News


April 2023

Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Gluščić, Valentina; Žužul, Silva; Jakovljević, Ivana; Skejić, Sanda; Šantić, Danijela; Godec, Ranka et al.: Insights to the short-term atmospheric deposition impacts on the biology and chemistry of the sea surface microlayer in the Adriatic Sea coastal region // The European Geosciences Union 2023 (EGU23) General Assembly, Beč, Austrija: Copernicus GmbH, 2023. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu23-14624
(lecture, international peer review, unpublished, scholarly)


March 2023

A final BiREADI workshop and group meeting was held at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb on March 10, 2023.

After the final workshop, where the main results of the BiREADI project were presented by the project collaborators and after an extensive joint discussion, the BiREADI project collaborators held a final meeting of the project group. The project PI summarized the BiREADI results achieved:

i) Implementation of all planned and additional project activities;

ii) Implementation of all project objectives;

iii) Enabled employment and training of young researchers:

iv) Excellent dissemination and publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals (June 2023:18 peer reviewed papers);

v) Dissemination of results to the public;

vi) Launch of the BiREADI Journal Club;

vii) New collaborations achieved;

viii) New project proposals submitted to HRZZ IP-2022-10, INTERREG IT-HR 2021/27 PROGRAMS, NPOO RIP, Adris…


November 2022

Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Mihaljević, Ivan; Frka, Sanja; Smital, Tvrtko; Strmečki Kos, Slađana: Kvantifikacija i ekotoksikologija nitro-monoaromatskih ugljikovodika u atmosferskim lebdećim česticama PM10 izgaranja biomase, Znanstvena škola o okolišu 2022: Multidisciplinarni pristup istraživanju mikro- i nano- čestica u prirodnim sustavima, 22- 25 November 2022, Zagreb, Croatia, online (lecture, local peer review) Book of abstracts

September 2022

Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Skejić, Sanda; Šantić, Danijela; Lehners, Carola; Striebel, Maren; Niggemann, Jutta; Žužul, Silva et al.: Impacts of biomass burning versus anthropogenic aerosol deposition on the surface layers in the central Adriatic Sea: A mesocosm study // SOLAS Open Science Conference 2022, 25 – 29 September 2022, Kaapstad, Južnoafrička Republika (poster presentation)

Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Gluščić, Valentina; Žužul, Silva; Skejić, Sanda; Šantić, Danijela; Godec, Ranka; Pehnec, Gordana; Omanović, Dario et al.: Variabilities of biochemical properties of the sea surface microlayer: insights to the atmospheric deposition impacts // SOLAS Open Science Conference 2022, 25 – 29 September 2022,
Kaapstad, Južnoafrička Republika (lecture)

Milinković, Andrea: Gregorič, Asta: Džaja Grgičin, Vedrana: Vidič, Sonja: Penezić, Abra: Cvitešić Kušan, Ana: Bakija Alempijević, Saranda: Kasper- Giebl, Anne: Frka, Sanja: Variability of black carbon aerosol concentrations and sources at the Central Adriatic coastal zone: light-absorption observation and source-oriented modelling // 11th International Aerosol Conference (IAC 2022), 4-9 September 2022,  Atena, Grčka (poster presentation, international peer review)

Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Gluščić, Valentina; Žužul, Silva; Skejić, Sanda; Šantić, Danijela; Godec, Ranka; Pehnec, Gordana; Omanović, Dario et al.: Variabilities of biochemical properties of the sea surface microlayer: Insights to the atmospheric deposition impacts // Science of the total environment,838 (2022), 156440, 14 doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156440 (international peer review, article, scholarly)

June 2022

Flanjak, Lana; Vrana, Ivna; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Godrijan, Jelena; Novak, Tihana; Penezić, Abra; Gašparović, Blaženka: The effects of high temperatures and nitrogen availability on the growth and composition of the marine diatom Chaetoceros pseudocurvisetus // Journal of experimental botany,73 (2022), 12; 4250-4265 doi:10.1093/jxb/erac145 (international peer review, article, scholarly)

May 2022

Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Godrijan, Jelena; Gašparović, Blaženka; Šantić, Danijela; Ribas Ribas, Mariana; Wurl, Oliver; Striebel, Maren et al.: Diurnal dynamics at the sea-atmosphere interface: The Central Adriatic campaign // EGU General Assembly 2022, 23-27 May 2022,Beč, Austrija, pp. 1-2 (lecture, international peer review, abstract, scholarly)

