Socal Giorgio

His interest is mainly oriented to research in biological oceanography, carrying out field and  laboratory studies. The main topics focus on phytoplankton ecology and primary production processes, with emphasis on the relationships of the pelagic communities with the water column structure and nutrients availability. His major interest is devoted to the trophic state of the coastal and offshore basins with particular attention to spatial-temporal distributions and to biodiversity of the autotrophic communities in some Mediterranean basins (mainly the northern and central Adriatic but also in the Otranto Strait, and the Ionian Sea). He has  carried out several studies on the biology of the pelagic estuarine systems like the lagoon of Venice and the Po river prodelta areas. Recently he participated in a project on the impact of sediments over the photo-physiology of the autotrophic organisms in the Venice Lagoon. He improved his experiences on the dynamics of the plankton communities in extremes environments, working during three expeditions in the polar systems, respectively, in the Antarctic Ocean (Weddell sea), in the Arctic basins (Barents Sea, Fram Strait and Nansen Basin) and the third in a fjord of the Svalbard  Islands (Kongsfjorden close to the Ny Alesund Italian basis). During these experiences, he studied the horizontal and temporal variations of nutrients and phytoplankton in the open ocean, at the ice edge, and in the water column under the closed pack ice. In the years from 1999 to 2005, he was teacher of biological oceanography for Environmental Science degree at the Cà Foscari University of Venice.

• Leader of the plankton committee of the Italian Society of Marine Biology (SIBM) 2006-2009
• Leader of the program unit “Evaluation of the trophic and quality state of the transitional environments” inside of the subproject “Quality of the lagoonal and transitional environments of the Department Earth and Environment.”
• Leader of the convention 2008 – 2009 ARPA Veneto and ISMAR for activities in the framework of the Water Frame Directive 2000/60 CE  
• He was leader of the EU projects  INTERREG II Italia Slovenia. Measure  1.5 Interventions for the protection of the waters (1999-2001) and INTERREG III  A/Phare CBC Italia Slovenia 2000-2006 subproject OBAS (Biological Oceanography of the northern Adriatic Sea)
• He was leader of the project ICSEL (Integration of the knowledge of the Venice lagoon ecosystem. Phytoplankton and zooplankton community state in the lagoon) Contract between  ISMAR CNR and Consorzio Venezia Nuova
• He was leader of the research line “Relative importance of different sources of particulate matter in the Kongsfjorden environment ”2003-2004:in the frame of the Strategic Arctic project  
• He was leader of the CNR unity ex Institute of Marine Biology (now ISMAR) Venice for the research line “Evaluation of the primari production of the Northern Adriatic Sea” in the frame of the “Monitoring program and study of the formation processes of Mucilage in the Adriatic and Thirrenian sea.

He wrote 139 papers 22 of them included in the Science Citation Index.

• Socal, G. Nothig, E.-M. Bianchi, F. Boldrin, A. Mathot, S. Rabitti, S. 1997. Phytoplankton and particulate matter at the Weddell-Scotia Confluence (47 long West) in summer 1989 as a final step of a temporal succession (EPOS project). Polar Biol 18:1-9.
• Socal, G. Bianchi, F. Alberighi, L. 1999. Effects of thermal pollution and nutrient discharges on a spring phytoplankton bloom in an industrial area of the lagoon of Venice. Vie et Milieu 49 (1): 19-31.
  
• Socal G., Boldrin A., Bianchi F., Civitarese G., De Lazzari A., Rabitti S., Totti C., Turchetto M.M. 1999. Nutrient, particulate matter and phytoplankton variability in the photic layer of the Otranto Strait, Eastern Mediterranean. J. Marine Sys. 20:381-398.
• Luchetta, A. Lipizer, M. & Socal, G. 2000. Temporal evolution of primary production in the central Barents Sea. J. Marine Sys. 27: 177-193.
  
• Owrid, G. Socal, G. Civitarese, G. Luchetta, A. Wiktor, J. Nöthig, E.M. Andreassen, I. Schauer, U. Strass, V. 2000. Spatial variability of phytoplankton, nutrients and new production estimates in the waters around Svalbard (Summer 1991). Polar Research 19 (2): 155-171.
• Facca, C. Sfriso, A. Socal, G. 2002. Phytoplankton changes and relationships with microphytobenthos and physico-chemical variables in the central part of the Venice lagoon. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science54 (5): 773-792.
  
• Bernardi Aubry, F. Berton, A. Bastianini, M. Socal, G. Acri, F. 2004. Phytoplankton succession in a coastal area of the NW Adriatic over a 10-years sampling period (1990-1999). Continental Shelf Resesarch 24/1: 97-115.
  
• Pugnetti A., Armeni M., Camatti E., Crevatin E., Dell’Anno A., Del Negro P.,  Milandri A., Socal G., Fonda Umani S., Danovaro R. 2005. Imbalance between phytoplankton production and bacterial carbon demand in relation to mucilage formation in the Northern Adriatic Sea. The Science of total Environment 353: 162-177.
  
• Totti, C. Cangini, M. Ferrari, C. Krauss, R. Pompei, M. Pugnetti, A. Romagnoli, T. Vanucci, S. Socal, G. 2005. Phytoplankton size-distribution  and community structure in relation to mucilage occurence in the northern Adriatic Sea. The Science of total Environment 353: 204-217.
• Bernardi Aubry, F. Acri, F. Bastianini, M. Pugnetti, A.Socal, G. 2006. Picophytoplankton contribution to phytoplankton community structure in the Gulf of Venice (NW Adriatic Sea). International Review of Hydrobiology 91:51-70.
• Bernardi Aubry, F. Acri, F. Bastianini, M. Bianchi, F. Cassin, D. Pugnetti, A. Socal, G. 2006 Seasonal and interannual variations of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Venice (Northern Adriatic Sea). Chemistry and Ecology 22 suppl. 1: S71-S91.
• Tedesco, L. Socal, G. Bianchi, F. Acri, F. Veneri, D. Vichi, M. 2007. NW Adriatic Sea biogeochemical variability in the last 20 years (1986-2005). Biogeosciences 4 673-687.
• Socal, G. Casotti, R. Malej, A. 2008. The Northern Adriatic Sea: selected results from the European program INTERREG III Italy-Slovenia (2000-2006). Marine Ecology 29, 387-388.
• Socal, G. Acri, F.Bastianini, M. Bernardi Aubry, F. Bianchi, F. Cassin, D. Coppola, J. De Lazzari, A. Bandelj, V.Cossarini, G. Solidoro, C. 2008. Hydrography and biogeochemical features in the Northern Adriatic Sea during the period 2003-2006. Marine Ecology 29, 449-468.
• Bandelj, V. Socal, G. , Park, YS, Lek, L. Coppola, J. Camatti, E. Capuzzo, E. Milani, L., Solidoro, C. 2008. Multitrophic assemblage of plankton communities in the lagoon of Venice. Marine Ecology Progress Series 368, 23–40.