Main Characteristics of Phytoplankton and Assessment of Bio-Optical Properties of the Black Sea Coastal Waters in Summer 2023 during the Coccolithophore Bloom

E. N. Korchemkina1, ✉, R. I. Lee2

1 Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS, Sevastopol, Russian Federation

2 A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Sevastopol, Russian Federation

✉ e-mail: korchemkina@mhi-ras.ru

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to describe the spatial distribution and structure of the phytoplankton community, and to reveal the relationships between the seawater optical characteristics and the phytoplankton abundance and biomass in the coastal waters of the Southern Coast of Crimea.

Methods and Results. The phytoplankton abundance and biomass were determined during the 127th cruise of R/V Professor Vodyanitsky by taking samples and their subsequent laboratory processing. Application of a semi-analytical algorithm made it possible to calculate simultaneously the phytoplankton pigment concentrations using the spectral reflectance coefficient of the sea measured from on board the ship. As for the species composition of phytoplankton, the water area under study was quite homogeneous: dinoflagellates, diatoms, and haptophytes were predominant in the phytoplankton community of the 0–10 m layer. It is shown that during the period of mass development of the haptophyte alga Gephyrocapsa huxleyi (Lohmann) P. Reinhardt 1972, its abundance dominated in the phytoplankton community, namely its contribution to the total abundance ranged from 30 to 70%. At the same time, the main part of wet biomass (42 to 98%) consisted of heterotrophic and mixotrophic forms of dinoflagellates. It was revealed that the phytoplankton pigment concentrations calculated using a semi-analytical algorithm correlated well with the biomass, but poorly with the cell abundance.

Conclusions. During the mass development of coccolithophores Gephyrocapsa huxleyi, a significant increase in light scattering accompanied by a slightly increased absorption complicates the description of the marine environment by optical methods. Under the specified conditions, assessing the phytoplankton pigment content, and later its biomass, is still possible.

Keywords

leading phytoplankton complex, Gephyrocapsa huxleyi, biomass, abundance, reflectance coefficient of the sea, chlorophyll a

Acknowledgements

The study was carried out as a part of the research project No. 124030100137-6 “Functional, metabolic, and molecular-genetic mechanisms of adaptation of marine organisms to the conditions of extreme ecotopes of the Black and Azov seas and other water areas of the World Ocean”, and within the framework of the state assignment of FSBSI FRC MHI (FNNN-2024-0012) “Analysis, diagnosis, and operational forecast of the state of hydrophysical and hydrochemical fields of marine water areas based on mathematical modeling using the data of remote and contact measurement methods.” The data were obtained during the 127th cruise of R/V Professor Vodyanitsky (Collective Use Center R/V Professor Vodyanitsky of FSBSI FRC IBSS). The authors are grateful to A.A. Sysoev for collecting plankton samples during the 127th cruise of R/V Professor Vodyanitsky.

About the authors

Elena N. Korchemkina, Senior Researcher, Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS (2 Kapitanskaya Str., Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), CSc. (Phys.-Math.), ResearcherID: I-1595-2015, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0526-4083, Scopus Author ID: 23004799100, SPIN-code: 9973-4657, korchemkina@mhi-ras.ru

Raisa I. Lee, Researcher, A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimov Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2482-0105, Scopus Author ID: 57214997607, SPIN-code: 8355-3004, raisa-lee@ibss.su

Original russian text

Original Russian Text © E. N. Korchemkina, R. I. Lee, 2026, published in MORSKOY GIDROFIZICHESKIY ZHURNAL, Vol. 42, Iss. 1, pp. 53–67 (2026)

For citation

Korchemkina, E.N. and Lee, R.I., 2026. Main Characteristics of Phytoplankton and Assessment of Bio-Optical Properties of the Black Sea Coastal Waters in Summer 2023 during the Coccolithophore Bloom. Physical Oceanography, 33(1), pp. 48-61.

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