Page 132 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

Causes of Mucilage Formation and Solution Suggestions in
The Light of Mucilage Composition Findings in The Sea of Marmara

properties. Inorganic pollutants cause a toxic effect in water and bottom
sediments while organic pollutants enhance the nutrient chain for organisms
in the environment. The increase in nutrients in the seas, sudden changes in
water temperature and low water current cause a significant proliferation
of algae and other phytoplankton. Depending on these microorganisms, a
transparent, sticky jelly-like substance emerges, which is defined as sea snot.
While a part of this substance deposits down on the sea bottom and covers
the sediments, some part of it is transported to the coasts by wave movements
and accumulates on the sea surface. This layer, which covers the water surface
and causes photosynthesis to stop partially or completely in the aquatic
environment, reduces the dissolved oxygen ratio in the water. Mass deaths
occur in creatures living in marine environments with low oxygen levels. With
the addition of the remains of dead creatures to the sea snot, the mucilage turns
into a substance that emits a bad odor in the environment. This situation is also
seen in the Marmara Sea from time to time and creates a serious environmental
problem. In order to investigate the causes of this problem, samples were taken
from the waters discharged into the sea, sea snot and sea water and necessary
analyses were made. The total carbon, total organic carbon, inorganic carbon
and total nitrogen values of the samples were analyzed.
The pH value of mucilage is between 6.65-7.12, and the pH value of sea
water is between 7.88-8.25. According to the analysis results, it was determined
that the mucilage sample was acidic and the seawater sample was basic. By
adding nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers to the sea water, the acidity of the
water and the mucilage was monitored. In this experiment, it was observed
that the pH value of mucilage decreased to 6.15-6.55 and the pH value of sea
water decreased to 7.15-7.25, making the environment acidic and increasing
the electrical conductivity. The amount of dissolved oxygen in sea snot is too
small to be measured, and the value of dissolved oxygen increases up to 1.22-
1.23 ppm if 25% fresh water is added volumetrically.
Organic matter analysis was carried out by taking samples from sea water
and sea snot that occurred in the Marmara Sea in the summer of 2021. In
these analyses, the total carbon (TC= 36.5 ppm), inorganic carbon (IC= 25.8
ppm), total organic carbon (TOC=10.7 ppm) and total nitrogen (TN=0.32
ppm) values were obtained from the sea water sample. The total carbon (TC=
428 ppm), inorganic carbon (IC= 93.8 ppm), total organic carbon (TOC=334.2
ppm) and total nitrogen (TN=17.4 ppm) values of the mucilage sample were
also obtained. As a result of the examination with stereo zoom microscope,
it was found that planktonic algae and other phytoplankton were present in
the mucilage. Considering the high proportion of organic matter in mucilage,
it was understood that mucilage is mostly of organic origin and consists of
benthic, planktonic algae and other phytoplankton.

Year 2 / Issue 3 / January 2023 117