sediment content 
yellow substances 
aerosol-optical thickness 
regionally limited to 
Baltic Sea 
North Sea 
Adriatic Sea 
Gulf of Cadiz 
Canary Basin with upwelling zone 
Lake Constance 
Contribution by Forschungs- und Technologiezentrum Westküste (FTZ), 
Biisum 
- Research and Technology Centre West Coast - 
FTZ in Biisum is an interdisciplinary, central institution of Christian-Albrecht-University, Kiel, 
whose activities concentrate on regional marine, coastal, and ecosystem research. Apart from 
basic research, FTZ carries out application-based projects and technological developments. 
The different groups apply an interdisciplinary approach to their investigations and co-operate 
with external institutions and groups of researchers, as well as with their ’’parent institutions” 
at Kiel University, the institutions of other universities, national research centres and 
authorities in Schleswig-Holstein (Wadden Sea National Park authority, national agency for 
nature and the environment, offices for agriculture and hydrology in Heide and Husum), as 
well as Federal institutions. 
FTZ-P1 - Measuring methods and factors controlling plankton development in coastal 
waters 
Objectives 
- development of innovative measuring techniques for the rapid determination of 
phytoplankton stocks, composition, and production 
determination of the factors controlling phytoplankton dynamics in the coastal waters and 
mechanisms of algal bloom development with a view to process formulation and 
prognostic modelling medium-term observation of plankton development in the Wadden 
Sea in order to assess water quality and eutrophication status, perform trend analyses and 
efficiency control. 
Present scientific knowledge 
Eutrophication of coastal waters with its undesirable effects continues to be a major problem 
of environmental policy. Knowledge of the abiotic and biotic functional interactions that lead 
to an increased formation of primary organic material is indispensable for an assessment of 
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