe, with regional differences of up to 100% with respect to global mean sea level (GMSL). Several studies have addressed the projections of SLR at regional scale, but most of them are based on global climate models (GCMs) that have a relatively coarse spatial resolution (>1°). In marginal seas this has proven to be a strong limitation, as their particular configurations require spatial resolutions that are not reachable by present GCMs. A paradigmatic case is the Mediterranean Sea, connected to the global ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, a narrow passage of 14 km width. The functioning of the Mediterranean Sea involves a variety of processes including an overturning circulation, small-scale convection and a rich mesoscale field. Moreover, the long-term evolution of Mediterranean sea level has been significantly different from the global mean during the last decades. The observations of present climate and the projections for the next decades have lead some authors to hypothesize that the particular characteristics of the basin could allow Mediterranean mean sea level to evolve differently from the global mean. Assessing this point is essential to undertake proper adaptation strategies for the largely populated Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work we apply a new approach that combines regional and global projections to analyse future SLR. In a first step we focus on the quantification of the expected departures of future Mediterranean sea level from GMSL evolution and on the contribution of different processes to these departures. As a result we find that, in spite of its particularities

  20. Separated Children’s Migration in the Mediterranean Sea. An Ethnohistorical Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Giovanni, Elisabetta

    2016-09-01

    In the imaginary of Italian people, the Island of Lampedusa (Italy) has always been considered a paradise destination for summer holidays. The beauty of this small island at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, far from big harbors and cities, with its rich biodiversity and unspoilt nature, has made it a national and international tourist attraction. However, in recent years its name become associated with scenes of tragic, desperate journeys made by people of different origins trying to reach Europe from North African coasts. This shift exists not only in Italian people’s perception, but also all over the world, as the news related to Lampedusa and other Italian areas affected by this phenomenon often finds a place in major foreign newspapers. Even if migrants have been reaching Italian (and, more generally, South European) coasts for the last 20 years, the date of 3 October 2013 constitutes a significant turning point, as the shipwreck that occurred on this day lead to numerous deaths and the Italian coast guard has been accused of an unsuccessful, belated rescue of the people on the vessel. In recent months the number of people, especially unaccompanied children, arriving by boat has increased. Most of them are fleeing from wars and persecution, and even if they are aware of the risk of crossing the Mediterranean Sea, they still decide to try. The paper presents the results of an ethnographic research conducted with unaccompanied and separated children in Sicily, in order to point out their oral memories.

  1. Sedimentological imprint on subseafloor microbial communities in Western Mediterranean Sea Quaternary sediments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.-C. Ciobanu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available An interdisciplinary study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between geological and paleoenvironmental parameters and the bacterial and archaeal community structure of two contrasting subseafloor sites in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Ligurian Sea and Gulf of Lion. Both depositional environments in this area are well-documented from paleoclimatic and paleooceanographic point of views. Available data sets allowed us to calibrate the investigated cores with reference and dated cores previously collected in the same area, and notably correlated to Quaternary climate variations. DNA-based fingerprints showed that the archaeal diversity was composed by one group, Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (MCG, within the Gulf of Lion sediments and of nine different lineages (dominated by MCG, South African Gold Mine Euryarchaeotal Group (SAGMEG and Halobacteria within the Ligurian Sea sediments. Bacterial molecular diversity at both sites revealed mostly the presence of the classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria within Proteobacteria phylum, and also members of Bacteroidetes phylum. The second most abundant lineages were Actinobacteria and Firmicutes at the Gulf of Lion site and Chloroflexi at the Ligurian Sea site. Various substrates and cultivation conditions allowed us to isolate 75 strains belonging to four lineages: Alpha-, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. In molecular surveys, the Betaproteobacteria group was consistently detected in the Ligurian Sea sediments, characterized by a heterolithic facies with numerous turbidites from a deep-sea levee. Analysis of relative betaproteobacterial abundances and turbidite frequency suggested that the microbial diversity was a result of main climatic changes occurring during the last 20 ka. Statistical direct multivariate canonical correspondence

