Cover: In Rosati et al. (https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005700), Rosati et al. found elevated concentrations of Hg and MeHg in the euxinic waters of the Black Sea.
By integrating observations from the GEOTRACES cruise and 1D biogoechemical modeling along the extended redox gradient of the Black Sea, the work highlights that the bulk of MeHg is produced in situ in anoxic sulfidic waters, and inputs from external sources (i.e. rivers, sediment and the Mediterranean Sea) are negligible.
In the frame of the continuous improvement strategy of the Copernicus Marine Service, OGS and LOV won a tender (issued by Mercator Ocean) that supports a 2-year project on leading Science and Technological development, aimed at ensuring the evolution of the service and being potentially implemented operationally within 3 years.
Mediterranean and Baltic Seas are somehow two different worlds in term of biogeochemical dynamics, but some challenges they face are common, especially those related to toxic pollutants and harmful algal blooms that may affect ecosystem, aquaculture and tourism. Toxicity can be linked to algal blooms, which are operationally monitored by different research teams, usually by ships. Satellites may instead provide a more informative synoptic view, that can be also assimilated by the forecast modelling systems, as that one managed by OGS within the CMEMS-MED-MFC.