Marine plankton community and net primary production responding to island-trapped waves in a stratified oligotrophic ecosystem.

The oligotrophic Adriatic Sea is characterized during a typical summer by low productivity caused by strong water column stratification, which inhibits vertical mixing and nutrient supply to the euphotic zone. These conditions can be disrupted by transient physical forcing, which enhances nutrient fluxes and creates localized hotspots of relatively high net primary production. In this study, plankton abundance and diversity were investigated in relation to the physical forcing and nutrient concentrations in an area affected by island-trapped waves (ITWs) near Lastovo Island (Adriatic Sea).

Natural and shipping underwater sound distribution in the Northern Adriatic Sea basin and possible application on target areas.

The underwater sound distribution generated by natural sources, shipping and trawling activities has been computed by the Quonops© modelling webservice for the Northern Adriatic Sea (NAS) during 2020, a year characterized by the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Modelling has been calibrated by using a year-long time series of field measurements covering the domain of interest. Sound levels (50th percentile) ranged between 75 and 90 dB re 1μPa for all the considered frequencies (63 Hz, 125 Hz, 250 Hz third octave bands).

Seawater physics and chemistry along the Med-SHIP transects in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.

The Mediterranean Sea has been sampled irregularly by research vessels in the past, mostly by national expeditions in regional waters. To monitor the hydrographic, biogeochemical and circulation changes in the Mediterranean Sea, a systematic repeat oceanographic survey programme called Med-SHIP was recommended by the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM) in 2011, as part of the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP). Med-SHIP consists of zonal and meridional surveys with different frequencies, where comprehensive physical and biogeochemical properties are measured with the highest international standards.

First basin scale spatial-temporal characterization of underwater sound in the Mediterranean Sea.

Anthropogenic underwater noise is an emergent pollutant. Despite several worldwide monitoring programs, only few data are available for the Mediterranean Sea, one of the global biodiversity hotspots. The results of the first continuous acoustic programme run at a transnational basin scale in the Mediterranean Sea are here presented.