  2. New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (October, 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. KATSANEVAKIS

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The Collective Article ‘New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records’ of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article is divided in two parts, for records of alien and native species respectively. The new records of alien species include: the red alga Asparagopsis taxiformis (Crete and Lakonicos Gulf (Greece; the red alga Grateloupia turuturu (along the Israeli Mediterranean shore; the mantis shrimp Clorida albolitura (Gulf of Antalya, Turkey; the mud crab Dyspanopeus sayi (Mar Piccolo of Taranto, Ionian Sea; the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Chios Island, Greece; the isopod Paracerceis sculpta (northern Aegean Sea, Greece; the sea urchin Diadema setosum (Gökova Bay, Turkey; the molluscs Smaragdia souverbiana, Murex forskoehlii, Fusinus verrucosus, Circenita callipyga, and Aplysia dactylomela (Syria; the cephalaspidean mollusc Haminoea cyanomarginata (Baia di Puolo, Massa Lubrense, Campania, southern Italy; the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Civitavecchia, Tyrrhenian Sea; the fangtooth moray Enchelycore anatine (Plemmirio marine reserve, Sicily; the silver-cheeked toadfish Lagocephalus sceleratus (Saros Bay, Turkey; and Ibiza channel, Spain; the Indo-Pacific ascidian Herdmania momusin Kastelorizo Island (Greece; and the foraminiferal Clavulina multicam erata (Saronikos Gulf, Greece. The record of L. sceleratus in Spain consists the deepest (350-400m depth record of the species in the Mediterranean Sea. The new records of native species include: first record of the ctenophore Cestum veneris in Turkish marine waters; the presence of Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii in the Bay of Igoumenitsa (Greece; the first recorded sighting of the bull ray Pteromylaeus bovinus in Maltese waters; and a new record of the fish Lobotes surinamensis from Maliakos Gulf.

  3. Impact of life history traits on gene flow: A multispecies systematic review across oceanographic barriers in the Mediterranean Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Pascual, Marta

    2017-05-10

    Marine species can demonstrate strong genetic differentiation and population structure despite the hypothesis of open seas and high connectivity. Some suggested drivers causing the genetic breaks are oceanographic barriers and the species\\' biology. We assessed the relevance of seven major oceanographic fronts on species connectivity while considering their dispersal capacity and life strategy.We systematically reviewed the scientific articles reporting population genetic differentiation along the Mediterranean Sea and across the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition. We retained those considering at least one sampling locality at each side of an oceanographic front, and at least two localities with no-front between them to correctly assess the effect of the front. To estimate the impact of life history characteristics affecting connectivity we considered the planktonic larval duration (PLD) and adult life strategy.Oceanographic barriers in the Mediterranean Sea seem to reduce gene flow globally; however, this effect is not homogeneous considering the life history traits of the species. The effect of the oceanographic fronts reduces gene flow in highly mobile species with PLD larger than 2-4 weeks. Benthic sessile species and/or with short PLD (< 2 weeks) have more significant genetic breaks between localities than species with higher motility; however, genetic differentiation occurs independently of the presence of a front.Genetic connectivity is important for populations to recover from anthropogenic or natural impacts. We show that species with low mobility, mostly habitat-formers, have high genetic differentiation but low gene flow reduction mediated by the front, therefore, considering the importance of these species, we emphasize the vulnerability of the Mediterranean ecosystems and the necessity of protection strategies based on the whole ecosystem.

