TEST SITES

Latitude: 35º 35’ S / Longitude: 58º 01’ 10’’ W

The Chascomús Lake is a typical water body in the Pampa region of Argentina, part of the “chained” lakes. It’s a relatively large (~30 km2), permanent, and shallow (mean depth of 1.53 m) lake. It is an eutrophic, turbid, shallow water body which is permanently mixed by the persistent wind shear and which transparency is mainly controlled by suspended particles where both phytoplankton and non-pigmented particles contribute in a similar way to total absorption.

Latitude: 34º 33’ 39’’ S / Longitude: 58º 23’ 56’’ W

The Río de la Plata Estuary is one of the largest waterways of South America carrying large amount of suspended particulate and dissolved orgamatter, and is considered among the most turbid waters of the world. Very high values of total suspended matter have been reported in this region, with mean values ranging from 100 to 300 g m^-3 and extreme concentrations up to 400 g m^-3.

Latitude: 51º 19’ N / Longitude: 2º 47’ E

Belgian coastal waters are shallow and display a high variability in terms of sediments and phytoplankton. Surface sediment patterns are influenced by tide, vertical mixing (resuspension) and sediment transports from Strait of Dover and Yper and Sheldt rivers. Phytoplankton blooms are generally observed from spring to summer and can be dominated by different species such as diatoms, Phaeocystis or dinoflagellates.

Latitude: 51º 13’ 41’’ N / Longitude: 2º 57’ 10’’ E

Spuikom is a shallow artificial lagoon with a surface of 80 ha located near Ostend harbor (Belgium). It is mainly used for aquaculture and recreational activities. Chlorophyll concentration ranges between 20 to 200 mg m^-3 during strong bloom events. Macroalgae can also be present in Spuikom basin. In particular, Ulva blooms are used as an indicator of the ecological status of the basin.

Latitude: 31º 20’ N / Longitude: 122º 50’ E

The Changjiang River estuary is located at the junction of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, on the continental shelf at the western Pacific Ocean. The Changjiang River estuary and its adjacent area is a very turbid and productive aquatic ecosystem.

Latitude: 29º 55’ N / Longitude: 122º 50’ E

The adjacent area of Zhoushan island is a famous upwelling area in the East China Sea, with huge runoff of the Changjiang, Qiantang and Yongjiang rivers bringing abundant nutrition to Zhoushan island area.

Latitude: 28º 55’ N / Longitude: 122º 01’ E

The Zhejiang coast is an important part of East China Sea. The hydrological condition of this area is complicated in summer, with diluted water of Changjiang river from north and Taiwan warm current from south.

Latitude: 45º 28’ 58’’ N / Longitude: 0º 54’ 10’’ W

The Gironde Estuary is located on the French Atlantic coast. It is characterized by a turbidity gradient mainly impacted by tidal currents.

Latitude: 43º 19’ 09’’ N / Longitude: 4º 51’ 15’’ W

The Rhone River mouth is located in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea with turbid waters showing a strong seasonality due tu changes in river discharge and only slightly impacted by tidal currents.