understand the physical processes leading to anoxia, the
biogeochemical structure of the oxic/anoxic interfaces,
and the ecological consequences of oxygen depletion in
order to predict the possible effect of global changes on
oxygen conditions.
Oxygen depletion significantly affects water quality
and ecosystem function. The absence of oxygen impairs
the oxic ecosystem both directly and indirectly. Increased
occurrence and volumes of anoxic water threaten the functioning of healthy aerobic ecosystems and thereby have
a direct impact on human welfare and ecosystem services.
There can be an additional, indirect impact at the watersediment interface, where redox equilibria control the rate
of supply of phosphorus from the sediments and the
release of hazardous substances (e.g., methylmercury).
The consequence of oxygen depletion of natural
waters is an important element of water-quality legislation
(e.g., in the Water Framework Directive; EC, 2000).
Bibliography
Canfield, D. E., and Thamdrup, B., 2009. Towards a consistent classification scheme for geochemical environments, or, why we wish
the term “suboxic” would go away. Geobiology, 7, 385–392.
European Commission, 2000. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000
establishing a framework for Community action in the field of
water policy. Official Journal of the European Communities, L
327, 1–72.
Deutsch, C., Brix, H., Ito, T., Frenzel, H., and Thompson, L., 2011.
Climate-forced variability of ocean hypoxia. Science,
333(6040), 336–339.
Diaz, R. J., 2001. Overview of hypoxia around the world. Journal of
Environmental Quality, 30, 275–281.
Diaz, R., and Rosenberg, R., 2008. Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science, 321, 926–929.
Emerson, S., Watanabe, Y. W., Ono, T., and Mecking, S., 2004.
Temporal trends in apparent oxygen utilization in the upper
pycnocline of the North Pacific: 1980–2000. Journal of Oceanography, 60, 139–147.
Falkowski, P. G., Algeo, T., Codispoti, L., Deutsch, C., Emerson, S.,
Hales, B., Huey, R. B., Jenkins, W. J., Kump, L. R., Levin, L. A.,
Lyons, T. W., Nelson, N. B., Schofield, O. S., Summons, R.,
Talley, L. D., Thomas, E., Whitney, F., and Pilcheret, C. B.,
2011. Ocean deoxygenation: past, present, and future. Eos,
Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 92(46),
409–420.
Feistel, R., Nausch, G., and Wasmund, N. (eds.), 2008. State and
Evolution of the Baltic Sea, 1952–2005. Hoboken: Wiley.
Jost, G., and Pollehne, F., 2013. The energetic balance of microbial
exploitation of pelagic redox gradients. In Yakushev, E. V. (ed.),
Chemical Structure of Pelagic Redox Interfaces: Observation
and Modeling. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Vol. 22, pp. 47–66.
Keeling, R. E., Kortzinger, A., and Gruber, N., 2010. Ocean deoxygenation in a warming world. Annual Review of Marine Science,
2, 199–229.
Murray, J. W., Codispoti, L. A., and Friederich, G. E., 1995. Oxidation–reduction environments. the suboxic zone in the Black Sea.
In Huang, C. P., et al. (eds.), Aquatic Chemistry: Interfacial and
Interspecies Processes. Washington DC: American Chemical Society. ACS Advances in Chemistry Series, Vol. 244, pp. 157–176.
Nealson, K. N., and Stahl, D. A., 1997. Microorganisms and biogeochemical cycles: what can we learn from layered microbial
communities? In Banfield, J. F., and Nealson, K. N. (eds.),
Geomicrobiology: Interactions Between Microbes and Minerals. Washington DC: Mineralogical Society of America.
Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 35.
Paulmier, A., and Pino, D., 2009. Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs)
in the modern ocean. Progress in Oceanography, 80, 113–128.
Rabalais, N. N., Turner, R. E., and Weisman, W. J., Jr., 2002. Gulf of
Mexico hypoxia a.k.a. “The dead zone”. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 33, 235–263.
Richardson, K., and Jørgensen, B. B., 1996. Eutrophication: definition,
history and effects. In Jorgenson, B. B., and Richardson, K. (eds.),
Eutrophication in Coastal Marine Ecosystems. Washington, DC:
AGU. Coastal and Estuarine Studies, Vol. 52, pp. 1–19.
Savchuk, O., 2013. Large-scale dynamics of hypoxia in the
Baltic Sea. In Yakushev, E. V. (ed.), Chemical Structure of
Pelagic Redox Interfaces: Observation and Modeling. Berlin/
Heidelberg: Springer. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry,
Vol. 22, pp. 137–160.
