POC and PN concentrations were very high at S. Giuliano, with intermediate values at Marghera, Fusina and Palude (Table 1).
Chlorophyll a had the same behaviour (Table 1). At Marghera, a maximum of 71.7 μgchl a dm3 was measured in July 1998, resulting from a community of nanoflagellates with abundances exceeding 7106 cell dm3.
At Lido, chlorophyll a concentrations typical of Northern Adriatic coastal waters were measured (mean¼2.0 lgdm3), whereas Palude and Fusina had more or less similar means, around 5–6 μg dm3.
POC/chlorophyll ratios exceeded 200 in all stations, highlighting how the contribution of the biogenic detritus to organic particulates was high.