April 2022

Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Mihaljević, Ivan; Dragojević, Jelena; Frka, Sanja; Smital, Tvrtko; Strmečki Kos, Slađana: EXPLORING ECOTOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NITROMONOAROMATIC COMPOUNDS BY IN VITRO AND IN VIVO BIOASSAYS, 6th Faculty of Science PhD Student Syposium, 23 – 24 April 2022, Faculty of Science, Zagreb, Croatia (poster presentation, local peer review ). Book of abstracts

Bačinić, Anđela; Frka, Sanja; Mlakar, Marina: A study of cobalt (II) complexes involved in marine biogeochemical processes: Co(II)-1,10- Phenanthroline and Co(II)-1,10-Phenanthroline-L-α- Phosphatidylcholine, Bioelectrochemistry, 144 (2022), 108009-108018 (international peer review, article, other)

March 2022

PhD students Andrea Milinković and Saranda Bakija Alempijević participated in an online workshop entitled ” ACS on Campus – Croatia” , 10 Tips for Scholarly Publishing (March 16, 2022).

Flanjak, Lana; Vrana, Ivna; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Godrijan, Jelena; Novak, Tihana; Penezić, Abra; Gašparović, Blaženka. 2022. The effects of high temperatures and nitrogen availability on the growth and composition of the marine diatom Chaetoceros pseudocurvisetus. J. Appl. Phycol. Accepted.

December 2021


Data Meeting Project INSIST

On December 21, 2021, 2nd Data Meeting Project INSIST was held online.  Project leads Croatian and German PIs, Sanja Frka and Marianna Ribas  Ribas (University of Oldenburg, Germany), respectively. Project  activities supported by BiREADI, enabled performance of the field  campaign at the central Adriatic site related to diel dynamics on the  air-sea interface. Project collaborators and colleagues involved in  field work gathered for an online project meeting. Participants  presented project outcomes, followed by a discussion.

Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Mihaljević, Ivan; Dragojević, Jelena; Strmečki Kos, Slađana; Frka, Sanja; Smital, Tvrtko: Ekotoksični učinci metil-nitrokatehola, Znanstvena škola o okolišu 2021: Sveobuhvatni pristup istraživanju antropogenih pritisaka na okoliš, 7- 10 December 2021, Zagreb, Croatia, online (lecture, local peer review) Book of abstracts

Milinković, Andrea; Gregorič, Asta; Džaja Grgičin, Vedrana; Vidič, Sonja; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Kasper-Giebl, Anne; Frka, Sanja: Light-absorption observation and source-oriented modelling for characterization and source apportionment of black carbon aerosol pollution in a typical Mediterranean coastal area, Znanstvena škola o okolišu 2021: Sveobuhvatni pristup istraživanju antropogenih pritisaka na okoliš, 7- 10 December 2021, Zagreb, Croatia, online (poster presentation, local peer review) Book of abstracts

November/December 2021

Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Mihaljević, Ivan; Dragojević, Jelena; Strmečki Kos, Slađana; Frka, Sanja; Smital, Tvrtko: Ecotoxicological Effects of Methylnitrocatechols, 21st European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry, 30 November – 3 December 2021, Novi Sad, Srbija, online (poster presentation, international peer review) Book of abstracts

November 2021

Milinković, Andrea; Gregorič, Asta; Džaja Grgičin, Vedrana; Vidič, Sonja; Penezić, Abra; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Kasper- Giebl, Anne; Frka, Sanja: Variability of black carbon aerosol concentrations and sources at a Mediterranean coastal region, Atmospheric Pollution Research, 12 (2021), 11; 101221, 13 (international peer review, article, scholarly)


BiREADI project meeting

On November 5, 2021, a project meeting was held at Ruđer Bošković Institute. Project PI, Sanja Frka presented design and methodology of conducted mesocosm experiment and project team members, Andrea Milinković, Abra Penezić and Sanda Skejić presented their results through oral presentations. Meeting also included a discussion section.