  4. New Mediterranean Marine biodiversity records (June 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. SIOKOU

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper concerns records of species that have extended their distribution in the Mediterranean Sea. The finding of the rare brackish angiosperm Althenia filiformis in the island of Cyprus is interesting since its insertion in the Red Data Book of the Flora of Cyprus is suggested. The following species enriched the flora or fauna lists of the relevant countries: the red alga Sebdenia dichotoma (Greece, the hydrachnid mite Pontarachna adriatica (Slovenia, and the thalassinid Gebiacantha talismani (Turkey. Several alien species were recorded in new Mediterranean localities. The record of the burrowing goby Trypauchen vagina in the North Levantine Sea (Turkish coast, suggests the start of spreading of this Lessepsian immigrant in the Mediterranean Sea. The findings of the following species indicate the extension of their occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea: the foraminifer Amphistegina lobifera (island of Zakynthos, Greece, the medusa Cassiopea andromeda (Syria, the copepod Centropages furcatus (Aegean Sea, the decapod shrimp Melicertus hathor (island of Kastellorizo, Greece, the crab Menoethius monoceros (Gulf of Tunis, the barnacles Balanus trigonus, Megabalanus tintinnabulum, Megabalanus coccopoma and the bivalves Chama asperella, Cucurbitula cymbium (Saronikos Gulf, Greece.

  5. Consequences of Stinging Plankton Blooms on Finfish Mariculture in the Mediterranean Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mar Bosch-Belmar

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, caged finfish mariculture across European seas suffered production losses by severe fish mortality, following episodic outbreaks of invertebrate cnidarian stingers. Due to their stinging cells and injectable venoms, medusozoan jellyfish, or drifting propagules of polyp colonies at high density may impair caged fish health through toxic effects on vulnerable tissues of gills and skin, and related secondary bacterial infections. Gill disorders in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax fish farms along the Spanish Mediterranean coast are commonly reported, but regular monitoring of the frequency of cnidarian outbreaks and their potential impacts on caged fish is still poorly enforced. In this study, two sea bass mariculture farms in Southern Spain (Málaga; Almería were monitored biweekly for zooplankton, phytoplankton and fish gills condition, over 13 or 30 months for the Málaga and Almería facilities, respectively, within the period 2012–2014. Significant, direct correlations were found among low water temperature, recorded fish mortalities, and high abundances of planktonic cnidarians, particularly of the hydrozoan siphonophores Muggiaea atlantica and M. kochii, and the larval stage of Ectopleura larynx, a common member of cage biofouling communities. A significant relationship between cnidarian densities and the quantitative scoring of gill pathology was also observed. In addition, high densities of long-bristled planktonic diatoms (Chaetoceros spp. coincided with a major fish mortality event (April 2012, Almería farm. Standardised monitoring of plankton dynamics and composition may help in promoting response capacities of Mediterranean mariculture managers to fish health challenges (such as stinging plankton blooms by (a improving diagnostic tools and preventative countermeasures and (b supporting the development of science-based spatial planning and sustainable growth of coastal mariculture.

  6. Chemical oceanography in the Cretan Sea: Changes associated to the transient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. SOUVERMEZOGLOU

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available The intensive research since 1985 in the framework of national and international programmes revealed important modifications in oxygen and nutrients distribution in the Cretan Sea. The significant increase of density and of formation rates of the Cretan Dense Water (CDW during the last decade is basically responsible for the drastic change of the thermohaline circulation and the installation of a new hydrological regime in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the Cretan Sea, the most important effect of the new regime, is the installation of a well-defined "minimum salinity, temperature, oxygen and maximum nutrient" intermediate layer formed by the intrusion of the Transitional Mediterranean Water (TMW compensating the massive CDW outflow. The nutrient enrichment of the intermediate layers of the Cretan Sea, due to the intrusion of the "nutrient rich-oxygen poor" TMW, was observed firstly in 1991 and became very important during 1994-95. During 1994-95 the TMW occupies the intermediate layers of the entire Cretan Sea and the concentrations of nutrients in this layer are often two times higher than in the past. Recently, in 1997-98 the chemical characteristics of TMW are less pronounced probably related to the weaker CDW outflow.

  7. Mass Evolution of Mediterranean, Black, Red, and Caspian Seas from GRACE and Altimetry: Accuracy Assessment and Solution Calibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loomis, B. D.; Luthcke, S. B.

