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When dividing the ocean, the aim is generally to summarise a complex system into a representative number of units, each representing a specific environment, a biological community or a socio-economical specificity. Recently, several geographical partitions of the global ocean have been proposed using statistical approaches applied to remote sensing or observations gathered during oceanographic cruises. Such geographical frameworks defined at a macroscale appear hardly applicable to characterise the biogeochemical features of semi-enclosed seas that are driven by smaller-scale chemical and physical processes. Following the Longhurst’s biogeochemical partitioning of the pelagic realm, this study investigates the environmental divisions of the Mediterranean Sea using a large set of environmental parameters. These parameters were informed in the horizontal and the vertical dimensions to provide a 3D spatial framework for environmental management (12 regions found for the epipelagic, 12 for the mesopelagic, 13 for the bathypelagic and 26 for the seafloor). We show that: (1) the contribution of the longitudinal environmental gradient to the biogeochemical partitions decreases with depth; (2) the partition of the surface layer cannot be extrapolated to other vertical layers as the partition is driven by a different set of environmental variables. This new partitioning of the Mediterranean Sea has strong implications for conservation as it highlights that management must account for the differences in zoning with depth at a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of dissolved cadmium (Cd) in the Danube estuary was investigated through field sampling and mixing experiments using Danube River water and Black Sea water. The experiments were performed by mixing these two end-member waters in various proportions, with the addition of stable or radioactive Cd to the freshwater Danube end-member prior to the mixing. The release of Cd that resulted in maximum concentrations under field conditions was well simulated by mixing experiments. The experimental results were modeled assuming that the release of Cd was the sum of the contribution of physical effects resulting from dilution effects and the contribution of chemical effects resulting from dissolved Cd-complex formation (and isotopic exchange when concerned). In the absence of dissolved Cd-complexing ligands, the release of Cd due to the dilution of the particulate phase during mixing could explain part of the maximum concentrations observed in field conditions. Kinetic effects were established by comparing the theoretical and measured contribution of chemical effects resulting from dissolved Cd-complex formation. The non-equilibrium state observed during the mixing experiment suggested the presence of particulate labile Cd that was not easily mobilized. All these features supported the hypothesis that Cd released in estuaries is controlled both by the dilution of the particulate phase and by kinetic competitive complexation between particulate ligands (covering a large spectrum of nature and strength) and dissolved ligands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents inputs and output fluxes of dissolved metals (As, Cd,. Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) into and out the Western Mediterranean. These flux estimates are based on the most recently published concentrations and fluxes for the atmosphere, the rivers and the straits. Comparison of the different sources shows the predominance of the inputs through the straits over other sources. The river input is smaller than the atmospheric input except for As. For all elements except Fe, output flux and input flux are balanced; iron budget indicates transfer from the dissolved to the particulate phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regionalisation aims at delimiting provinces within which physical conditions, chemical properties, and biological communities are reasonably homogeneous. This article proposes a synthesis of the many recent regionalisations of the open-sea regions of the Mediterranean Sea. The nine studies considered here defined regions based on different, and sometimes complementary, criteria: dynamics of surface chlorophyll concentration, ocean currents, three-dimensional hydrological and biogeochemical properties, or the distribution of organisms. Although they identified different numbers and patterns of homogeneous regions, their compilation in the epipelagic zone identifies nine consensus frontiers, eleven consensus regions with relatively homogeneous conditions, and four heterogeneous regions with highly dynamical conditions. The consensus frontiers and regions are in agreement with well-known hydrodynamical features of the Mediterranean Sea, which constrain the distribution of hydrological and ecological variables. The heterogeneous regions are rather defined by intense mesoscale activity. The synthesis proposed here could constitute a reference step for management actions and spatial planning, such as the application of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and for future biogeochemical and ecological studies in the Mediterranean Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric deposition represents a significant source of nutrients at the Mediterranean basin scale. We apply aerosol deposition fields simulated from atmospheric models into the high resolution oceanic biogeochemical model NEMOMED12/PISCES with nutrient ratios used for plankton growth set to