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In this publication you will find a comprehensive data set of the North Sea ecosystem, including the distribution and the fate of contaminants, their transport paths and their analysis by means of numerical models. This book presents the results of the interdisciplinary German research project ZISCH (´Zirkulation und Schadstoffumsatz in der Nordsee´) encompassing oceanographers, meteorologists, marine biologists and chemists.

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1 Introduction.- 2 Field Data.- 2.1 Seasonal and Interannual Variability in the Atmosphere and in the Sea.- 2.2 Ecological Situation in the North Sea During Spring and Winter 1986/87.- 2.3 Large-Scale Distribution of Contaminants in Spring 1986 and Winter 1986/87.- 2.4 Atmospheric Transport of Contaminants, Their Ambient Concentration and Input into the North Sea.- 2.5 Local Studies in the German Bight During Winter/Spring 1988/89.- 2.6 Measurements of Suspended Matter Dynamics in the German Bight.- 2.7 Local Variability of Surface Currents Based on HF-Radar Measurements.- 2.8 Background Concentrations for Metals in the North Sea: Sediment, Water, Mussels and Atmosphere.- 3 Model Experiments.- 3.1 Mean and Local Transport in Air.- 3.2 Currents and Transport in Water.- 3.3 Phytoplankton Modelling in the Central North Sea During ZISCH 1986.- 4 Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Field and Model Data.- 4.1 Evaluation of the North Sea Joining insitu and Remotely Sensed Data with Model Results.- 4.2 The influence of Weather and Climate.- 4.3 Seasonal Correlation Between Nutrients and Contaminants.- 4.4 Effects of Abiotic Processes on the Fate of Contaminants.- 4.5 Bioaccumulation and Effects of Plankton and Benthos on the Fate of Contaminants.- 4.6 Combined Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Factors on Heavy Metal Fluxes.- 4.7 On the Reliability of our North Sea Assessment.- 5 A Composite View of the North Sea Ecosystem and Future Research Needs.- 5 A Composite View of the North Sea Ecosystem and Future Research Needs.

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