Contamination of planktonic food webs in the Mediterranean Sea: Setting the frame for the MERITE-HIPPOCAMPE oceanographic cruise (spring 2019)

Marc Tedetti (1) , Jacek Tronczynski (2) , François Carlotti (1) , Marc Pagano (1) , Sana Ben Ismail (3) , Cherif Sammari (3) , Malika Bel Hassen (3) , Karine Desboeufs (4) , Charlotte Poindron (4) , Sandrine Chifflet (1) , Amel Bellaaj Zouari (3) , Moufida Abdennadher (3) , Sirine Amri (3) , Daniela Bănaru (1) , Lotfi Ben Abdallah (3) , Nagib Bhairy (1) , Ismail Boudriga (3) , Aude Bourin (5) , Christophe Brach-Papa (2) , Nicolas Briant (2) , Léa Cabrol (1) , Cristele Chevalier (1) , Lassaad Chouba (3) , Sylvain Coudray (2) , Mohamed Nejib Daly Yahia (6) , Thibault de Garidel-Thoron (7) , Aurélie Dufour (1) , Jean-Claude Dutay (8, 9) , Boris Espinasse (10) , Pamela Fierro-González (1) , Michel Fornier (1) , Nicole Garcia (1) , Stéphanie Jacquet (1) , Catherine Guigue (1) , Franck Giner (11) , Loïc Guilloux (1) , Asma Hamza (12) , Lars-Eric Heimbürger-Boavida (1) , Joel Knoery (2) , Rim Lajnef (3) , Nouha Makhlouf Belkahia (12) , Deny Malengros (1) , Pauline Martinot (1) , Anthony Bosse (1) , Jean-Charles Mazur (7) , Marouan Meddeb (12) , Benjamin Misson (1) , Olivier PRINGAULT (1) , Marianne Quéméneur (1) , Olivier Radakovitch (13, 11) , Patrick Raimbault (1) , Christophe Ravel (2) , Javier Angel Tesán-Onrubia (1) , Vincent Rossi (1) , Bastien Thomas (2) , Chaimaa Rwawi (1) , Asma Sakka Hlaili (12) , Melilotus Thyssen (1) , Noureddine Zaaboub (3) , Cédric Garnier (1)

1 MIO - Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie
2 IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
3 INSTM - Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer [Salammbô]
4 LISA (UMR_7583) - Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques
5 IMT Nord Europe - Ecole nationale supérieure Mines-Télécom Lille Douai
6 Qatar University
7 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
8 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
9 CLIM - Modélisation du climat
10 UiT - The Arctic University of Norway [Tromsø, Norway]
11 IRSN/PSE-ENV/SRTE/LRTA - Laboratoire de recherche sur les transferts des radionucléides dans les écosystèmes aquatiques
12 Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte [Université de Carthage]
13 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement

This paper looks at experiential feedback and the technical and scientific challenges tied to the MERITE-HIPPOCAMPE cruise that took place in the Mediterranean Sea in spring 2019. This cruise proposes an innovative approach to investigate the accumulation and transfer of inorganic and organic contaminants within the planktonic food webs. We present detailed information on how the cruise worked, including 1) the cruise track and sampling stations, 2) the overall strategy, based mainly on the collection of plankton, suspended particles and water at the deep chlorophyll maximum, and the separation of these particles and planktonic organisms into various size fractions, as well as the collection of atmospheric deposition, 3) the operations performed and material used at each station, and 4) the sequence of operations and main parameters analysed. The paper also provides the main environmental conditions that were prevailing during the campaign. Lastly, we present the types of articles produced based on work completed by the cruise that are part of this special issue.

Keywords: contaminants; plankton; Mediterranean Sea; size fractions; bioaccumulation; atmospheric deposition

Domains: Environmental Sciences

Marc Tedetti, Jacek Tronczynski, François Carlotti, Marc Pagano, Sana Ben Ismail, et al.. Contamination of planktonic food webs in the Mediterranean Sea: Setting the frame for the MERITE-HIPPOCAMPE oceanographic cruise (spring 2019). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2023, 189, pp.114765. ⟨10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114765⟩. ⟨hal-04033259⟩