Temporal and spatial variability of phytoplankton monitored by a combination of monitoring buoys, pigment analysis and fast screening microscopy in the Fehmarn Belt Estuary.

For 2 years, a baseline investigation was carried out to collect reference information of the present environmental status in the Fehmarn Belt and adjacent area. The temporal and spatial variability of phytoplankton was monitored by a combination of monitoring buoys, pigment analysis and fast screening microscopy. The overall phytoplankton succession in the Fehmarn Belt area was found to be influenced primarily by the seasonal changes, where various diatoms dominated the spring and autumn blooms and flagellates like Chrysochromulina sp., Dictyocha speculum and various dinoflagellates were occasionally abundant in late spring and summer. The phytoplankton groups were remarkably uniform horizontally in the investigation area while large differences in both biomasses and composition of individual phytoplankton groups were seen vertically in the water column, especially in the summer periods, in which the two-layer exchange flow between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is showing a particularly strong stratification in the Fehmarn Belt. The chlorophyll a concentrations ranged continuously from 1 to 3 µg/L at the three permanent buoy stations during the 2 years of monitoring, except for the spring and autumn blooms where chlorophyll a increased up to 18 µg/L in the spring of 2010 and up to 8 µg/L in the autumn of 2009. Recurrent blooms of filamentous cyanobacteria are common during the summer period in the Baltic Sea and adjacent areas, but excessive blooms of cyanobacteria did not occur in 2009 and 2010 in the Fehmarn Belt area. The combination of the HPLC pigment analysis method and monitoring buoys continuously measuring fluorescence at selected stations with fast screening of samples in the microscope proved advantageous for obtaining information on both the phytoplankton succession and dynamic and, at the same time, getting information on duration and intensity of the blooms as well as specific information on the dominant species present both temporally and spatially in the large Fehmarn Belt area.

Radionuclide transport and uptake in coastal aquatic ecosystems: a comparison of a 3D dynamic model and a compartment model.

In safety assessments of underground radioactive waste repositories, understanding radionuclide fate in ecosystems is necessary to determine the impacts of potential releases. Here, the reliability of two mechanistic models (the compartmental K-model and the 3D dynamic D-model) in describing the fate of radionuclides released into a Baltic Sea bay is tested. Both are based on ecosystem models that simulate the cycling of organic matter (carbon). Radionuclide transfer is linked to adsorption and flows of carbon in food chains. Accumulation of Th-230, Cs-135, and Ni-59 in biological compartments was comparable between the models and site measurements despite differences in temporal resolution, biological state variables, and partition coefficients. Both models provided confidence limits for their modeled concentration ratios, an improvement over models that only estimate means. The D-model enables estimates at high spatio-temporal resolution. The K-model, being coarser but faster, allows estimates centuries ahead. Future developments could integrate the two models to take advantage of their respective strengths.

Virtual globes and geospatial health: the potential of new tools in the management and control of vector-borne diseases.

The rapidly growing field of three-dimensional software modeling of the Earth holds promise for applications in the geospatial health sciences. Easy-to-use, intuitive virtual globe technologies such as Google Earth enable scientists around the world to share their data and research results in a visually attractive and readily understandable fashion without the need for highly sophisticated geographical information systems (GIS) or much technical assistance. This paper discusses the utility of the rapid and simultaneous visualization of how the agents of parasitic diseases are distributed, as well as that of their vectors and/or intermediate hosts together with other spatially-explicit information. The resulting better understanding of the epidemiology of infectious diseases, and the multidimensional environment in which they occur, are highlighted. In particular, the value of Google Earth, and its web-based pendant Google Maps, are reviewed from a public health view point, combining results from literature searches and experiences gained thus far from a multidisciplinary project aimed at optimizing schistosomiasis control and transmission surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the basic analytical capabilities of virtual globe applications are limited, we conclude that they have considerable potential in the support and promotion of the geospatial health sciences as a userfriendly, straightforward GIS tool for the improvement of data collation, visualization and exploration. The potential of these systems for data sharing and broad dissemination of scientific research and results is emphasized.