Mehler, Knut; Steinmann, Anna; Rick, Johannes J (2025): Abiotic Measurements from a three-month mesocosm experiment on Sylt, Germany, in 2023 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.986298
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Published: 2025-09-26 • DOI registered: 2025-10-29
Abstract:
This dataset comprises abiotic parameters measured during a mesocosm experiment using the AWI Sylt Outdoor Mesocosm (AWISOM) facility conducted on the island of Sylt, Germany, in 2023. The experiment spanned approximately three months, beginning on 16 March 2023. A total of 12 mesocosms were deployed, with six mesocosms assigned to each of two temperature treatments: in situ ambient, and ambient +3.0 °C. Water samples were collected from each mesocosm at a depth of 0.1 m on 103 discrete sampling days. The sampling frequency varied by parameter, with some variables measured daily and others once or several times per week. Recorded parameters include water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH (HBS scale), conductivity, chlorophyll a, total alkalinity, and concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and silicate). Measurements were carried out using multiparameter probes and laboratory methods. The dataset provides a multi-parameter time series from a controlled coastal mesocosm experiment designed to investigate the effects of warming on musselbank communities in the Wadden Sea.
Supplement to:
Mehler, Knut; Steinmann, Anna; Scotti, Marco; Ito, Maysa; Joly, Léa J; MacNeil, Liam; Rick, Johannes J (2025): Bridging the gap between field and lab: Applicability and performance of the Sylt mesocosms facility to simulate climate change scenarios on intertidal benthic communities. Limnology and Oceanography, 70(S2), S404-S416, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.70231
References:
Dickson, Andrew G; Sabine, Christopher L; Christian, J R (2007): Guide to Best Practices for Ocean CO2 Measurements. PICES Special Publication, 3, 191 pp, hdl:10013/epic.51789.d001
Dummermuth, Angelika; Wiltshire, Karen Helen; Kirstein, Inga Vanessa; Brodte, Eva-Maria; Wichels, Antje; Shama, Lisa N S; Bergmann, A; Hofmann, Claudia; Fischer, Philipp; Mölter, Kerstin; Strasser, Matthias (2023): Marine Stations Helgoland and Sylt operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Journal of large-scale research facilities JLSRF, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.17815/jlsrf-8-184
Jeffrey, S W; Humphrey, G F (1975): New spectrophotometric equations for determining chlorophylls a, b, c1 and c2 in higher plants, algae and natural phytoplankton. Biochemie und Physiologie der Pflanzen, 167(2), 191-194, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0015-3796(17)30778-3
Project(s):
Funding:
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 03F0913C: DAM sustainMare - iSeal, AWI
Coverage:
Latitude: 55.022035 * Longitude: 8.438192
Date/Time Start: 2023-03-16T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-06-26T00:00:00
Minimum DEPTH, water, experiment: 0.1 m * Maximum DEPTH, water, experiment: 0.1 m
Event(s):
Sylt_Mesocosm_2023_abiot * Latitude: 55.022035 * Longitude: 8.438192 * Date/Time Start: 2023-03-16T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-06-26T00:00:00 * Method/Device: Mesocosm experiment (MESO)
Comment:
The mesocosm water was supplied continuously with unfiltered seawater pumped from the Wadden Sea (~150 m offshore) into settling tanks before gravity-feeding into each unit, ensuring a steady exchange of approximately 1,800 L per tank per day. This flow-through system maintained nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations close to natural levels while allowing precise control over the temperature treatments and continuous high-resolution monitoring of the physico-chemical environment. Diel temperature variability was not actively programmed, but passive day–night fluctuations occurred through natural exposure.
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Type of study | Study type | Mehler, Knut | |||
| 2 | Sampling date/time, experiment | Date/time sampling exp | Mehler, Knut | UTC | ||
| 3 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Mehler, Knut | Geocode | ||
| 4 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Mehler, Knut | Geocode | ||
| 5 | Mesocosm label | Meso label | Mehler, Knut | |||
| 6 | Treatment: temperature description | T:Temp descr | Mehler, Knut | |||
| 7 | DEPTH, water, experiment | Depth water exp | m | Mehler, Knut | Geocode | |
| 8 | Temperature, water | Temp | °C | Mehler, Knut | Handheld multiparameter instrument, WTW, ph 330i | |
| 9 | Oxygen, dissolved | DO | mg/l | Mehler, Knut | Multiparameter measurement system, OTT Messtechnik GmbH, Hydrolab DS5X | |
| 10 | pH | pH | Mehler, Knut | Handheld multiparameter instrument, WTW, ph 330i | NBS | |
| 11 | Conductivity | Cond | mS/cm | Mehler, Knut | Multiparameter measurement system, OTT Messtechnik GmbH, Hydrolab DS5X | |
| 12 | Chlorophyll a | Chl a | µg/l | Mehler, Knut | Spectrophotometric equations according to Jeffrey and Humphrey (1975) | |
| 13 | Phosphate | [PO4]3- | µmol/l | Mehler, Knut | SEAL AA3 segmented flow autoanalyzer | Auto-Analyzer 3 SFA System MT 18-G175-96 |
| 14 | Nitrate | [NO3]- | µmol/l | Mehler, Knut | SEAL AA3 segmented flow autoanalyzer | Auto-Analyzer 3 SFA System MT 18-G172-96 |
| 15 | Nitrite | [NO2]- | µmol/l | Mehler, Knut | SEAL AA3 segmented flow autoanalyzer | Auto-Analyzer 3 SFA System MT 18-G173-96 |
| 16 | Ammonium | [NH4]+ | µmol/l | Mehler, Knut | SEAL AA3 segmented flow autoanalyzer | Auto-Analyzer 3 SFA System MT 18-G171-96 |
| 17 | Silicate | Si(OH)4 | µmol/l | Mehler, Knut | SEAL AA3 segmented flow autoanalyzer | Auto-Analyzer 3 SFA System MT 18-G177-98 |
| 18 | Alkalinity, total | AT | µmol/kg | Mehler, Knut | Titration according to Dickson et al. (2007) | Potentiometric titration |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
10496 data points
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