OXYGEN BUDGET METHODS TO DETERMINE THE VERTICAL FLUX OF PARTICULATE ORGANIC-MATTER WITH APPLICATION TO THE COASTAL WATERS OFF WESTERN SCANDINAVIA

Oxygen budget methods to determine the vertical flux of particulate or ganic matter in the sea are presented and discussed. Most attention is devoted to oxygen budgets for aphotic stagnant waters, e.g. in fjordi c sill basins, but oxygen budgets for the photic layer are also covere d. Overall results on the vertical flux of organic matter obtained fro m the two oxygen budget methods are presented. It is found that the ve rtical flux of organic matter generally decreases with depth. This sho uld be an effect of pelagic remineralization. Starting in the Baltic S ea, the contemporary vertical flux of organic matter along the Scandin avian west coast shows a minimum in Oresund from where it increases to a maximum in the coastal zone of eastern and northern Skagerrak. Alon g the Norwegian west coast the vertical flux appears to be approximate ly constant and about the same as in the open Skagerrak. The vertical flux of organic matter has increased in the Baltic since the 1950s and there is strong evidence that there has been an increase along the ea stern and northern coasts of Skagerrak and in Kattegat during the last 15 years, approximately. The open Skagerrak, less influenced by outfl owing Baltic Sea water, showed a decrease in the vertical flux of orga nic matter in the period 1957-1982. Highly elevated rates of oxygen co nsumption are found in some fjordic sill basins. For fjords dischargin g directly into the open sea, it is thought that this may be due to tr ansient transport of large quantities of macroalgae into the fjords wh ich had previously been dislodged in the coastal zone during events of extremely strong winds and waves.