Articles | Volume 23, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3697-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3697-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Jun 2026
Research article |
| 03 Jun 2026
| 03 Jun 2026
Colored and fluorescent DOM in the sea-surface microlayer: response to a phytoplankton bloom and photodegradation in a mesocosm study
Claudia Thölen
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzsky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, 26129, Germany
Jochen Wollschläger
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzsky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, 26129, Germany
Michael G. Novak
Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, 21494, Germany
Rüdiger Röttgers
Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, 21494, Germany
Oliver Zielinski
Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, 21494, Germany
Faculty for Agriculture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universität Rostock, Rostock, 18051, Germany
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This study examines how organic carbon and sediments move from the Mackenzie River through its delta to the Beaufort Sea. Using data from 2009–2024, we show that dissolved and particulate carbon decline offshore, with major changes in low-salinity mixing zones. As water optical properties also shift, satellite carbon estimates require tailored methods. These findings improve understanding of Arctic carbon fluxes and their influence on CO₂ exchange and the greater Arctic Ocean carbon budget.
Martin Hieronymi, Daniel Behr, Shun Bi, and Rüdiger Röttgers
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We present a scientific description of a satellite-based dataset and its novel processing chain. The dataset provides water quality parameters for lakes, rivers, coastal waters, as well as the entire North Sea and Baltic Sea. It further includes a novel estimate of organic carbon across diverse water bodies and the results of an optical water type classification. The dataset and its underlying algorithm provide a valuable foundation for future oceanographic and limnological analyses.
Riaz Bibi, Mariana Ribas-Ribas, Leonie Jaeger, Carola Lehners, Lisa Gassen, Edgar Fernando Cortés-Espinoza, Jochen Wollschläger, Claudia Thölen, Hannelore Waska, Jasper Zöbelein, Thorsten Brinkhoff, Isha Athale, Rüdiger Röttgers, Michael Novak, Anja Engel, Theresa Barthelmeß, Josefine Karnatz, Thomas Reinthaler, Dmytro Spriahailo, Gernot Friedrichs, Falko Asmussen Schäfer, and Oliver Wurl
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A multidisciplinary mesocosm study was conducted to investigate biogeochemical processes and their relationships in the sea-surface microlayer and underlying water during an induced phytoplankton bloom. Phytoplankton-derived organic matter, fuelled microbial activity and biofilm formation, supporting high bacterial abundance. Distinct temporal patterns in biogeochemical parameters and greater variability in the sea-surface microlayer highlight its influence on air–sea interactions.
Vlad A. Macovei, Louise C. V. Rewrie, Rüdiger Röttgers, and Yoana G. Voynova
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We found that biogeochemical variability at the land–sea interface (LSI) in two major temperate estuaries is modulated by the 14 d spring–neap tidal cycle, with large effects on dissolved inorganic and organic carbon concentrations and distribution. As this effect increases the strength of the carbon source to the atmosphere by up to 74 % during spring tide, it should be accounted for in regional models, which aim to resolve biogeochemical processing at the LSI.
Shungudzemwoyo P. Garaba, Michelle Albinus, Guido Bonthond, Sabine Flöder, Mario L. M. Miranda, Sven Rohde, Joanne Y. L. Yong, and Jochen Wollschläger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4163–4179, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4163-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4163-2023, 2023
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These high-quality data document a harmful algal bloom dominated by Nodularia spumigena, a cyanobacterium that has been recurring in waters around the world, using advanced water observation technologies. We also showcase the benefits of experiments of opportunity and the issues with obtaining synoptic spatio-temporal data for monitoring water quality. The dataset can be leveraged to gain more knowledge on related blooms, develop detection algorithms and optimize future monitoring efforts.
André Valente, Shubha Sathyendranath, Vanda Brotas, Steve Groom, Michael Grant, Thomas Jackson, Andrei Chuprin, Malcolm Taberner, Ruth Airs, David Antoine, Robert Arnone, William M. Balch, Kathryn Barker, Ray Barlow, Simon Bélanger, Jean-François Berthon, Şükrü Beşiktepe, Yngve Borsheim, Astrid Bracher, Vittorio Brando, Robert J. W. Brewin, Elisabetta Canuti, Francisco P. Chavez, Andrés Cianca, Hervé Claustre, Lesley Clementson, Richard Crout, Afonso Ferreira, Scott Freeman, Robert Frouin, Carlos García-Soto, Stuart W. Gibb, Ralf Goericke, Richard Gould, Nathalie Guillocheau, Stanford B. Hooker, Chuamin Hu, Mati Kahru, Milton Kampel, Holger Klein, Susanne Kratzer, Raphael Kudela, Jesus Ledesma, Steven Lohrenz, Hubert Loisel, Antonio Mannino, Victor Martinez-Vicente, Patricia Matrai, David McKee, Brian G. Mitchell, Tiffany Moisan, Enrique Montes, Frank Muller-Karger, Aimee Neeley, Michael Novak, Leonie O'Dowd, Michael Ondrusek, Trevor Platt, Alex J. Poulton, Michel Repecaud, Rüdiger Röttgers, Thomas Schroeder, Timothy Smyth, Denise Smythe-Wright, Heidi M. Sosik, Crystal Thomas, Rob Thomas, Gavin Tilstone, Andreia Tracana, Michael Twardowski, Vincenzo Vellucci, Kenneth Voss, Jeremy Werdell, Marcel Wernand, Bozena Wojtasiewicz, Simon Wright, and Giuseppe Zibordi
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A compiled set of in situ data is vital to evaluate the quality of ocean-colour satellite data records. Here we describe the global compilation of bio-optical in situ data (spanning from 1997 to 2021) used for the validation of the ocean-colour products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI). The compilation merges and harmonizes several in situ data sources into a simple format that could be used directly for the evaluation of satellite-derived ocean-colour data.
Tristan Petit, Børge Hamre, Håkon Sandven, Rüdiger Röttgers, Piotr Kowalczuk, Monika Zablocka, and Mats A. Granskog
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We provide the first insights on bio-optical processes in Storfjorden (Svalbard). Information on factors controlling light propagation in the water column in this arctic fjord becomes crucial in times of rapid sea ice decline. We find a significant contribution of dissolved matter to light absorption and a subsurface absorption maximum linked to phytoplankton production. Dense bottom waters from sea ice formation carry elevated levels of dissolved and particulate matter.
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Short summary
In a mesocosm study, the investigation of colored and fluorescent dissolved organic matter provided information on its transformation, enrichment, and exchange processes within the sea-surface microlayer and the underlying water. Photodegradation was suggested as the main sink, exceeding microbial alteration, and indicating that light and biological processes, such as the induced phytoplankton bloom, jointly shaped organic matter composition under strong vertical mixing.
In a mesocosm study, the investigation of colored and fluorescent dissolved organic matter...
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