Fluxes and budgets of contaminants in the German Bight

A series of papers present attempts at budgets for suspended particulate matter (SPM), nitrogen, lead, cadmium and the organochlorines HCH and PCB and the herbicide atrazine for the German bight. The budgets consider the relationship of the concentration of a substance in a compartment and the fluxes between compartments. Gross numbers, orders of magnitude, relative shares of stocks, turnover rates and fluxes all help to support the understanding of contaminant dynamics in coastal waters. As new data become available the balances can be improved.