RESEARCH GROUP:

• Dr. Sc. Blaženka Gašparović, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Andrea Milinković, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Ana Cvitešić Kušan, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Saranda Bakija Alempijević, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Dijana Jadreško, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Nadica Maltar Strmečki, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Abra Penezić, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Ivana Hrga, Dr. Andrija Štampar Teaching Institute for Public Health, Croatia
• Dr. Sc. Adriana Kenđel, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Croatia
• Prof. Dr. Sc. Božena Mitić, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Croatia
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Dario Hruševar, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Croatia
• Dr. Suzana Sopčić, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Croatia
• Dr. Helena Ribeiro, University of Porto, Faculty of Sciences, Porto, Portugal
• Prof. Dr. Leszek Marynowsky, Institute of Earth Science, University of Silesia, Sosnowiec, Poland

SUMMARY:

Future climate change scenarios predict that pollen concentrations in the air will increase as pollination period lengthen due to increased atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and higher temperatures. Land-sea interactions will become more intense, and because pollen contains a significant amount of organic nutrients, it is one of the allochthonous inputs to natural waters that may alter ecosystem dynamics. Although pollen input to freshwater systems (especially lakes) has been well studied, there is no information on effects of pollen input on phytoplankton production, a base of the marine trophic pyramid, in nearshore seawater. The phenomenon of yellow sea surface has been documented in recent years along the Adriatic coastal region from Kvarner, Šibenik, Split to Dubrovnik, and no one knows how long the pollen remains on the surface, how far it spreads at depth, and what consequences it leaves in the seawater. The interdisciplinary POLLMAR project will bring together experts in atmospheric chemistry, aerobiology, marine biogeochemistry, and oceanology to study, for the first time, the aerial pollen flux into the coastal areas of the central Adriatic Sea during the main pollination season (February to July). Laboratory experiments will investigate the dynamics of various pollen grain rupture under seawater and brackish water conditions, will identify and quantify the subpollen organic material leached, and will characterize the airborne pollutants that adsorb on the pollen grain surface. Finally, the microcosmos incubation experiment of collected pollen grains compared to dissolved organic subpollen matter will elucidate the effect of pollen input on marine primary production. This research is relevant to the Adriatic Sea as well as other oligotrophic coastal areas of the Mediterranean, which can respond rapidly to environmental stressors, especially occasional and excessive nutrient inputs from land and the atmosphere.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH GOALS:

• C1 To investigate the temporal dynamics of the input and source of pollen, coarse suspended bioparticles into the coastal sea of ​​the central Adriatic during the pollen season
• C2 To investigate the temporal variability of chemical biomarkers for pollen in the atmosphere and sea during the pollen season
• C3 To investigate the temporal dynamics of the rupture of different pollen grains in marine and brackish water conditions and to conduct chemical characterization of organic matter after the rupture of pollen grains
• C4 To identify and quantify pollutants adsorbed from the air onto pollen in the coastal central Adriatic and to estimate their input into the sea
• C5 To investigate the impact of pollen on the dynamics of organic nutrients and primary production in the sea (microcosm experiment)

NEWS:

FIELD SAMPLING

Twice a month during the pollination period March – September 2024, we sampled seawater at two stations: in front of the marine research station of the Ruđer Bošković Institute -Martinska and in front of Jadrija. The field campaign also included sampling of atmospheric suspended particles, rain, bulk deposition and pollen in the air.

THE PROJECT KICKOFF MEETING was held at the Ruđer Bošković Institute on February 23, 2024.