Potential impact of tide-regulation barriers on the formation of methylmercury in the Venice Lagoon (Italy).

Methylmercury (MeHg), a neurotoxic pollutant, is formed mainly under anaerobiosis. The "Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico" (MOSE), built to temporarily close the Venice Lagoon and protect the city from flooding, induces changes in the hydrological regime, reducing water circulation and decreasing in the dissolved oxygen concentrations of the lagoon. Our study shows the potential changes in sediment and overlying water physico-chemistry in a simulated MOSE closing-event by incubating sediment cores for 48 h in the laboratory and deploying benthic chambers.

Viral infection switches the balance between bacterial and eukaryotic recyclers of organic matter during coccolithophore blooms.

Algal blooms are hotspots of marine primary production and play central roles in microbial ecology and global elemental cycling. Upon demise of the bloom, organic carbon is partly respired and partly transferred to either higher trophic levels, bacterial biomass production or sinking. Viral infection can lead to bloom termination, but its impact on the fate of carbon remains largely unquantified.

Particulate and dissolved fluorescent organic matter fractionation and composition: Abiotic and ecological controls in the Southern Ocean.

Phytoplankton-derived organic matter sustains heterotrophic marine life in regions away from terrestrial inputs such as the Southern Ocean. Fluorescence spectroscopy has long been used to characterize the fluorescent organic matter (FOM) pool. However, most studies focus only in the dissolved FOM fraction (FDOM) disregarding the contribution of particles.

Leaching material from Antarctic seaweeds and penguin guano affects cloud-relevant aerosol production.

Within the Southern Ocean, the greatest warming is occurring on the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) where clear cryospheric and biological consequences are being observed. Antarctic coastal systems harbour a high diversity of marine and terrestrial ecosystems heavily influenced by Antarctic seaweeds (benthonic macroalgae) and bird colonies (mainly penguins). Primary sea spray aerosols (SSA) formed by the outburst of bubbles via the sea-surface microlayer depend on the organic composition of the sea water surface.