engleski

Biophysical Scenario of Giant Gel Formation in the Northern Adriatic Sea

There is by now accumulated evidence ranging from satelite observations to microscopic studies on a sudden and dramatic appearance of giant gel-phase known as "mucilage event" of the northern Adriatic. The hallmark of the mucilage phenomenon is the rapid (1-100 h) appearance of enormous amounts of gelatinous organic matter. A large number of hypotheses on the mechanism of the event emerged over last decades. It becomes generally accepted that organic microparticles are at the root of the episodic phenomenon. We argue that the knowledge on the formation mechanism and structural organization of the precursor particles is the clue to resolve the mechanism of the process that takes place on the kilometer scale. We introduced electrochemical sensing of marine microparticles together with Atomic Force Microscopy to image supramolecular organization of marine biopolymers on nano-scale. The biophysical scenario of mucilage event features selforganization of biopolymers into microparticles that under specific conditions transform to giant-gel by a fast vesicle to gel phase transition. The mucilage phenomenon has captivated the attention of many marine scientists, particularly over the last 15 years since the “ big” event of 1989. The economic cost of these events, through loss of tourism and fisheries, is substantial. For instance, the European Union reimbursed Adriatic fishery industries with 29 million of Euros during the dramatic mucus event in the summer 2000. Whether the mucilage events cause long term ecological deterioration is unstudied, but its transient effect on the biogeochemical state of the sea is obvious.

marine gel phase; marine vesicles; sol-gel phase transition; northern Adriatic Sea; AFM; electrochemical sensor

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