October 2021

Abra Penezić, PhD:
Atmospheric deposition of trace metals, Croatian radiotelevision, national programme, channel HRT1, “Prometej” Link

Šimić, Iva; Mendaš, Gordana; Pehnec, Gordana; Milinković, Andrea; Frka, Sanja: Different performances of a bulk collector for the determination of PAHs and PCBs in total deposited matter, 27th Croatian Meeting of Chemists and Chemical Engineers, 5 – 8 October 2021Veli Lošinj, Croatia (poster presentation)

September 2021

Žužul, Silva; Gluščić, Valentina; Šimić, Iva; Penezić, Abra; Milinković, Andrea; Frka, Sanja: Heavy metals in deposited matter in the vicinity of Šibenik, 12th Croatian Scientific and Professional Conference Air Protection 2021, 15 – 17 September 2021, Medulin, Croatia (lecture) Link

Milinković, Andrea; Gregorič, Asta; Džaja Grgičin, Vedrana; Vidič, Sonja; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Kasper-Giebl, Anne; Frka, Sanja: Combining light-absorption observation and source-oriented modelling for characterization and source apportionment of black carbon aerosol pollution in a typical Mediterranean coastal area, 16th IGAC Scientific Conference, 13 – 17 September 2021 (poster presentation) Link

Strmečki Kos, Slađana; Dešpoja, Iva; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Frka, Sanja: Copper Speciation by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry in the Surface Layers of the Oligotrophic Sea Influenced by Atmospheric Deposition, 72nd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 29 August – 3 September 2021, Jeju Island, Korea, online (poster presentation, international peer review) Link

August/September 2021

Džepina, Katja; Moschos, Vaios; Tobler, Anna; Canonaco, Fransecso; Bhattu, Deepika; Casotto, Roberto; Vlachou, Athanasia; Giannoukos, Stamatios; Cui, Tianqu; Manousakas, Manousos Ioannis et al.: Sarajevo Canton Winter Field Campaign 2018 (SAFICA): aerosol source apportionment and oxidative potential in a global hotspot, European Aerosol Conference 2021, 30 August – 3 September 2021, online (lecture,
international peer review) Book of abstracts

August 2021

Strmečki, Slađana; Pereža, Lora: Electrochemistry of chitosan amino-glycan and BSA protein mixture under seawater conditions, Journal of electroanalytical chemistry, 898 (2021), 115630, 9 (international peer review, article, scholarly) Link

Jakovljević, Ivana; Šimić, Iva; Mendaš, Gordana; Sever Štrukil, Zdravka; Žužul, Silva; Gluščić, Valentina; Godec, Ranka; Pehnec, Gordana; Bešlić, Ivan; Milinković, Andrea; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Šala, Martin; Ogrizek, Monika; Frka, Sanja: Pollution levels and deposition processes of airborne organic pollutants over the central Adriatic area: Temporal variabilities and source identification, Marine pollution bulletin, (2021), 172; 112873, 18 (international peer review, article, scholarly) Link

July 2021

Dešpoja, Iva; Strmečki Kos, Slađana; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Frka, Sanja: Electrochemical determination of copper complexing capacity in the surface layer of the coastal central Adriatic Sea, 10th ISE Satellite Student Regional Symposium on Electrochemistry, 2 July 2021, Zagreb, Croatia (lecture) Link

June 2021

Penezić, Abra; Milinković, Andrea; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Žužul, Silva; Frka, Sanja: Atmospheric deposition impacts on the sea surface microlayer in the coastal environment, Asociation for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanology (ASLO) 2021 Aquatic Sciences Meeting, 22 – 27 June 2021, USA (online lecture, international peer review ) Link

Penezić, Abra; Milinković, Andrea; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Žužul, Silva; Frka, Sanja: Atmospheric deposition of biologically relevant trace metals in the eastern Adriatic coastal area, Chemosphere, 283 (2021), 131178, 14 (international peer review, article, scholarly) Link

April 2021

Strmečki Kos, Slađana; Dešpoja, Iva; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda: Impact of specific atmospheric depositions on Cu-organic matter interaction in the sea-surface microlayer of the middle Adriatic, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19 – 30 April 2021, EGU21-4052. Link

Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Cvitešić Kušan, Ana; Gluščić, Valentina; Žužul, Silva; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Godec, Ranka; Frka, Sanja: Seasonal variabilities of nitrogen and phosphorus atmospheric deposition to the central Adriatic area and biogeochemical implications, PhD Student Symposium 2021, 24 – 25 April 2021, Faculty of Science, Zagreb, Croatia, online (poster presentation). Book of abstracts

Novak, Tihana; Blaženka Gašparović, Blaženka; Vrana Špoljarić, Ivna; Čanković, Milan: High local nutrient input influence on oligotrophic phytoplankton production and lipid biogeochemistry, EGU General Assembly 2021 | vEGU21: Gather Online, 19 – 30 April 2021 (lecture, international peer review) Link