Schneider, B., Nausch, G., Kubsch, H., and Peterson, I., 2002.
Accumulation of total CO 2 during stagnation in the Baltic deep
water and its relationship to nutrient and oxygen concentrations.
Marine Chemistry, 77, 277–291.
Scranton, M. I., McIntyre, M., Taylor, G. T., Muller-Karger, F., Fanning, K., and Astor, Y., 2006. Temporal variability in the nutrient
chemistry of the Cariaco Basin. In Neretin, L. N. (ed.), Past and
Present Water Column Anoxia. Dordrecht: Springer. NATO
Science Series, pp. 139–160.
Sorokin, Y. I., 2002. The Black Sea. Ecology and Oceanography.
Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
Vinogradov, M. E., and Nalbandov, Y. P., 1990. Dependence of physical, chemical and biological parameters in pelagic ecosystem of
the Black Sea upon the water density. Oceanology, 30, 769–777.
Whitney, F. A., Freeland, H. J., and Robert, M., 2007. Persistently
declining oxygen levels in the interior waters of the eastern subarctic Pacific. Progress in Oceanography, 75, 179–199.
Yakushev, E., and Newton, A., 2013. Introduction. Redox interfaces
in marine waters. In Yakushev, E. V. (ed.), Chemical Structure of
Pelagic Redox Interfaces: Observation and Modeling. Berlin/
Heidelberg: Springer. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry,
Vol. 22, pp. 1–12.
Yakushev, E. V., Podymov, O. I., and Chasovnikov, V. K., 2005.
Seasonal changes in hydrochemical structure of the Black Sea
redox zone. Oceanography, 18(2), 44–51.
Cross-references
Anoxia, Hypoxia, and Dead Zones
Redox Conditions
OYSTER REEF
Timothy M. Dellapenna
Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University
at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA
Definition
Oyster reefs consist of large clusters of oysters that
form habitat in estuaries. Oysters play an important role
in maintaining water quality and providing habitat for
juvenile fish and other marine organisms (Kilgen and
Dugas, 1989).
470
OYSTER REEF
biogeochemical structure of the oxic/anoxic interfaces,
and the ecological consequences of oxygen depletion in
order to predict the possible effect of global changes on
oxygen conditions.
Oxygen depletion significantly affects water quality
and ecosystem function. The absence of oxygen impairs
the oxic ecosystem both directly and indirectly. Increased
occurrence and volumes of anoxic water threaten the functioning of healthy aerobic ecosystems and thereby have
a direct impact on human welfare and ecosystem services.
There can be an additional, indirect impact at the watersediment interface, where redox equilibria control the rate
of supply of phosphorus from the sediments and the
release of hazardous substances (e.g., methylmercury).
The consequence of oxygen depletion of natural
waters is an important element of water-quality legislation
(e.g., in the Water Framework Directive; EC, 2000).
Bibliography
Canfield, D. E., and Thamdrup, B., 2009. Towards a consistent classification scheme for geochemical environments, or, why we wish
the term “suboxic” would go away. Geobiology, 7, 385–392.
European Commission, 2000. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000
establishing a framework for Community action in the field of
water policy. Official Journal of the European Communities, L
327, 1–72.
Deutsch, C., Brix, H., Ito, T., Frenzel, H., and Thompson, L., 2011.
Climate-forced variability of ocean hypoxia. Science,
333(6040), 336–339.
Diaz, R. J., 2001. Overview of hypoxia around the world. Journal of
Environmental Quality, 30, 275–281.
Diaz, R., and Rosenberg, R., 2008. Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science, 321, 926–929.
Emerson, S., Watanabe, Y. W., Ono, T., and Mecking, S., 2004.
Temporal trends in apparent oxygen utilization in the upper
pycnocline of the North Pacific: 1980–2000. Journal of Oceanography, 60, 139–147.
Falkowski, P. G., Algeo, T., Codispoti, L., Deutsch, C., Emerson, S.,
Hales, B., Huey, R. B., Jenkins, W. J., Kump, L. R., Levin, L. A.,
Lyons, T. W., Nelson, N. B., Schofield, O. S., Summons, R.,
Talley, L. D., Thomas, E., Whitney, F., and Pilcheret, C. B.,
2011. Ocean deoxygenation: past, present, and future. Eos,
Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 92(46),
409–420.