    2016-01-01

    We present new measurements of mass evolution for the Mediterranean, Black, Red, and Caspian Seas as determined by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) GRACE time-variable global gravity mascon solutions. These new solutions are compared to sea surface altimetry measurements of sea level anomalies with steric corrections applied. To assess their accuracy, the GRACE and altimetry-derived solutions are applied to the set of forward models used by GSFC for processing the GRACE Level-1B datasets, with the resulting inter-satellite range acceleration residuals providing a useful metric for analyzing solution quality.

  8. Radionuclides and trace metals in eastern Mediterranean Sea algae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Masri, M.S.; Mamish, S.; Budier, Y.

    2003-01-01

    Three types of sea alga distributed along the Syrian coast have been collected and analyzed for radioactivity and trace elements. Results have shown that 137 Cs concentrations in all the analyzed sample were relatively low (less than 1.2 Bq kg -1 dry weight) while the levels of naturally occurring radionuclides, such as 210 Po and 210 Pb, were found to be high in most samples; the highest observed value (27.43 Bq kg -1 dry weight) for 210 Po being in the red Jania longifurca alga. In addition, most brown alga species were also found to accumulate 210 Po, which indicates their selectivity to this isotope. On the other hand, brown alga (Cystoseira and Sargassum Vulgare) have shown a clear selectivity for some trace metals such as Cr, As, Cu and Co, this selectivity may encourage their use as biomonitor for pollution by trace metals. Moreover, the red alga species were found to contain the highest levels of Mg while the brown alga species were found to concentrate Fe, Mn, Na and K and nonmetals such as Cl, I and Br

  9. Nephrops norvegicus (L.: Comparative biology and fishery in the Mediterranean Sea. Introduction, conclusions and recommendations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesc Sardà

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available The project, financed by the Directorate General XIV of the EC, has undertaken a comparative study on the biology and fisheries techniques of the Norway lobster in Mediterranean member states and adjoining Atlantic areas. The ultimate goal of the project has been to assess the conditions for a global regulation in the area and determine possible differences among exploited stocks. The areas selected are characterised by their importance in Norway lobster catch. The overall duration of the project has been three years. Sampling was concentrated in the first two years. Data analysis was conducted during the second and third years (1993-1995. The countries (areas involved in the study, together with their target areas, were: Portugal (south coast of Algarve, Spain (Alboran and Catalan Seas, Italy (Ligurian, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas and Greece (Gulf of Euboikos. In order to make results perfectly comparable, each scientific subject has been developed by a specialised team using a unified and standardised methodology. From the biological standpoint, Norway lobster growth, reproduction, moult and feeding have been compared. Special studies on distribution and genetics have been also conducted. In the fisheries context, a comparison of fishing techniques has been undertaken. The fisheries studies have been complemented with reconstruction of virgin populations, comparison of yield per recruit, sensitivity analysis and transition analysis. Selectivity issues have been object of specific analyses. As a result of these studies, it is evident that Norway lobster populations in the Mediterranean follow a common life-cycle model. The differences among areas reported in this project respond to environmental variation and differential fishing pressure in each area. All populations are exploited near its carrying limit, although overexploitation is unlikely at this stage. However we identified varying levels of exploitation according to study areas: The

  10. Summary and overview of the CYCLOPS P addition Lagrangian experiment in the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krom, M. D.; Thingstad, T. F.; Brenner, S.; Carbo, P.; Drakopoulos, P.; Fileman, T. W.; Flaten, G. A. F.; Groom, S.; Herut, B.; Kitidis, V.; Kress, N.; Law, C. S.; Liddicoat, M. I.; Mantoura, R. F. C.; Pasternak, A.; Pitta, P.; Polychronaki, T.; Psarra, S.; Rassoulzadegan, F.; Skjoldal, E. F.; Spyres, G.; Tanaka, T.; Tselepides, A.; Wassmann, P.; Wexels Riser, C.; Woodward, E. M. S.; Zodiatis, G.; Zohary, T.

