We analyzed concentrations of dissolved and particulate trace metals, including iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), thallium (Tl), and rare earth elements (REE), during a mesocosm-based phytoplankton summer bloom mimicking the intertidal zone of the southern North Sea (Jade Bay). The studies aimed to identify key drivers controlling their biogeochemical cycling in dynamic, high-productivity coastal environments. Our results highlight the tidally influenced coastal zone as a critical interface that alters the behavior of supposedly conservative elements such as Mo and Tl (Mori et al., 2021) as well as natural and anthropogenic REE (incl., lanthanum, samarium, and gadolinium) (Mori et al., under review). Trace metal concentrations and shale-normalized REE patterns, determined by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), were combined with biogeochemical bulk parameters and pigment-based assessments of phytoplankton growth and community composition (Mustaffa et al., 2020). Trace metal and REE cycling were evaluated in relation to phytoplankton dynamics, particulate organic matter composition (C, N, P), dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and macronutrient concentrations (nitrate, ammonium, silicate, and inorganic phosphate). The dataset was obtained during a Planktotron-based mesocosm experiment conducted within the framework of the Coastal Ocean Darkening project (Mustaffa et al., 2020).
To investigate the effect of temperature on a North Sea spring bloom community, we performed an incubation experiment in the mesocosm facility of the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) in Wilhelmshaven. The plankton community was sampled from the long-term ecological research station Helgoland Roads (https://deims.org/1e96ef9b-0915-4661-849f-b3a72f5aa9b1) on the 6ᵗʰ of March, 2022. Collection of the surface community was conducted from the RV Heincke with a pipe covered with a 200 µm net that was attached to a diaphragm pump. The month-long incubation was started on the 7ᵗʰ of March in twelve indoor mesocosms, the Planktotrons (Gall et al., 2017). We chose three temperatures along the ascending part of the thermal performance curve (TPC) of the in situ community: the minimum temperature for positive growth (6°C, also the field temperature), the middle between the minimum and the optimum temperature (12 °C), and the optimum temperature for growth (18 °C). Ramping up the temperatures was conducted by 1 °C per day until the treatment temperatures were reached, resulting in a ramp phase (first twelve days) and a constant temperature phase. This dataset comprises all data collected within the experiment. Temperature, oxygen, pH, salinity, and in vivo fluorescence were measured daily at 10 am. Samples for dissolved nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate), chlorophyll a, DNA, particulate nutrients (biogenic silica, particulate organic carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus), as well as flow cytometric counts of bacteria (stained) and the unstained community were sampled every third day at the same time. The mesocosm water was generally filtered over a 200 µm mesh before sampling to exclude mesozooplankton. However, due to the appearance of large Phaeocystis colonies, additional samples without pre-filtration were taken for particulate organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll a starting on incubation day 15. PAR, total nitrogen and phosphorus as well as total alkalinity were measured at the start, in the middle, and at the end of the incubation. Samples for Mesozooplankton enumeration were taken and plankton species identified at the end of the experiment. All analysis scripts can be found on github (https://github.com/AntoniaAhme/TopTrons22MesocosmIncubation). The sequence data are available at the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA).