Research Information System
International Journal of Environment and Geoinformatics, vol.9, no.3, pp.126-145, 2022 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
A severe mucilage problem appeared as a major environmental disaster in the Marmara Sea, Turkey, during March-May 2021 period,
imposing significant implications for the fishing industry, marine life and tourism. The mucilage layers covered areas of hundreds of
kilometers of coastline along the Marmara Sea. This study aimed to provide an insight into the mucilage outbreak observed in the
Marmara Sea during March-May 2021 period by establishing some links between meteorological factors including SST anomalies
and changes in wind speed and mucilage occurrence and puts some emphasis on the importance of monitoring variability of such
parameters to assess mucilage outbreaks. For this purpose, mean and maximum SSTs and wind speed variability at several locations
along the shores of Marmara and Black Seas are analyzed for the April-June period, when the mucilage problem peaked. Both
surface and satellite data are used to identify the spatial and temporal extent of the SST anomalies. Furthermore, the relationship
between turbidity in the Marmara Sea and the SSTs is sought as a contributing factor to mucilage formation and enhancement. The
findings indicate that most of the stations are characterized by warming trends and positive SST anomalies, with a few stations
indicating periodic warming and cooling. Moreover, the NOAA NCEP Optimum Interpolation SST (OISST) data supported the
warming event especially in central and eastern parts of the Marmara Sea. The wind observations at different locations along the
shores of Marmara and Black Seas indicate decreasing trends in the mean wind speed. The view taken in this paper is that both the
increased SSTs and reduced wind speed generate a favorable environment both for the formation and enhancement of the mucilage
episode over the Marmara Sea during the March-June 2021 period. Therefore, analysis of such meteorological parameters can
provide a better understanding of mucilage aggregation in addition to other causative factors involved. The study also concluded that
the modest turbidity conditions caused increase in the SSTs to some extent in addition to the climate change-related warming.