Influence of Coccolithophore Blooms on the Bio-Optical Characteristics of the Black Sea Waters according to Observations in 2012 and 2017

E. N. Korchemkina1*, E. V. Mankovskaya1, R.I. Lee2

1 Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS, Sevastopol, Russia

2 A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, Russian Academy of Sciences, Sevastopol, Russia

* e-mail: korchemkina@mhi-ras.ru

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses the results of optical and biological measurements performed during the coccolithophore blooms. This study uses data of measurements from a stationary oceanographic platform (near the Southern coast of Crimea, 44°23' N, 33°59' E) in July 2012 (7–16 July) and in May 2017 (24–31 May), and data obtained during the R/V “Professor Vodyanitsky” expedition to the northern part of the Black Sea in June 2017 (14–30 June). Observation periods coincided with intensive blooms of coccolithophore. The measurements of the Secchi disk depth, light beam attenuation coefficient and reflectance coefficient, as well as biological determinations of the coccolithophore cells number in water samples, are considered and analyzed. In addition to field data, satellite information on the sea reflectance and backscattering are used. The beam attenuation coefficient, reflectance coefficient, backscattering coefficient and coccolithophore concentrations were increased as compared with no bloom period. The Secchi disk depth was abnormally low. The number of coccolithophore cells, according to biological data, varied from 150 thousand cells/L to 1.7 million cells/L and averaged 0.6 ± 0.4 million cells/L. According to these data, the estimated concentration of shed coccoliths was (1.46 ± 0.42) 1011 m-3. The average coccolith concentrations calculated from satellite data were (1.29 ± 0.23) 1011 m-3 in July 2012, (1.32 ± 0.12) 1011 m-3 in May 2017, and (2.37 ± 0.69) 1011 m-3 in June 2017. During blooms, high variability was observed not only in optical properties, but also in biological properties, and the relationship between their spatial distribution was weak. From the optical point of view, the indicator of bloom is the number of coccoliths, not cells, which can lead to an incorrect description of the biological situation.

Keywords

Black Sea, coccolithophore, reflectance coefficient, Secchi disk depth, beam attenuation coefficient, backscattering coefficient, coccolith concentration

Acknowledgments

The work is performed under state order on topics no. 0827-2019-0002, 0827-2019-0004, and АААА-А18-118021490093-4.

For citation

Korchemkina, E.N., Mankovskaya, E.V. and Lee, R.I., 2020. Influence of Coccolithophore Blooms on the Bio-Optical Characteristics of the Black Sea Waters according to Observations in 2012 and 2017. Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (3), pp. 17–30. doi:10.22449/2413-5577-2020-3-17-30 (in Russian).

DOI

10.22449/2413-5577-2020-3-17-30

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