Page 104 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

THE STUDY OF DEOXYGENATION AND
MUCILAGE FORMATION IN THE MARMARA SEA

USING NOVEL OCEANOGRAPHIC APPROACHES
IN THE FRAME OF MARMOD PROJECT

Mustafa YÜCEL
Evrim KALKAN TEZCAN, et al.,

ABSTRACT
The Marmara Integrated Modelling System Project (MARMOD) which aims to
uncover the factors leading to deoxygenation and mucilage formation and
strives to develop ecosystem-based solutions is conducted by the Ministry of
Environment, Climate Change and Urbanization of Turkey and coordinated
by METU Institute of Marine Sciences in two phases as Phase 1 (2017-
2018) and Phase 2 (2021-ongoing). In the frame of Phase 1, marine data of
the last four decades have been compiled, deoxygenation trends in deep
basins have been established and nutrient load reduction proposals have
been developed based on a 1-D model. In Phase 2, marine expeditions and
mucilage investigations have been ongoing with the development of a new
3-D Marmara Digital Twin. According to MARMOD results, euthropication
conditions continue with the accompanying excessive organic matters,
deoxygenation, collectively forming the basis for mucilage events. Marmara
Sea is still resisting to environmental pressures. Only with the implementation
of the Marmara Sea Action Plan the ecosystem degradation can be reversed.
We propose that at least a 50% reduction in nutrient loads is needed for the
start of improvement. With MARMOD’s Marmara Digital Twin a state of art,
nationally-developed decision support tool will be available to policy makers.

Keywords: Sea of Marmara, Mucilage, Dissolved Oxygen, Ecosystem
Models, Oceanography, Digital Twin.

Year 2 / Issue 3 / January 2023 89