Silva, Dunuhinge Amavi Nimesha; Schartau, Markus (2026): Global data collection of Surface Microlayer Organic Matter (SML-OM) [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.990017 (DOI registration in progress)
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Published: 2026-01-30
Abstract:
The primary dataset consists of 2055 data points, extracted from 31 peer-reviewed publications, identified through a comprehensive and systematic literature search of scholarly articles published between 1967 and 2022. From these studies, data containing simultaneously collected SML and ULW concentrations were extracted for twelve different observational types of organic compounds.
The TOC pool includes all forms of organic carbon, thus comprising both POC and DOC. Similarly, the TON pool combines both PON and DON. In general, the particulate pool constitutes a minor fraction of the total pool.
All the data were collected either (1) directly from the source when available, or else (2) through digitization of graphs and plots using PlotDigitizer (https://plotdigitizer.com) and GraphClick v3.0 (https://graphclick.en.softonic.com/mac) or, (3) via author correspondence when data were not available in the published materials. The different data extraction methods are flagged.
Supplement to:
Silva, Dunuhinge Amavi Nimesha; Nikzad, Surandokht; Barthelmeß, Theresa; Engel, Anja; Herrmann, Hartmut; van Pinxteren, Manuela; Wirtz, Kai W; Wurl, Oliver; Schartau, Markus (preprint): Meta-analytical insights into organic matter enrichment in the surface microlayer. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4050
Related to:
Astrahan, Peleg; Herut, Barak; Paytan, Adina; Rahav, Eyal (2016): The Impact of Dry Atmospheric Deposition on the Sea-Surface Microlayer in the SE Mediterranean Sea: An Experimental Approach. Frontiers in Marine Science, 3, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00222
Baastrup-Spohr, Lars; Staehr, Peter A (2009): Surface microlayers on temperate lowland lakes. Hydrobiologia, 625(1), 43-59, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9695-3
Barthelmeß, Theresa; Engel, Anja (2022): How biogenic polymers control surfactant dynamics in the surface microlayer: insights from a coastal Baltic Sea study. Biogeosciences, 19(20), 4965-4992, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4965-2022
Barthelmeß, Theresa; Schütte, Florian; Engel, Anja (2021): Variability of the Sea Surface Microlayer Across a Filament's Edge and Potential Influences on Gas Exchange. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.718384
Carlson, David J (1983): Dissolved organic materials in surface microlayers: Temporal and spatial variability and relation to sea state. Limnology and Oceanography, 28(3), 415-431, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1983.28.3.0415
Chen, Yan; Yang, Gui-Peng; Xia, Qing-Yan; Wu, Guan-Wei (2016): Enrichment and characterization of dissolved organic matter in the surface microlayer and subsurface water of the South Yellow Sea. Marine Chemistry, 182, 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2016.04.001
Chen, Yan; Zhang, Ning; Hu, Chun; Chen, Ronghua; Yang, Gui-Peng (2022): Controls on the Distribution, Enrichment, and Degradation of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Sea Surface Microlayer of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 127(12), e2022JC019122, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019122
Cunliffe, Michael; Salter, Matthew; Mann, Paul James; Whiteley, Andrew S; Upstill-Goddard, Robert C; Murrell, J Colin (2009): Dissolved organic carbon and bacterial populations in the gelatinous surface microlayer of a Norwegian fjord mesocosm. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 299(2), 248-254, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.2009.01751.x
Dietz, A S; Albright, L J; Tuominen, T (1976): Heterotrophic activities of bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 22(12), 1699-1709, https://doi.org/10.1139/m76-251
Gao, Qingzhu; Leck, Caroline; Rauschenberg, C; Matrai, Patricia A (2012): On the chemical dynamics of extracellular polysaccharides in the high Arctic surface microlayer. Ocean Science, 8(4), 401-418, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-8-401-2012
Henrichs, Susan M; Williams, P M (1985): Dissolved and particulate amino acids and carbohydrates in the sea surface microlayer. Marine Chemistry, 17(2), 141-163, https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(85)90070-2
Hörtnagl, Paul; Pérez, M T; Zeder, M; Sommaruga, Ruben (2010): The bacterial community composition of the surface microlayer in a high mountain lake. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2010.00904.x
Huang, Yun-Jie; Brimblecombe, Peter; Lee, Chon-Lin; Latif, Mohd Talib (2015): Surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer and sub-surface water at estuarine locations: Their concentration, distribution, enrichment, and relation to physicochemical characteristics. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 97(1-2), 78-84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.06.031
Kuznetsova, Marina; Lee, Cindy; Aller, Josephine (2005): Characterization of the proteinaceous matter in marine aerosols. Marine Chemistry, 96(3-4), 359-377, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2005.03.007
