Acta Adriatica, Vol. 65 No. 1, 2024.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.32582/aa.65.1.2
Spatial and seasonal distribution of particulate phosphorus in coastal and offshore waters of the middle Adriatic Sea
Jere Veža
orcid.org/0000-0002-9853-7994
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
*
Natalia Bojanić
orcid.org/0000-0002-6191-7352
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
Jelena Mandić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9106-2335
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
Grozdan Kušpilić
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
Ivan Pezo
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
Slavica Matijević
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
Ivana Ujević
; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, 21000 Split, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Supplements: 65_1_2_supplementary.pdf
Abstract
The seasonal and spatial distributions of particulate phosphorus (PP) in the water column of the coastal area and open sea of the middle Adriatic Sea area were investigated for the first time. The relationship between PP and two other important forms of phosphorus (dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and organic phosphorus (P-ORG)), and the relationship between PP and other nutrients (nitrogen and silicon salts) and oceanographic parameters (temperature, salinity, oxygen saturation, chlorophyll a) from the water column were also examined. PP concentrations ranged from 0.007 μmol dm-3 in the open sea near Palagruža archipelago to 0.589 μmol dm-3 in the Krka River estuary. In the coastal area, PP concentrations were highest in autumn and lowest in winter. The vertical distribution of PP concentrations in the water column of the coastal area were highest in the surface layer during most of the year due to input of PP by freshwater inflows. In the open sea area, there were no significant seasonal or vertical differences in the distribution of PP concentrations in the water column. Seasonal analysis of the total phosphorus pool (PP, DIP and P-ORG) in the water column indicated that PP and P-ORG concentrations were higher in the coastal area compared to the open sea, while DIP concentrations were comparable. The results further demonstrate that PP can be an important fraction of the total phosphorus pool. A significant positive correlation was found between PP and chlorophyll a, indicating that PP was mainly of biological origin, and with nutrient salts of nitrogen and silicon, while a negative correlation was found with salinity.
Keywords
phosphorus; particulate phosphorus; nutrients; Adriatic Sea; particulate matter; water column
Hrčak ID:
314719
URI
Publication date:
1.3.2024.
Visits: 1.205 *