    2005-11-01

    CYCLOPS was a European Framework 5 program to further our understanding of phosphorus cycling in the Eastern Mediterranean. The core of CYCLOPS was a Lagrangian experiment in which buffered phosphoric acid was added to a exclusive processes described as (1) trophic by-pass in which the added phosphate gets directly to the grazing part of the predatory food chain from the heterotrophic bacteria bypassing the phytoplankton compartment phosphate, (2) trophic tunnelling in which phosphate is rapidly taken up by both phytoplankton and bacteria via rapid luxury consumption. This causes an immediate change in the phosphorus content but not the abundance of the prey organisms. The added P then "reappears" as responses at the predator level much more rapidly than expected, and (3) mixotrophic by-pass in which inorganic nutrients, including the added P, are taken up by mixotrophic ciliates directly, bypassing the phytoplankton. For details of the results of this study and the processes described, the readers are referred to the relevant papers within this volume. The implications of these results for nutrient cycling in the Eastern Mediterranean are discussed. In particular it is noted that the efficient and rapid grazing observed in this study might explain why the system although impacted by anthropogenic nutrient input has shown little or no measurable change in microbial productivity since added nutrients are rapidly transferred out of the photic zone via the by-pass and tunnelling processes and are exported from the basin. It is also suggested that fish productivity is higher than has been suggested by conventional food chain models due to this grazing. Two possible reasons for the unusual P-starved nature of the basin are presented.

  11. How Can Eastern/Southern Mediterranean Countries Resolve Quality and Safety Issues in Transfusion Medicine?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haddad, Antoine; Bou Assi, Tarek; Garraud, Olivier

    2018-01-01

    Unlike their Western counterparts, some of the Eastern/Southern Mediterranean countries lack centralized coordinated blood transfusion services leading to an unequal blood safety level. This was recently highlighted by a recent World Health Organization (WHO) regional committee report in which WHO urges these countries to establish and implement a national blood system with well-coordinated blood transfusion activities and to make attempts to reach 100% voluntary non-remunerated blood donation. The objective is thus to meet the same levels or standards as Western countries in term of self-sufficiency and blood safety. This raises the question whether these countries can either comply with Western countries’ guidelines and experiences or develop their own safety scheme based on proper sociopolitical and economic features. Another option is to identify efficient and cost-effective strategies setup successfully in neighbor countries sharing cultural and economic features. To address this issue—and make an attempt to achieve this goal—we designed a number of surveys specifically addressed to Mediterranean countries, which were sent out to the national authorities; so far, five surveys aim at covering all aspects in blood collection, processing, testing, inventory and distribution, as well as patient immune-hematological testing and follow-up (including surveillance and vigilances). It is anticipated that such practice can help identifying and then sharing the more successful and cost-effective experiences, and be really focused on Mediterranean areas while not necessarily copying and pasting experiences designed for Western/Northern areas with significantly distinct situations. PMID:29536009

  12. The length-weight relationships of three sharks and five batoids in the Lebanese marine waters, eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Myriam Lteif

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Length-weight relationships were estimated for 8 elasmobranchs (3 sharks and 5 batoids in the Lebanese marine waters, eastern Mediterranean. The values of parameter b ranged between 1.752 ± 0.4508 and 3.337 ± 0.2321. Sex influenced the length-weight relationships for the shark Centrophorus uyato (Rafinesque 1801 and the batoid Torpedo marmorata (Risso 1810. These relationships should be used only with the observed length ranges.

  13. Deep-sea foraminifera from the Cassidaigne Canyon (NW Mediterranean): Assessing the environmental impact of bauxite red mud disposal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fontanier, C.; Fabri, M.-C.; Buscail, R.; Biscara, L.; Koho, K.A.; Reichart, G.-J.; Cossa, D.; Galaup, S.; Chabaud, G.; Pigot, L.

