Abstract
The concentration distribution was studied for dissolved oxygen, phosphorus forms, and particulate matter in Curonian Bay of the Baltic Sea in poorly known consolidated ice cover conditions during the winter seasons of 2010, 2011, and 2013. The surface and near-bottom waters were sampled at 51 stations. The ice cover exerts no significant effect on the typical seasonal variation of all considered parameters in the basin. The concentrations of mineral and organic phosphorus in the bay appeared to be lower by factors of 2–4 compared to summer values. A two- to threefold decrease in the concentrations of organic phosphorus since 2010 to 2011 and then to 2013 was recorded in the bay, which resulted from a decrease in phosphorus production by phytoplankton. Despite water being isolated from air by ice, the absence of wave mixing, and the decrease in oxygen production owing to the seasonal winter decrease in the intensity photosynthetic processes, no oxygen deficiency was found in the basin. This is because oxygen supplied to the bay by river runoff and production by photosynthesis in the bay exceed the utilization for oxidation of organic matter resulting from low bioproductivity of the waters during winter. The winter decrease in the fraction of biogenic particulate matter is seen as a four- to sevenfold drop in its total concentration in the waters compared to summer seasons. The absence of wave roiling of bottom sediments also caused a decrease in the secondary supply of biogenic particulate matter from sediments into near-bottom waters. No negative trends of geoecological conditions in the bay were revealed by the studied parameters under consolidated ice cover conditions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
O. A. Alekin and Yu. I. Lyakhin, Ocean Chemistry (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1984) [in Russian].
S. V. Aleksandrov, Primary Production of Plankton in Lagoons of the Baltic Sea: Vislinskiy and Kurshskiy Bays (Atlantic Scientific Research Institute of Fishery and Oceanography, Kaliningrad, 2010) [in Russian].
A. I. Blazhchishin, “Balance of sediments in Gdansk basin of the Baltic Sea,” Litol. Miner. Resur., No. 5, 67–76 (1984).
E. M. Emelyanov, V. A. Kravtsov, A. M. Loktionov, et al., “Specific hydrological regime and geoecology of the Kurshskiy Bay, Baltic Sea,” in XIII International Conference on Marine Geology “Geology of the Seas and Oceans,” Abstracts of Papers (Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1999), Vol. 1, pp. 251–254.
E. M. Emelyanov, V. A. Kravtsov, and Yu. E. Polosina, “Assessment of status of open waters in Russian sector of southeastern Baltic using suspended matter collected over long-term and determination of seasonal variability of background status,” in Status of Marine Environment in Russian Sector of Southeastern Baltic (Terra Baltika, Kaliningrad, 2014) [in Russian].
M. D. Kravchishina, “Specific modern sedimentation in southern part of the Kurshskiy Bay,” in XIII International Conference on Marine Geology “Geology of the Seas and Oceans,” Abstracts of Papers (Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1999), Vol. 1, pp. 180–181.
E. N. Naumenko, “Species composition of zooplankton in the Kurshskiy Bay, Baltic Sea,” in Hydrobiological Studies in the Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea Basin (Atlantic Scientific Research Institute of Fishery and Oceanography, Kaliningrad, 1994), pp. 20–34.
S. N. Olenin, “Analysis of zoobenthos in the Kurshskiy Bay according to biological monitoring in 1980–1984,” in Chemistry and Biology of the Seas (Gidrometeoizdat, Moscow, 1987), pp. 175–191.
V. V. Sapozhnikov, “Determination of total content of phosphorous and potassium persulfate,” in Analysis Hydrochemical Methods of the Oceans (Nauka, Moscow, 1978), pp. 171–174.
Yu. M. Senin, “Specific anthropogenic influence in Kaliningrad oblast on the Baltic Sea and aquatic ecosystem in economic zone of Russian Federation,” in X International Conference on Fish Oceanology, Abstracts of Papers (VNIRO, Moscow, 1997), pp. 112–113.
A. M. Chernyakova, “Analysis of dissolved oxygen by the Winkler method,” in Modern Hydrochemical Analysis Methods of an Ocean (Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1992), pp. 22–34.
E. M. Emelyanov, V. A. Kravtsov, N. G. Kudryavtsev, et al., “Materials and methods of research,” in Geology of the Gdansk Basin (Baltic Sea) (Yantarny Skaz, Kaliningrad, 2002), pp. 13–25.
Z. Gasiunaite, D. Daunys, S. Olenin, and A. Razinkovas, “The Curonian Lagoon,” in Transboundary Waters and Basins in the South-East Baltic (Terra Baltica, Kaliningrad, 2008), pp. 58–67.
V. A. Kravtsov, M. D. Kravchishina, N. A. Pankratova, and A. F. Kuleshov, “The recent sedimentation processes in the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons,” in Geology of the Gdansk Basin (Baltic Sea) (Yantarny Skaz, Kaliningrad, 2002), pp. 352–366.
O. Pustelnikovas, The Geochemistry of Sediments of the Curonian Lagoon (Baltic Sea) (Institute of Geography, Vilnius, 1998).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © V.A. Kravtsov, E.M. Emelyanov, 2016, published in Okeanologiya, 2016, Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 242–257.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kravtsov, V.A., Emelyanov, E.M. Features of winter sedimentation processes in Curonian Bay of the Baltic Sea. Oceanology 56, 226–240 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437016020120
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437016020120