Along-Path Evolution of Biogeochemical and Carbonate System Properties in the Intermediate Water of the Western Mediterranean

作者：Katrin Schröeder, Stefano Cozzi, Malek Belgacem, Mireno Borghini, Carolina Cantoni, Sara Durante, Antonio Petrizzo, Annalisa Poiana, Jacopo Chiggiato · 发表于：Frontiers in Marine Science · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.3389/fmars.2020.00375 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Marine and coastal ecosystems、Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses、Marine Biology and Ecology Research

A basin-scale oceanographic cruise (OCEANCERTAIN2015) was carried out in the Western Mediterranean (WMED) in summer 2015 to study the evolution of hydrological and biogeochemical properties of the most ubiquitous water mass of the Mediterranean Sea, the Intermediate Water (IW). IW is a relatively warm water mass, formed in the Eastern Mediterranean (EMED) and identified by a salinity maximum all over the basin. While it flows westward, towards and across the WMED, it gradually loses its characteristics. This study describes the along-path changes of thermohaline and biogeochemical properties of the IW in the WMED, trying to discriminate changes induced by mixing and changes induced by interior biogeochemical processes. In the first part of the path (from the Sicily Channel to the Tyrrhenian Sea), respiration in the IW interior was found to have a dominant role in determining its biogeochemical evolution. Afterwards, when IW crosses regions of enhanced vertical dynamics (Ligurian Sea, Gulf of Lion and Catalan Sea), mixing with surrounding water masses becomes the primary process. In the final part of the investigated IW path (the Menorca-Mallorca region), the role of respiration is further masked by the effects of a complex circulation of IW, indicating that short-term sub-regional hydrological processes are important to define IW characteristics in the westernmost part of the investigated area. A pronounced along-path acidification was detected in IW, mainly due to reminerali...