The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea
The coastal ocean is strongly affected by ocean acidification because of its shallow water depths, low volume, and the closeness to terrestrial dynamics. Earlier observations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the southern part of the North Sea, a northwest European she...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:efbca6cb3afe480b9bff113fa6ad81e2 2023-05-15T17:52:06+02:00 The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea F. Schwichtenberg J. Pätsch M. E. Böttcher H. Thomas V. Winde K.-C. Emeis 2020-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4223-2020 https://doaj.org/article/efbca6cb3afe480b9bff113fa6ad81e2 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/17/4223/2020/bg-17-4223-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-17-4223-2020 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/efbca6cb3afe480b9bff113fa6ad81e2 Biogeosciences, Vol 17, Pp 4223-4245 (2020) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4223-2020 2022-12-31T02:09:00Z The coastal ocean is strongly affected by ocean acidification because of its shallow water depths, low volume, and the closeness to terrestrial dynamics. Earlier observations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the southern part of the North Sea, a northwest European shelf sea, revealed lower acidification effects than expected. It has been assumed that anaerobic degradation and subsequent TA release in the adjacent back-barrier tidal areas (Wadden Sea) in summertime is responsible for this phenomenon. In this study the exchange rates of TA and DIC between the Wadden Sea tidal basins and the North Sea and the consequences for the carbonate system in the German Bight are estimated using a 3D ecosystem model. The aim of this study is to differentiate the various sources contributing to observed high summer TA in the southern North Sea. Measured TA and DIC in the Wadden Sea are considered as model boundary conditions. This procedure acknowledges the dynamic behaviour of the Wadden Sea as an area of effective production and decomposition of organic material. According to the modelling results, 39 Gmol TA yr −1 were exported from the Wadden Sea into the North Sea, which is less than a previous estimate but within a comparable range. The interannual variabilities in TA and DIC, mainly driven by hydrodynamic conditions, were examined for the years 2001–2009. Dynamics in the carbonate system are found to be related to specific weather conditions. The results suggest that the Wadden Sea is an important driver for the carbonate system in the southern North Sea. On average 41 % of TA inventory changes in the German Bight were caused by riverine input, 37 % by net transport from adjacent North Sea sectors, 16 % by Wadden Sea export, and 6 % were caused by internal net production of TA. The dominant role of river input for the TA inventory disappears when focusing on TA concentration changes due to the corresponding freshwater fluxes diluting the marine TA concentrations. The ratio of exported TA ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biogeosciences 17 16 4223 4245 |
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language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 F. Schwichtenberg J. Pätsch M. E. Böttcher H. Thomas V. Winde K.-C. Emeis The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The coastal ocean is strongly affected by ocean acidification because of its shallow water depths, low volume, and the closeness to terrestrial dynamics. Earlier observations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the southern part of the North Sea, a northwest European shelf sea, revealed lower acidification effects than expected. It has been assumed that anaerobic degradation and subsequent TA release in the adjacent back-barrier tidal areas (Wadden Sea) in summertime is responsible for this phenomenon. In this study the exchange rates of TA and DIC between the Wadden Sea tidal basins and the North Sea and the consequences for the carbonate system in the German Bight are estimated using a 3D ecosystem model. The aim of this study is to differentiate the various sources contributing to observed high summer TA in the southern North Sea. Measured TA and DIC in the Wadden Sea are considered as model boundary conditions. This procedure acknowledges the dynamic behaviour of the Wadden Sea as an area of effective production and decomposition of organic material. According to the modelling results, 39 Gmol TA yr −1 were exported from the Wadden Sea into the North Sea, which is less than a previous estimate but within a comparable range. The interannual variabilities in TA and DIC, mainly driven by hydrodynamic conditions, were examined for the years 2001–2009. Dynamics in the carbonate system are found to be related to specific weather conditions. The results suggest that the Wadden Sea is an important driver for the carbonate system in the southern North Sea. On average 41 % of TA inventory changes in the German Bight were caused by riverine input, 37 % by net transport from adjacent North Sea sectors, 16 % by Wadden Sea export, and 6 % were caused by internal net production of TA. The dominant role of river input for the TA inventory disappears when focusing on TA concentration changes due to the corresponding freshwater fluxes diluting the marine TA concentrations. The ratio of exported TA ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
F. Schwichtenberg J. Pätsch M. E. Böttcher H. Thomas V. Winde K.-C. Emeis |
author_facet |
F. Schwichtenberg J. Pätsch M. E. Böttcher H. Thomas V. Winde K.-C. Emeis |
author_sort |
F. Schwichtenberg |
title |
The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea |
title_short |
The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea |
title_full |
The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea |
title_fullStr |
The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea |
title_sort |
impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern north sea |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4223-2020 https://doaj.org/article/efbca6cb3afe480b9bff113fa6ad81e2 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 17, Pp 4223-4245 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/17/4223/2020/bg-17-4223-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-17-4223-2020 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/efbca6cb3afe480b9bff113fa6ad81e2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4223-2020 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
16 |
container_start_page |
4223 |
op_container_end_page |
4245 |
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1766159428357193728 |