Dissolved organic carbon variability in a shallow coastal marine system (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea)

The variability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) over days to a multi-year time span has been investigated in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea) over a period of 5 years (January 1999 to December 2003). Samples were collected in a grid of 9 to 12 stations on monthly frequency and in one station on weekly (2003) and daily (1-month) frequency. DOC samples were analyzed by the HTCO method. DOC concentration varied over the five years in the range of 50 to 194 μM with annual median values ranging from 88 to 98 μM. Over the years 1999–2002, DOC showed a clear annual periodicity with winter minima and late summer maxima, higher in 1999 and 2000. During 2003 no seasonality was detected. The absence of DOC seasonality and the lower DOC concentrations during 2003 are most likely related to the drought that characterized the whole year. Accumulation was calculated as the difference between averaged winter minima (59 ± 7 μM) and the monthly averaged integrated value. DOC that had accumulated from spring to summer totally disappeared from the water column in winter when DOC concentrations reached the background value. The Gulf of Trieste, as with the rest of the Northern Adriatic each year, seems to be able to bring back DOC concentrations at low levels despite the significant external (mainly Isonzo River inputs) and internal organic matter loads. DOC concentration exhibited quite wide fluctuations weekly and daily, suggesting there might be DOC of different turnover time through production, consumption, migration and accumulation.