Kuznetsova, Marina; Lee, Cindy; Aller, Josephine; Frew, Nelson (2004): Enrichment of amino acids in the sea surface microlayer at coastal and open ocean sites in the North Atlantic Ocean. Limnology and Oceanography, 49(5), 1605-1619, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2004.49.5.1605
Marty, Jean-Claude; Ẑutić, V; Precali, Robert; Saliot, Alain; Ćosović, Božena; Smodlaka, N; Cauwet, Gustave (1988): Organic matter characterization in the Northern adriatic sea with special reference to the sea surface microlayer. Marine Chemistry, 25(3), 243-263, https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(88)90053-9
Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Kušan, Ana Cvitešić; Gluščić, Valentina; Žužul, Silva; Skejić, Sanda; Šantić, Danijela; Godec, Ranka; Pehnec, Gordana; Omanović, Dario; Engel, Anja; Frka, Sanja (2022): Variabilities of biochemical properties of the sea surface microlayer: Insights to the atmospheric deposition impacts. Science of the Total Environment, 838, 156440, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156440
Reinthaler, Thomas; Sintes, Eva; Herndl, Gerhard J (2008): Dissolved organic matter and bacterial production and respiration in the sea‐surface microlayer of the open Atlantic and the western Mediterranean Sea. Limnology and Oceanography, 53(1), 122-136, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2008.53.1.0122
Sieburth, J M N; Willis, Paula-Jean; Johnson, Kenneth M; Burney, Curtis M; Lavoie, Dennis M; Hinga, K; Caron, David A; French, Frederick W III; Johnson, Paul W; Davis, P G (1976): Dissolved Organic Matter and Heterotrophic Microneuston in the Surface Microlayers of the North Atlantic. Science, 194(4272), 1415-1418, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.194.4272.1415
van Pinxteren, Manuela; Müller, Conny; Iinuma, Yoshiteru; Stolle, Christian; Herrmann, Hartmut (2012): Chemical characterization of dissolved organic compounds from coastal sea surface microlayers (Baltic Sea, Germany). Environmental Science & Technology, 46(19), 10455-10462, https://doi.org/10.1021/es204492b
Williams, P M (1967): Sea surface chemistry: organic carbon and organic and inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in surface films and subsurface waters. Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts, 14(6), 791-800, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-7471(67)80015-9
Williams, P M; Carlucci, A F; Henrichs, Susan M; van Vleet, Edward S; Horrigan, S G; Reid, F M H; Robertson, K J (1986): Chemical and microbiological studies of sea-surface films in the Southern Gulf of California and off the West Coast of Baja California. Marine Chemistry, 19(1), 17-98, https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(86)90033-2
Wurl, Oliver; Holmes, Michael (2008): The gelatinous nature of the sea-surface microlayer. Marine Chemistry, 110(1-2), 89-97, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2008.02.009
Wurl, Oliver; Miller, Lisa Ann; Johnson, K; Vagle, Svein (2011): Formation and global distribution of sea-surface microlayers. Biogeosciences, 8(1), 121-135, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-121-2011
Wurl, Oliver; Miller, Lisa Ann; Röttgers, Rüdiger; Vagle, Svein (2009): The distribution and fate of surface-active substances in the sea-surface microlayer and water column. Marine Chemistry, 115(1-2), 1-9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2009.04.007
Source:
Barthelmeß, Theresa; Engel, Anja (2020): Microbial and molecular description of the sea surface microlayer off Mauritania during POSEIDON cruise POS519, Jan/Feb 2018 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.918275
Barthelmeß, Theresa; Engel, Anja (2022): Biopolymer composition and surface activity in the surface waters in Eckernförde bay in summer 2018 [dataset publication series]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.947802
Project(s):
Funding:
Comment:
This dataset contains measurements of organic matter (OM) concentrations in both the surface microlayer (SML) and underlying waters (ULW), along with the corresponding enrichment factors (EF). The SML is a critical boundary layer where concentrations of organic compounds may differ significantly from the ULW due to biological, physical and chemical processes. Enrichment factors, calculated by comparing concentrations in the SML to those in the ULW are included to quantify the degree of accumulation or depletion of organic matter in the SML. The dataset is compiled from data published in the literature, unpublished data collected upon request and data from mesocosm experiments.
The twelve different observational types of organic compounds are
1) total organic carbon (TOC in mg/l),
2) particulate organic carbon (POC in mg/l),
3) dissolved organic carbon (DOC in mg/l),
4) total organic nitrogen (TON in mg/l),
5) particulate organic nitrogen (PON in mg/l),
6) dissolved organic nitrogen (DON in mg/l),
7) amino acids (AA in μmol/l),
8) fatty acids (FA in μg/l),
9) transparent exopolymer particles (TEP in μg Xeq/l),
10) carbohydrates (CHO in μmol/l),
11) lipids (in μmol/l),
12) proteins (in μmol/l).
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Basic curation (CurationLevelB)
Size:
170 kBytes