Redfield ratio. We perform 3 simulations to determine the impact of nutrients on productivity over the period 1997–2012: (i) without atmospheric deposition, (ii) with nitrogen deposition from anthropogenic and natural sources, and (iii) with deposition of both nitrogen (from anthropogenic and natural sources) and phosphate from desert dust. Time series of modeled deposition fluxes are compared to available measurements. This comparison with measurements shows that both variability and intensity ranges are realistic enough for our main purpose of estimating the atmospheric deposition impact on Mediterranean biogeochemical tracers such as surface nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll a and plankton concentrations. Our results show that atmospheric deposition is one of the major sources of nitrogen and phosphorus for some regions of the oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea. More than 18 · 10 9 gN month −1 are deposited to the whole Mediterranean Sea. This deposition is responsible for an average increase of 30–50% in primary production over vast regions. Natural dust-derived deposition of phosphorus is sparser in space and time (0.5 · 10 9 g month −1 on average over the entire basin). However, dust deposition events can significantly affect biological production. We calculate fertilizing effects of phosphate from dust to be low on average (6–10%) but up to 30% increase in primary productivity can be observed during the months when surface water stratification occurs. Finally, these fertilizing effects are shown to be transmitted along the biological chain (primary production, Chl a , phytoplankton, zooplankton, grazing). We also perform a preliminary study on the maximal biological response of the Mediterranean by simulating extreme deposition events throughout the basin over a full year period. We show that nitrogen deposition effects observed in our long-term simulations (1997–2012) are close to maximal effects (i.e. those produced by high intensity deposition events) whereas dust-derived phosphate effects are substantially weaker than the effect on productivity reached when an extreme deposition event occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An exceptional flood event, accompanying a marine storm, was investigated simultaneously at the entrance and the exit of the Gulf of Lion’s hydrosystem (NW Mediterranean) in December 2003. Cs, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb signatures of both riverine and shelf-exported particles indicate that continental inputs and resuspended prodeltaic sediments were intensively mixed with resuspended sediments from middle/outer shelf areas during advective transport. As a result, particles leaving the Gulf of Lion inherited the mean signature of shelf bottom sediments, exporting anthropogenic Pb and Zn out into the open sea. When assessing the particulate metal budget in relation with the event, it appears that the output fluxes accounted for between 15% and 60% of the input fluxes, depending on the element and the period of reference. This trend is also observed for annual budgets, which were drawn up by compiling the data from this study and the literature. Results evidenced that, except some element fluxes during extreme output scenario, outputs never counterbalance the inputs. In its current functioning, the Gulf of Lion’s shelf seems to act as a retention/sink zone for particulate metals. Regarding anthropogenic fluxes, the contribution of the oceanic flood of December 2003 to the mean annual scenario is considerable. Environmental impacts onto coastal and deep-sea ecosystems should therefore tightly depend on both the intensity and the frequency of event-dominated sediment transport. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Shelf-slope exchanges and budgets of organic and inorganic nutrients are calculated for the Gulf of Lion continental margin in the northwestern Mediterranean. Computations are based on data from three seasonal marine surveys performed in March 1998, June 1998 and January 1999 in the framework of the French Programme National d’Environnement Coˆtier. A Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone type box model is used to calculate the advective exchanges between the shelf and the adjacent open sea and to estimate the budgets of non-conservative elements (DIP, DIN, DOP, DON, DOC, POC, PON, POP). These budgets consider river discharges, urban sewage supply, atmospheric deposition, and fluxes at the water-sediment and shelf-slope interfaces. Uncertainties on the fluxes and budgets are estimated to assess the robustness of the results with respect to the spatial variability of the system. Results indicate that shelf-slope exchanges by mixing predominate with respect to the major input terms (river discharge and sediment release). Budgets for inorganic nutrients, that show a strong concentration gradient between the shelf and the slope waters, are significantly different from zero and indicate an excess of these elements in the shelf water. For all surveys, these surpluses suggest (i) that the whole shelf system is autotrophic (1.6–4.3 × 103 mol C s–1) and acts as a sink of CO2, and (ii) that it is a site of net denitrification (119 mol N s–1) and acts as a sink of N2. Average shelf-slope fluxes of dissolved and particulate organic elements generally indicate an export to the open sea. However, the large uncertainty on these fluxes yields budgets for the shelf not significantly different from zero. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]