February 2021

The results of the BiREADI project were presented at the online conference 28th AMOS Annual Conference „Science for Impact“, Australia (February 08 – 11, 2021) with an oral presentation: Penezić, A., Milinković, A., Bakija Alempijević, S., Žužul, S., Frka S.: Atmospheric Deposition of Biologically Relevant Trace Metals in an Oligotrophic Adriatic Sea Area Link

January 2021

PhD student Saranda Bakija Alempijević spent four days at the Laboratory of Plankton and Shellfish toxicity, Institute of oceanography and fisheries, Split, Croatia. Under the leadership of PhD Sanda Skejić the student was introduced to the laboratory method of working with existing phytoplankton cultures and learned the fluorimetric method of calculating the biomass of phytoplankton through the concentration of chlorophyll a.

December 2020

PhD students Andrea Milinković and Saranda Bakija Alempijević participated in an online workshop entitled “Step-by-step Guide on How to Prepare a Successful Paper – Croatia”, Springer Nature, AD webinars held by Dr. Nabil Khélifi, Senior Editor, Springer Nature (December 10, 2020).

September 2020

PhD student Andrea Milinković and Dr. Sc. Sanja Frka Milosavljević, Croatian radiotelevision, national programme, channel HRT1, “Scientific circles”.

PhD student Andrea Milinković participated in the preparation of materials for the “70th anniversary of the Ruđer Bošković Institute”; making video material “How do clouds form?”

August 2020

The first mesocosm experiment investigating the impact of atmospheric pollutants on biochemical responses of the sea surface has been performed in the middle Adriatic area. It is also the first incubation experiment of its kind conducted in the Adriatic Sea.

The aim of the experiment was to explore how atmospheric particles emitted by various sources such as traffic, industry as well as biomass burning can affect the biology and chemistry of the sea surface layers.

Specially designed equipment for the mesocosm experiment was set up at the Martinska station near Šibenik. Incubation bags with the sea surface microlayer and the underlying water samples were incubated by different atmospheric additions and kept in the seawater, exposed to ambient sunlight, at different depths.

In the vicinity of the island of Zlarin, about 200 L of the sea surface microlayer was collected by a special remote-controlled catamaran, equipped with various sensors enabling on-line data collection, designed by dr. Oliver Wurl, University Oldenburg, Germany.

The mesocosm experiment brought together scientists from: several laboratories of the Ruđer Bošković Institute; University of Oldenburg, Germany; Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Meteorological and Hydrological Service in Croatia and University Pannonia, Hungary.

May 2020

Frka, Sanja; Milinković, Andrea; Penezić, Abra; Bakija Alempijević, Saranda; Gašparović, Blaženka; Skejić, Sanda; Šantić, Danijela; Brzaj, Stjepana; Džaja Grgičin, Vedrana; Vidič, Sonja; Šimić, Iva; Bešlić, Ivan; Žužul, Silva; Godec, Ranka; Pehnec, Gordana: Biochemical responses of oligotrophic Adriatic Sea surface layers to atmospheric deposition inputs,EGU2020: Sharing Geoscience Online, Viena, Austria, 4-8 May 2020. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-15108 Link

February 2020

Ivana Jakovljević, Zdravka Sever Štrukil, Gordana Pehnec, Ivan Bešlić, Andrea Milinković, Saranda Bakija Alempijević, Sanja Frka: Comparison of mass concentrations of PAHs in coastal area of the Middle Adriatic and Middle Croatia, 13. Meeting of young chemical Engineers 2020 – The Croatian Society of Chemical Engineers, Zagreb, Croatia (poster presentation). Book of abstracts

Andrea Milinković, Asta Gregorič, Abra Penezić, Ranka Godec, Anne Kasper-Giebl, Saranda Bakija Alempijević, Sanja Frka: Optical properties and source apportionment of aerosols at the Middle Adriatic area, PMF Doctoral Student Symposium 2020-Faculty of Science, Zagreb, Croatia (oral presentation). Book of abstracts

Andrea Milinković: Optical properties and source apportionment of aerosols from the Middle Adriatic, Aerosol, Ljubljana, Slovenia, oral presentation 02.2020.

January 2020

Stjepana Brzaj, Vedrana Džaja Grgičin, Sanja Frka, Martijn Schaap, Sonja Vidič, Valentina Gluščić, Ivan Bešlić, Silva Žužul: Atmospheric deposition to the Central Adriatic sea, Croatia, 12th International Conference on Air Quality, Thessaloniki, Grčka (abstract accepted; selected for oral presentation).

