Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin
The seasonal variability of the carbonate system in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMed) was investigated based on discrete total alkalinity (AT), total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT), and pH measurements collected during three cruises around Crete between June 2018 and March 2019. This study prese...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.649246/full |
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| author | Cathy Wimart-Rousseau Thibaut Wagener Marta Álvarez Thierry Moutin Marine Fourrier Laurent Coppola Laurent Coppola Laure Niclas-Chirurgien Patrick Raimbault Fabrizio D’Ortenzio Xavier Durrieu de Madron Vincent Taillandier Franck Dumas Pascal Conan Mireille Pujo-Pay Dominique Lefèvre |
| author_facet | Cathy Wimart-Rousseau Thibaut Wagener Marta Álvarez Thierry Moutin Marine Fourrier Laurent Coppola Laurent Coppola Laure Niclas-Chirurgien Patrick Raimbault Fabrizio D’Ortenzio Xavier Durrieu de Madron Vincent Taillandier Franck Dumas Pascal Conan Mireille Pujo-Pay Dominique Lefèvre |
| author_sort | Cathy Wimart-Rousseau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The seasonal variability of the carbonate system in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMed) was investigated based on discrete total alkalinity (AT), total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT), and pH measurements collected during three cruises around Crete between June 2018 and March 2019. This study presents a detailed description of this new carbonate chemistry dataset in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. We show that the North Western Levantine Basin (NWLB) is unique in terms of range of AT variation vs. CT variation in the upper water column over an annual cycle. The reasons for this singularity of the NWLB can be explained by the interplay between strong evaporation and the concomitant consumption of CT by autotrophic processes. The high range of AT variations, combined to temperature changes, has a strong impact on the variability of the seawater pCO2 (pCO2SW). Based on Argo float data, an entire annual cycle for pCO2SW in the NWLB has been reconstructed in order to estimate the temporal sequence of the potential “source” and “sink” of atmospheric CO2. By combining this dataset with previous observations in the NWLB, this study shows a significant ocean acidification and a decrease in the oceanic surface pHT25 of −0.0024 ± 0.0004 pHT25 units.a–1. The changes in the carbonate system are driven by the increase of atmospheric CO2 but also by unexplained temporal changes in the surface AT content. If we consider that the EMed will, in the future, encounter longer, more intense and warmer summer seasons, this study proposes some perspectives on the carbonate system functioning of the “future” EMed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T23:03:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-038f0393d7834b30bc0febdc4e386c6a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T23:03:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-038f0393d7834b30bc0febdc4e386c6a2022-12-21T22:12:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-05-01810.3389/fmars.2021.649246649246Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine BasinCathy Wimart-Rousseau0Thibaut Wagener1Marta Álvarez2Thierry Moutin3Marine Fourrier4Laurent Coppola5Laurent Coppola6Laure Niclas-Chirurgien7Patrick Raimbault8Fabrizio D’Ortenzio9Xavier Durrieu de Madron10Vincent Taillandier11Franck Dumas12Pascal Conan13Mireille Pujo-Pay14Dominique Lefèvre15Aix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, UM 110, Marseille, FranceAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, UM 110, Marseille, FranceInstituto Español de Oceanografia, A Coruña, SpainAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, UM 110, Marseille, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Villefranche-sur-Mer, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Villefranche-sur-Mer, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, Villefranche-sur-Mer, FranceAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, UM 110, Marseille, FranceAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, UM 110, Marseille, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Villefranche-sur-Mer, FranceCEFREM, CNRS-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Villefranche-sur-Mer, FranceService Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine—Shom, Brest, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne, Observatoire Océanologique, Banyuls-sur-Mer, FranceSorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne, Observatoire Océanologique, Banyuls-sur-Mer, FranceAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO, UM 110, Marseille, FranceThe seasonal variability of the carbonate system in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMed) was investigated based on discrete total alkalinity (AT), total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT), and pH measurements collected during three cruises around Crete between June 2018 and March 2019. This study presents a detailed description of this new carbonate chemistry dataset in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. We show that the North Western Levantine Basin (NWLB) is unique in terms of range of AT variation vs. CT variation in the upper water column over an annual cycle. The reasons for this singularity of the NWLB can be explained by the interplay between strong evaporation and the concomitant consumption of CT by autotrophic processes. The high range of AT variations, combined to temperature changes, has a strong impact on the variability of the seawater pCO2 (pCO2SW). Based on Argo float data, an entire annual cycle for pCO2SW in the NWLB has been reconstructed in order to estimate the temporal sequence of the potential “source” and “sink” of atmospheric CO2. By combining this dataset with previous observations in the NWLB, this study shows a significant ocean acidification and a decrease in the oceanic surface pHT25 of −0.0024 ± 0.0004 pHT25 units.a–1. The changes in the carbonate system are driven by the increase of atmospheric CO2 but also by unexplained temporal changes in the surface AT content. If we consider that the EMed will, in the future, encounter longer, more intense and warmer summer seasons, this study proposes some perspectives on the carbonate system functioning of the “future” EMed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.649246/fullcarbonate systemMediterranean SeaacidificationCO2 fluxesLevantine Seainorganic carbon |
| spellingShingle | Cathy Wimart-Rousseau Thibaut Wagener Marta Álvarez Thierry Moutin Marine Fourrier Laurent Coppola Laurent Coppola Laure Niclas-Chirurgien Patrick Raimbault Fabrizio D’Ortenzio Xavier Durrieu de Madron Vincent Taillandier Franck Dumas Pascal Conan Mireille Pujo-Pay Dominique Lefèvre Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin Frontiers in Marine Science carbonate system Mediterranean Sea acidification CO2 fluxes Levantine Sea inorganic carbon |
| title | Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin |
| title_full | Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin |
| title_short | Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin |
| title_sort | seasonal and interannual variability of the co2 system in the eastern mediterranean sea a case study in the north western levantine basin |
| topic | carbonate system Mediterranean Sea acidification CO2 fluxes Levantine Sea inorganic carbon |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.649246/full |
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