Summary
During a cruise on board RV “Gauss” in May/June 1988, joint investigations into organochlorine compounds, dissolved trace metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and basic hydrography were carried out at representative stations of the Baltic Monitoring Programme (BMP). The aim of the cruise was to study distribution patterns and — using previous data — to establish temporal trends if at all discernible.
Each group of contaminants investigated showed specific characteristics, with differences even between compounds within the same group. The differences are due to:
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- the partition of contaminants between dissolved and adsorbed form;
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- the response to redox conditions;
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- the influence of microbial decay, organic production or changes in speciation.
The water exchange between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea results in a pronounced hydrographic stratification in the Kattegat and Belt Sea generally with high concentrations of contaminants in the surface water and almost oceanic-like concentrations in the bottom water.
Contaminants with low anthropogenic input into the Baltic Sea (e.g. Cu), with low persistence against decomposition (e. g. Petroleum Hydrocarbons), or high sedimentation rates (e. g. HCB) do not share the features mentioned above. Elsewhere in the area of investigation spatial trends are weak.
The variability of contaminant levels under the oscillating influences of input, water exchange, redox condition and biological production makes it generally difficult if not impossible to identify long-term trends in the water of the open sea.
Zusammenfassung
Auf einer Forschungsreise von FS “Gauss” wurden an den repräsentativen Meßstationen des Ostsee-Überwachungsprogramms (BMP) in der Zeit Mai/Juni 1988 Untersuchungen zur Verteilung von Organohalogenverbindungen, gelösten Spurenmetallen und Erdölkohlenwasserstoffen zusammen mit begleitender Hydrographie vorgenommen.
Das Ziel war, räumliche Verteilungsmuster und — zusammen mit früheren Datenzeitliche Trends abzuleiten, falls solche erkennbar waren. Jeder Stoff zeigte dabei ein spezifisches Verhalten, dessen Ursachen im Folgenden liegen:
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- das Verhältnis zwischen gelöst und adsorbiert transportierter Phase
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- Reaktionen auf veränderte Redox-Verhältnisse
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- Einflüsse des mikrobiellen Abbaues, der Biomasse-Produktion oder Änderungen in den chemischen Formen des Auftretens.
Der Wasseraustausch zwischen Ost- und Nordsee verursacht eine ausgeprägte Wasserschichtung in Kattegat und Belt See mit hohen Schadstoffkonzentrationen im Oberflächenwasser und Konzentrationen im Bodenwasser, die denen im Atlantik ähneln. Schadstoffe mit geringem anthropogenen Eintrag in die Ostsee (z. B. Kupfer), geringer Beständigkeit gegen Abbau (z. B. Erdölkohlenwasserstoffe) oder Stoffe mit hoher Affinität zum Sediment (z. B. Hexachlorbenzen) zeigen dieses Erscheinungsbild nicht. Im übrigen Untersuchungsgebiet sind die vertikalen und regionalen Unterschiede für organische Spurenstoffe wenig ausgeprägt.
Unter den wechselnden Einflüssen von Eintrag, Wasseraustausch, Redox-Verhältnissen und Biomasse-Produktion ist es gegenwärtig schwierig bis unmöglich, generell langzeitliche Trends im Wasser der offenen See zu erkennen.
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Brügmann, L., Gaul, H., Rohde, KH. et al. Regional distribution and temporal trends of some contaminants in the water of the Baltic Sea. Deutsche Hydrographische Zeitschrift 44, 161–184 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02226461
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02226461