It has long been known that cholera outbreaks can be initiated when Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, is present in drinking water in sufficient numbers to constitute an infective dose, if ingested by humans. Outbreaks associated with drinking or bathing in unpurified river or brackish water may directly or indirectly depend on such conditions as water temperature, nutrient co...

Optical imaging devices such as the Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) harness unique capabilities to perform in situ observations and observe planktonic organisms their natural environmental context. However, applying this technology shallow turbid coastal waters comes with a number of challenges. Depending on research goal, methodological choices need be made regarding appropriate towing procedure...

The submarine volcano eruption off El Hierro Island (Canary Islands) on 10 October 2011 promoted dramatic perturbation of the water column leading to changes in the distribution of pelagic fauna. To study the response of the scattering biota, we combined acoustic data with hydrographic profiles and concurrent sea surface turbidity indexes from satellite imagery. We also monitored changes in the...

The Southern Bight of the North Sea is characterised by a large influence of river inputs, which results in eutrophication of the area. High concentrations of plankton biomass and suspended matter have been reported for this area, in relation with blooms of different species and resuspension of bottom sediments. In spring the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa blooms throughout the area reaching up...

An asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous caused mass extinction, but extinction mechanisms are not well-understood. The collapse of sea surface to sea floor carbon isotope gradients has been interpreted as reflecting a global collapse of primary productivity (Strangelove Ocean) or export productivity (Living Ocean), which caused mass extinction higher in the marine food chain. Phytoplank...

High salt concentrations, absence of light, anoxia, and high hydrostatic pressure make deep hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea one of the most polyextreme habitats on Earth. Taking advantage of the unique chemical characteristics of these basins, we tested the effect of environmental selection and geographic distance on the structure of protistan communities. Ter...

upwelling areas in the ocean are important places for fishing as nutrients can be transported from deeper area to the near surface region. in this study, the upwelling in the eastern coastal area of the caspian sea for 2004 was studied using coherens, a three-dimensional ocean model. in order to simulate the circulation in the caspian sea, the gridded fields were chosen as 0.046 × 0.046 degrees...

Microbes dominate our planet, especially the Earth’s oceans. The distinguishing feature of microorganisms is their small size, usually defined as less than 200 micrometers (μm); they are all invisible to the naked eye. As a group, sea microbes are extremely diverse, and extremely versatile with respect to their abilities to make and eat food. All marine microbes are too small to swim against th...