    2012-01-01

    Benthic foraminiferal assemblages were investigated from two sites along the axis of the Cassidaigne Canyon (NW Mediterranean Sea). Both areas are contaminated by bauxite red mud enriched in iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium. These elemental enrichments are related to bauxite-derived

  14. A reform strategy of the energy sector of the 12 countries of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patlitzianas, Konstantinos D.; Doukas, Haris; Kagiannas, Argyris G.; Askounis, Dimitris Th.

    2006-01-01

    The development of an energy reform strategy based on the market economy so as to introduce competition in the market segments is of crucial importance for provision of a stable and favourable environment for energy investments. Reform strategies have begun developing in most of the 12 Mediterranean Countries of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, especially in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area. Even though energy sector reforms have been initiated, they are still at an early stage in most of these countries. The majority of energy utilities remain state owned, vertically integrated monopolies. Few of these countries have established energy regulators, and where they have, these institutions have many difficulties in effective development. In addition, competition is virtually absent from the sector, and private participation has been confined to independent power plants, which tend to be introduced into unreformed sectors. The aim of this paper is to propose energy reform strategies for the reform of the sector by 2010 in terms of the development of the regional oil, gas and electricity sectors in these countries

  15. Particle water and pH in the eastern Mediterranean: source variability and implications for nutrient availability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Bougiatioti

    2016-04-01

    organics, Worg, was equal to 0.56 ± 0.37 µg m−3; thus, organics contributed about 27.5 % to the total aerosol water, mostly during early morning, late evening, and nighttime hours.The aerosol was found to be highly acidic with calculated aerosol pH varying from 0.5 to 2.8 throughout the study period. Biomass burning aerosol presented the highest values of pH in the submicron fraction and the lowest values in total water mass concentration. The low pH values observed in the submicron mode and independently of air mass origin could increase nutrient availability and especially P solubility, which is the nutrient limiting sea water productivity of the eastern Mediterranean.

  16. Orbital-scale denitrification changes in the Eastern Arabian Sea during the last 800 kyrs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ji-Eun; Khim, Boo-Keun; Ikehara, Minoru; Lee, Jongmin

    2018-05-04

    Denitrification in the Arabian Sea is closely related to the monsoon-induced upwelling and subsequent phytoplankton production in the surface water. The δ 15 N values of bulk sediments collected at Site U1456 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 355 reveal the orbital-scale denitrification history in response to the Indian Monsoon. Age reconstruction based on the correlation of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber) δ 18 O values with the LR04 stack together with the shipboard biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic data assigns the study interval to be 1.2 Ma. Comparison of δ 15 N values during the last 800 kyrs between Site U1456 (Eastern Arabian Sea) and Site 722B (Western Arabian Sea) showed that δ 15 N values were high during interglacial periods, indicating intensified denitrification, while the opposite was observed during glacial periods. Taking 6‰ as the empirical threshold of denitrification, the Eastern Arabian Sea has experienced a persistent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) to maintain strong denitrification whereas the Western Arabian Sea has undergone OMZ breakdown during some glacial periods. The results of this study also suggests that five principal oceanographic conditions were changed in response to the Indian Monsoon following the interglacial and glacial cycles, which controls the degree of denitrification in the Arabian Sea.

  17. The HBsAg Prevalence Among Blood Donors From Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babanejad, Mehran; Izadi, Neda; Najafi, Farid; Alavian, Seyed Moayed