Feistel, R., Nausch, G., and Wasmund, N. (eds.), 2008. State and
Evolution of the Baltic Sea, 1952–2005. Hoboken: Wiley.
Jost, G., and Pollehne, F., 2013. The energetic balance of microbial
exploitation of pelagic redox gradients. In Yakushev, E. V. (ed.),
Chemical Structure of Pelagic Redox Interfaces: Observation
and Modeling. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, Vol. 22, pp. 47–66.
Keeling, R. E., Kortzinger, A., and Gruber, N., 2010. Ocean deoxygenation in a warming world. Annual Review of Marine Science,
2, 199–229.
Murray, J. W., Codispoti, L. A., and Friederich, G. E., 1995. Oxidation–reduction environments. the suboxic zone in the Black Sea.
In Huang, C. P., et al. (eds.), Aquatic Chemistry: Interfacial and
Interspecies Processes. Washington DC: American Chemical Society. ACS Advances in Chemistry Series, Vol. 244, pp. 157–176.
Nealson, K. N., and Stahl, D. A., 1997. Microorganisms and biogeochemical cycles: what can we learn from layered microbial
communities? In Banfield, J. F., and Nealson, K. N. (eds.),
Geomicrobiology: Interactions Between Microbes and Minerals. Washington DC: Mineralogical Society of America.
Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 35.
Paulmier, A., and Pino, D., 2009. Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs)
in the modern ocean. Progress in Oceanography, 80, 113–128.
Rabalais, N. N., Turner, R. E., and Weisman, W. J., Jr., 2002. Gulf of
Mexico hypoxia a.k.a. “The dead zone”. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 33, 235–263.
Richardson, K., and Jørgensen, B. B., 1996. Eutrophication: definition,
history and effects. In Jorgenson, B. B., and Richardson, K. (eds.),
Eutrophication in Coastal Marine Ecosystems. Washington, DC:
AGU. Coastal and Estuarine Studies, Vol. 52, pp. 1–19.
Savchuk, O., 2013. Large-scale dynamics of hypoxia in the
Baltic Sea. In Yakushev, E. V. (ed.), Chemical Structure of
Pelagic Redox Interfaces: Observation and Modeling. Berlin/
Heidelberg: Springer. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry,
Vol. 22, pp. 137–160.
Schneider, B., Nausch, G., Kubsch, H., and Peterson, I., 2002.
Accumulation of total CO 2 during stagnation in the Baltic deep
water and its relationship to nutrient and oxygen concentrations.
Marine Chemistry, 77, 277–291.
Scranton, M. I., McIntyre, M., Taylor, G. T., Muller-Karger, F., Fanning, K., and Astor, Y., 2006. Temporal variability in the nutrient
chemistry of the Cariaco Basin. In Neretin, L. N. (ed.), Past and
Present Water Column Anoxia. Dordrecht: Springer. NATO
Science Series, pp. 139–160.
Sorokin, Y. I., 2002. The Black Sea. Ecology and Oceanography.
Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
Vinogradov, M. E., and Nalbandov, Y. P., 1990. Dependence of physical, chemical and biological parameters in pelagic ecosystem of
the Black Sea upon the water density. Oceanology, 30, 769–777.
Whitney, F. A., Freeland, H. J., and Robert, M., 2007. Persistently
declining oxygen levels in the interior waters of the eastern subarctic Pacific. Progress in Oceanography, 75, 179–199.
Yakushev, E., and Newton, A., 2013. Introduction. Redox interfaces
in marine waters. In Yakushev, E. V. (ed.), Chemical Structure of
Pelagic Redox Interfaces: Observation and Modeling. Berlin/
Heidelberg: Springer. Handbook of Environmental Chemistry,
Vol. 22, pp. 1–12.
Yakushev, E. V., Podymov, O. I., and Chasovnikov, V. K., 2005.
Seasonal changes in hydrochemical structure of the Black Sea
redox zone. Oceanography, 18(2), 44–51.
Cross-references
Anoxia, Hypoxia, and Dead Zones
Redox Conditions
OYSTER REEF
Timothy M. Dellapenna
Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University
at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA
Definition
Oyster reefs consist of large clusters of oysters that
form habitat in estuaries. Oysters play an important role
in maintaining water quality and providing habitat for
juvenile fish and other marine organisms (Kilgen and
Dugas, 1989).
470
OYSTER REEF