Tidal-induced inorganic carbon dynamics in the Strait of Gibraltar |
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| Authors: | Mercedes de la Paz Bibiana Debelius Diego Macías Agueda Vázquez Abelardo Gómez-Parra Jesus M Forja |
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| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Química-Física, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro s/n, Puerto Real, Cádiz 11510, Spain;2. Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro s/n, Puerto Real, Cádiz 11510, Spain;3. Departamento de Física Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro s/n, Puerto Real, Cádiz 11510, Spain |
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| Abstract: | This study presents the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) along the Strait of Gibraltar, its tidal-induced variability, as well as the inorganic carbon exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. During November 2003, water column samples were collected at nine stations to measure total alkalinity (TA), pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) for the spatial characterization of the carbonate system. At the same time, anchored samplings were carried out, above the Camarinal Sill and in the Eastern Section of the Strait, in order to assess the tidal mixing effects for oxygen and DIC distribution on the water column. Three distinct water masses can be discerned in this area: the Surface Atlantic Water (SAW), the Mediterranean Water (MW), and the less abundant North Atlantic Central Water (NACW). The observations show an increase in the DIC and a decrease in oxygen concentration with depth, related to the different physico-chemical features of each water mass. The results show the high time-dependence of the vertical distribution of DIC with the interface oscillation, affected by the intense mixing processes taking place in the Strait. Intense mixing episodes over the Camarinal Sill are responsible for an increase in the DIC concentrations in the upper layer of the Eastern Section of the Strait. Higher DIC concentrations in the Mediterranean than in the Atlantic waters are responsible for a net DIC transport of 1.47×1012 mol C yr−1 to the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, the net exchange is highly sensitive to the interface definition, as well as to the estimate of water volume transport used. |
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| Keywords: | Inorganic carbon AOU Tidal mixing Carbon exchange Strait of Gibraltar |
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