    2016-03-01

    The world health organization (WHO) recommends that all blood donations should be screened for evidence of infections, such as hepatitis B. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in blood donors at the eastern Mediterranean region office (EMRO) of the WHO and middle eastern countries. A meta-analysis was carried out based on the results of an electronic literature search of PubMed, Ovid, Scopus, and Google Scholar for articles published from January 1, 2000, to August 31, 2015. In accordance with a significant homogeneity test and a large value of I2, the random effects model was used to aggregate data from the studies and produce the pooled estimates using the "Metan" command. We included 66 eligible studies. The pooled prevalence of HBsAg in blood donors of both EMRO and middle eastern (E and M) countries was 2.03% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.79 - 2.26). In addition, the prevalence rates in the EMRO countries was 1.99% (95% CI: 1.84 - 2.14) and 1.62% in the Middle Eastern countries (95% CI: 1.36 - 1.88). The prevalence among blood donors with more than one study was 1.58% in Egypt, 0.58% in Iran, 0.67% in Iraq, 2.84% in Pakistan, 3.02% in Saudi Arabia, 1.68% in Turkey, and 5.05% in Yemen. Based on the WHO classification of hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence, the prevalence of HBsAg in blood donors from E and M countries reached an intermediate level. However, there were low prevalence levels in some E and M countries.

  18. Temporal and spatial variability of nutrients and oxygen in the North Aegean Sea during the last thirty years

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    Ε. SOUVERMEZOGLOU

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Inorganic nutrient and dissolved oxygen data collected in the North Aegean Sea during 1986 - 2008 were analyzed in order to evaluate the role of the inflowing Black Sea originated surface water (BSW in the nutrient regime of the area.  In periods of high buoyancy inflow from Dardanelles strait, a reduction of inorganic nutrients in the surface layer is observed along the north-west route of the BSW; in parallel, the underlying layer of Levantine intermediate water revealed an increase of inorganic nutrients, receiving the degradation material from the surface layer. The above spatial patterns suggest a contribution of the BSW to the observed enhanced production of the North Aegean Sea. Anomalously low buoyancy inflow of BSW combined with severe winter meteorological conditions promote deep water formation events. The physical and chemical characteristics of the deep waters found in the different basins of the North Aegean Sea in 1997 (following the deep water formation in winters of 1992-1993 differed from those observed after the formation in winter 1987. These differences were probably related to the drastic changes occurred in the deep waters of the Eastern Mediterranean in the early 1990, by the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. Considering that deep water formation processes provide occasionally inorganic nutrients to the euphotic layer, it seems that BSW through its uninterrupted supply of small quantities of nutrients should play an additional role in the production in the North Aegean Sea.

  19. Copepod community along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco (Southwestern Alboran Sea during spring

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    A. BERRAHO

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Copepod community along the Mediterranean Moroccan coast was investigated, for the first time, during April 2013. Total abundance varied from 53 to 4557 ind. m-3 and high values were found in coastal waters. Oithona nana and Paracalanus parvus dominated in the entire area and species diversity was decreasing from the West to the East. Hierarchical clustering revealed three groups of stations, depending on their geographic position (western, central and eastern areas. Indicator species analysis pointed out that Clausocalanus furcatus and Gaetanus sp. were significantly associated with Group I, Clausocalanus sp., Centropages sp. and Centropages chierchiae with Group II, whereas Temora longicornis was significantly associated with Group III. Detrended Correspondence Analysis based on the species abundance and environmental variables (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a, highlighted a more or less similar setting of stations which was related to salinity and temperature. The presence of three anticyclonic gyres at the northern part of the study area is suggested as the major factor acting on the variability of copepod community along the Mediterranean Moroccan coast.

  20. Twenty two years of sewage sludge marine disposal monitoring in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Impact on sediment quality and infauna and the response to load reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kress, N; Shoham-Frider, E; Galil, B S

    2016-09-15

    Effects of sewage sludge disposal on sediments and infauna are presented in a unique long-term (22years) data set from the Eastern Mediterranean. While organic carbon (Corg) and metals affected sediment quality in an area which size varied seasonally, the infauna exhibited seasonal "boom and bust" cycle. Metal concentrations declined following load reduction. However, Corg did not decrease and infaunal abundance, closely related to Corg, varied with changes in environmental forcing. Mild winters affected the infaunal populations at the heavily impacted stations, due to anoxic conditions. Planned cessation of disposal is estimated to reduce Corg and metal concentrations to pre-discharge levels. Yet the resettling biota is expected to differ significantly from the pre-discharge one and consist in large part of Erythraean non indigenous species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.