The Eastern Mediterranean is the most nutrient impoverished and oligotrophic water body known. The unique feature of the Mediterranean is the presence of an eastward longitudinal trend in available nitrate/phosphate ratios, which apparently induces a west-to-east variation in the structure of the pelagic food web and trophic interactions. In this context the Mediterranean, in particular its Eastern basin, provides a unique platform to study hypotheses related to phosphate limitation of production and the shift between 'microbial' and 'classical' modes of operation of the photic food web.
The present work assesses our current knowledge of the contrasting ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean on the basis of ongoing national/international programmes, from both phenomenological and modelling perspectives, and identifies the major environmental issues, on both regional and basin scales, in relation to eutrophication, pollutant transport and system health. The interdisciplinary aspects of marine ecosystems are covered, ranging from marine biology and chemistry to physical oceanography.
Preface. List of Contributors. The Eastern Mediterranean in the 80's and in the 90's: The Big Transition Emerged from the POEM-BC Observational Evidence; P. Malanotte-Rizzoli, et al. Oceanographic Data Holdings in the Ukrainian Marine Centers for the Mediterranean Sea; V.N. Eremeev, A.M. Suvorov. The Study of a Persistent Warm Core Eddy in Winter 1993 and the Water Mass Formation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea; A.I. Kubryakov, N.B. Shapiro. Intraseasonal Large-Scale Anomalies of the Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperature; V.V. Efimos, et al. Ecological Physiognomy of the Eastern Mediterranean; M.R. d'Alcalà, M.G. Mazzocchi. Type Definition of Vertical Chlorphyll Distribution in Contrasting Zones of the Mediterranean Sea; O.A. Yunev, et al. Composition and Abundance of Zooplankton of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea; A.V. Kovalev, et al. Physiological Parameters and Problems of Energy Budget Estimation in Mediterranean and Black Sea Fishes; G.E. Shulman. The Features of Geostrophic Circulation and Currents in the Eastern Mediterranean between the Syrian Coast and Cyprus Island in Winter and Summer; V.G. Krivosheya, et al. Optical Studies by the MHI of the Eastern Mediterranean: Available Data and Some Results; V.I. Mankovski, et al. Plankton Communities in the Eastern Mediterranean Coastal Waters; M.V. Flint, et al. Composition of Bottom Communities and Quantitative Distribution of Macrozoobenthos in the Syrian Coastal Zone; N.V. Kucheruk, et al. Abundance and Biomass of Phytoplankton and Chlorophyll Concentration in Eastern Mediterranean in Late Summer Period; I.N. Sukhanova, et al. Modeling Plankton Production in the Eastern Mediterranean: Application of a 1-D Vertically-Resolved Physical-Biological Model to the Ionian and Rhodes Basins; E. Napolitano, et al. Plankton Characteristics in the Aegean, Ionian and NW Levantine Seas; I. Siokou-Frangou, et al. The Effect of Physical Processes on the Distribution of Nutrients and Oxygen in the NW Levantine Sea; E. Souvermezoglou, E. Krasakopoulou. Abundance and Elemental Composition of Particulate Matter in the Upper Layer of Northeastern Mediterranean; D. Ediger, et al. Comparative Analysis of Sedimentation Processes within the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean; A.Y. Mitropolsky, S.P. Olshtynski. Sensitivity to Global Change in Temperate Euro-Asian Seas (The Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian Sea): A Review; E. Özsoy. Some Aspects of the Water Exchange through the Dardanelles Strait; V.N. Eremeev. Bio-Optical Characteristics of the Aegean See Retrieved from Satellite Ocean Color Data; V.I. Burenkov, et al. A Mathematical Framework for Zooplankton Population Dynamics Modeling: Individual-Based Approach; Y.M. Plis, A.Y. Plis. Spatial and Seasonal Variability of Water and Biogeochemical Fluxes in the Adriatic Sea; M. Gacic, et al. Mediterranean Sea Trophic Characteristics Interpreted through Three-Dimensional Coupled Ecohydrodynamical Models; A. Crise, et al. South Adriatic Ecosystem: Interaction with the Mediterranean Sea; I. Marasovic, et al. The Bioluminescence Field as an Indicator of the Spatial Structure and Physiological State of the Plankton Community at the Mediterranean Sea Basin; Yu.N. Tokarev, et al. Satellite Observations of Similar Circulation Features in Semi-Enclosed Basins of the Eastern Mediterranean with Respect to Marine Ecosystems Investigations; Y.P. Ilyin, et al. Flora and Bottom Vegetation on the Deep-Water Banks of the Mediterranean Sea; N.A. Milchakova, et al. Anthropogenic Eutrophication of Near-Shore Waters and Macroalgal Biodiversity in the Levantine Sea; O.V. Maximova, N.V. Kucheruk. Deep-Sea Calcareous Rhodophycophyta Communities in the Levantine Sea; O.V. Maximova, S. Fayes. Intermediate Water Formation in the Levantine Sea: The Response to Interannual Variability of Atmospheric Forcing; K. Nittis, A. Lascaratos. Sea Surface Temperature Fields and Air-Sea Fluxes in the Rhodes Gyre during LIWEX'95 Experiment; A. Lascaratos, et al. Interannual Variability of the Circulation and Hydrography in the Eastern Mediterranean (1986-1995); A. Theocharis, H. Kontoyiannis. Structures and Characteristics of Newly Formed Water Masses in the NW Levantine during 1986, 1992, 1995; H. Kontoyiannis, et al. Eutrophic Signals in the Chemistry of the Bottom Layer of the Northern Adriatic Sea; E. Souvermezoglou, E. Krasakopoulou. Water Masses and Transports between the Aegean and Levantine Basins during LIWEX'95; B. Manca, et al. Flow Patterns of the Main Water Masses across Transversal Areas in the Southern Adriatic Sea: Seasonal Variability; B. Manca, A. Giorgetti. Lithology and Geochemistry of the Sediments along the Eastern Mediterranean Coast; A.G. Rozanov, et al.
Overview
The Eastern Mediterranean is the most nutrient impoverished and oligotrophic water body known. The unique feature of the Mediterranean is the presence of an eastward longitudinal trend in available nitrate/phosphate ratios, which apparently induces a west-to-east variation in the structure of the pelagic food web and trophic interactions. In this context the Mediterranean, in particular its Eastern basin, provides a unique platform to study hypotheses related to phosphate limitation of production and the shift ...