Stjepana Brzaj, Vedrana Džaja Grgičin, Sanja Frka, Martijn Schaap, Sonja Vidič, Valentina Gluščić, Ivan Bešlić, Silva Žužul: Atmosfersko taloženje na području Srednjeg Jadrana, Meteorološki izazovi 7-Hrvatsko meteorološko društvo, Zagreb, Hrvatska (abstract accepted; selected for oral presentation).

October 2019 – BiREADI project meeting

On October 28, 2019, a project meeting was held at Ruđer Bošković Institute that brought together the BiREADI project team. The project PI gave an overview of the planned and implemented activities, as well as the achieved results and goals for the first year of the project. An overview of the activities and objectives for the second project year was presented as well. Project team members presented their results through oral presentations. The meeting was adjourned after a joint discussion of the results was conducted and a plan of data publishing was established.


August 2019

PhD student Andrea Milinković spent 3 weeks in the Research Division 2: Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel (Dr. Anja Engel), Kiel, Germany, where she was introduced to new spectrophotometric methods of characterizing the marine organic matter. She also performed the analyses of field samples collected within BiREADI Middle Adriatic campaign.

July 2019


International student visit

Lucija Plazibat, a student from Sacramento City College (Sacramento, California, USA) spent two months in LBMA. She was introduced to new environmental research topics and techniques for sampling and analysis of marine and atmospheric samples to study the interactions and effects of atmospheric deposition onto the sea surface ecosystem as part of ongoing CSF project: “Biochemical responses of oligotrophic Adriatic surface ecosystems to atmospheric deposition inputs (BiREADI)“, (2018-2022) (PI S. Frka Milosavljević). During her visit, Lucia was involved in BiREADI field campaign at the Martinska research station. With her dedicated work, Lucija contributed to the implementation of the BiREADI project activities.


June 2019

PhD student Andrea Milinković was approved for the STSM Cost Action CA16109 project: “Optical Properties and Source Apportionment of Aerosols from the Middle Adriatic Based on Multi-Wavelength Optical Absorption Measurements”. As part of the project, A. Milinković will spend 3 weeks in Aerosol d.o.o. (Asta Gregorič, PhD), Ljubljana, Slovenia where she will be introduced to new online techniques for determining black carbon in the air and discuss the results obtained during the BiREADI campaign in the Middle Adriatic.


November 2018


BiREADI project kick-off meeting

The kick-off meeting of the project BiREADI (Biochemical responses of oligotrophic Adriatic surface ecosystems to atmospheric deposition inputs) was held on 16 November 2018 at the Ruđer Bošković Institute.

Project PI, Sanja Frka presented an overview of the scientific background, overall project team, vision and mission, project design and methodology, and the working plan of the entire project.
BiREADI project with its scientific mission, defined goals and the overall project design offers a state-of-the-art research, addressing a highly relevant and the most pressing issues in global climate today.

A phased approach is presented:

  • Phase I – to evaluate concentrations, sources and deposition fluxes of atmospheric constituents, and to get insight into the nature of its enrichments within the sea surface layers;
  • Phase II – to assess the impact of ambient atmospheric deposition from diverse sources on natural plankton population, and consequently on the chemistry of the sea surface layers;
  • Phase III – to get insight into the mechanisms by which atmospheric deposition affects phytoplankton, but also to assess the toxic effects of atmospheric pollutants that can interact synergistically on various levels of biological organisation in aquatic systems;
  • Phase IV – to better understand the nature of biogenic OM variabilities within the aqueous surface layers affected by AD inputs with the consequences on the surface film formation and properties.

Highly skilled scientists are a major engine driving the scientific research addressed by the BiREADI project. The project team is constituted of 14 interdisciplinary experts from 7 laboratories within 4 respectable Croatian institutions:

  1. Ruđer Bošković Institute from Division from the Division for Marine and Environmental Research
  2. Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries
  3. Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health from Environmental Hygiene Unit
  4. Meteorological and Hydrological Service in Croatia from Air Quality Modelling, Research and Applications Department.

All project collaborators attended the meeting and presented the overview of the activities they are in charge. Meeting also included a discussion section on the detail working plan and activities of the first project year.

Slađana Strmecki Kos has presented the activities related to the project website design as the project logo was presented as well. The first joint photos of the project team were created.