Seasonal and Interannual Variability of the CO2 System in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study in the North Western Levantine Basin

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Wimart-Rousseau, Cathy, Wagener, Thibaut, Álvarez, Marta, Moutin, Thierry, Fourrier, Marine, Coppola, Laurent, Niclas-Chirugien, Laure, Raimbault, Patrick, d'Ortenzio, Fabrizio, Durrieu de Madron, Xavier, Taillandier, Vincent, Dumas, Franck, Conan, Pascal, Pujo-Pay, Mireille, Lefèvre, D.
• Other Authors: Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie (MIO), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instituto Espagňol de Oceanografia (IEO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas = Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditérranéens (CEFREM), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM), Ministère de la Défense, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Microbienne (LOMIC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire océanologique de Banyuls (OOB), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: carbonate system; Mediterranean Sea; acidification; CO 2 fluxes; Levantine Sea; inorganic carbon; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03227218; https://hal.science/hal-03227218/document; https://hal.science/hal-03227218/file/fmars-08-649246.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.649246

International audience The seasonal variability of the carbonate system in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMed) was investigated based on discrete total alkalinity (A T ), total dissolved inorganic carbon (C T ), 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 A T variation vs. C T 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 C T by autotrophic processes. The high range of A T variations, combined to temperature changes, has a strong impact on the variability of the seawater p CO 2 ( p CO 2 S W ). Based on Argo float data, an entire annual cycle for p CO 2 S W in the NWLB has been reconstructed in order to estimate the temporal sequence of the potential “source” and “sink” of atmospheric CO 2 . By combining this dataset with previous observations in the NWLB, this study shows a significant ocean acidification and a decrease in the oceanic surface pH T 25 of −0.0024 ± 0.0004 pH T 25 units.a –1 . The changes in the carbonate system are driven by the increase of atmospheric CO 2 but also by unexplained temporal changes in the surface A T 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.