Articles | Volume 18, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5513-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5513-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Oct 2021
Research article |
| 12 Oct 2021
| 12 Oct 2021
Particulate organic carbon dynamics in the Gulf of Lion shelf (NW Mediterranean) using a coupled hydrodynamic–biogeochemical model
Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 14
Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Caroline Ulses
Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 14
Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, 14 Avenue Edouard
Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Claude Estournel
Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 14
Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, 14 Avenue Edouard
Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Patrick Marsaleix
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, 14 Avenue Edouard
Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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In this study we examined how oxygen is absorbed, released, and transported in the Levantine Sea, a nutrient-poor part of the Eastern Mediterranean. Using computer models with ocean data, we found that the sea takes up oxygen from the air in winter, carries it to deeper layers, and exports it to nearby seas. The Rhodes Gyre is a major hotspot, while winter heat loss drives shifts between oxygen gain and loss, showing how climate controls oxygen supply.
Claude Estournel, Tristan Estaque, Caroline Ulses, Quentin-Boris Barral, and Patrick Marsaleix
Ocean Sci., 21, 1487–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1487-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1487-2025, 2025
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During the summer of 2022 in the eastern Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean), exceptionally warm temperatures were observed down to depths of 30 m, along with massive mortality of benthic species. It has been shown that these deep marine heatwaves are linked to southeasterly wind episodes, which induce deep plunges of surface water overheated by the atmospheric heatwave. These events are rare in summer, but their impact on ecosystems is dramatic and will only increase with climate change.
Adrien Garinet, Marine Herrmann, Patrick Marsaleix, and Juliette Pénicaud
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 6967–6986, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6967-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6967-2024, 2024
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Mixing is a crucial aspect of the ocean, but its accurate representation in computer simulations is made challenging by errors that result in unwanted mixing, compromising simulation realism. Here we illustrate the spurious effect that tides can have on simulations of south-east Asia. Although they play an important role in determining the state of the ocean, they can increase numerical errors and make simulation outputs less realistic. We also provide insights into how to reduce these errors.
Ngoc B. Trinh, Marine Herrmann, Caroline Ulses, Patrick Marsaleix, Thomas Duhaut, Thai To Duy, Claude Estournel, and R. Kipp Shearman
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 1831–1867, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1831-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1831-2024, 2024
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A high-resolution model was built to study the South China Sea (SCS) water, heat, and salt budgets. Model performance is demonstrated by comparison with observations and simulations. Important discards are observed if calculating offline, instead of online, lateral inflows and outflows of water, heat, and salt. The SCS mainly receives water from the Luzon Strait and releases it through the Mindoro, Taiwan, and Karimata straits. SCS surface interocean water exchanges are driven by monsoon winds.
Caroline Ulses, Claude Estournel, Patrick Marsaleix, Karline Soetaert, Marine Fourrier, Laurent Coppola, Dominique Lefèvre, Franck Touratier, Catherine Goyet, Véronique Guglielmi, Fayçal Kessouri, Pierre Testor, and Xavier Durrieu de Madron
Biogeosciences, 20, 4683–4710, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4683-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4683-2023, 2023
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Deep convection plays a key role in the circulation, thermodynamics, and biogeochemical cycles in the Mediterranean Sea, considered to be a hotspot of biodiversity and climate change. In this study, we investigate the seasonal and annual budget of dissolved inorganic carbon in the deep-convection area of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea.
Joelle Habib, Caroline Ulses, Claude Estournel, Milad Fakhri, Patrick Marsaleix, Mireille Pujo-Pay, Marine Fourrier, Laurent Coppola, Alexandre Mignot, Laurent Mortier, and Pascal Conan
Biogeosciences, 20, 3203–3228, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3203-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3203-2023, 2023
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The Rhodes Gyre, eastern Mediterranean Sea, is the main Levantine Intermediate Water formation site. In this study, we use a 3D physical–biogeochemical model to investigate the seasonal and interannual variability of organic carbon dynamics in the gyre. Our results show its autotrophic nature and its high interannual variability, with enhanced primary production, downward exports, and onward exports to the surrounding regions during years marked by intense heat losses and deep mixed layers.
Alice Carret, Florence Birol, Claude Estournel, and Bruno Zakardjian
Ocean Sci., 19, 903–921, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-903-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-903-2023, 2023
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This study presents a methodology to investigate the ability of satellite altimetry to observe a coastal current, the Northern Current, in the NW Mediterannean Sea. We use a high-resolution regional model, validated with HF radars and in situ data. The model is used as a reference and compared to three different missions (Jason 2, SARAL and Sentinel-3), studying both the surface velocity and the sea surface height signature of the current. The performance of the three missions was also compared.
Marine Herrmann, Thai To Duy, and Claude Estournel
Ocean Sci., 19, 453–467, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-453-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-453-2023, 2023
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The South Vietnam upwelling develops in summer along and off the Vietnamese coast. It brings cold and nutrient-rich waters to the surface, allowing photosynthesis essential to marine ecosystems and fishing resources. We show here that its daily variations are mainly due to the wind, thus predictable, in the southern shelf and coastal regions. However, they are more chaotic in the offshore area, and especially in the northern area, due to the influence of eddies of a highly chaotic nature.
Thai To Duy, Marine Herrmann, Claude Estournel, Patrick Marsaleix, Thomas Duhaut, Long Bui Hong, and Ngoc Trinh Bich
Ocean Sci., 18, 1131–1161, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1131-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1131-2022, 2022
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The South Vietnam Upwelling develops in the coastal and offshore regions of the southwestern South China Sea under the influence of summer monsoon winds. Cold, nutrient-rich waters rise to the surface, where photosynthesis occurs and is essential for fishing activity. We have developed a very high-resolution model to better understand the factors that drive the variability of this upwelling at different scales: daily chronology to summer mean of wind and mesoscale to regional circulation.
Caroline Ulses, Claude Estournel, Marine Fourrier, Laurent Coppola, Fayçal Kessouri, Dominique Lefèvre, and Patrick Marsaleix
Biogeosciences, 18, 937–960, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-937-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-937-2021, 2021
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We analyse the seasonal cycle of O2 and estimate an annual O2 budget in the north-western Mediterranean deep-convection region, using a numerical model. We show that this region acts as a large sink of atmospheric O2 and as a major source of O2 for the western Mediterranean Sea. The decrease in the deep convection intensity predicted in recent projections may have important consequences on the overall uptake of O2 in the Mediterranean Sea and on the O2 exchanges with the Atlantic Ocean.
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Short summary
The Gulf of Lion shelf is one of the most productive areas in the Mediterranean. A model is used to study the mechanisms that drive the particulate organic carbon (POC). The model reproduces the annual cycle of primary production well. The shelf appears as an autotrophic ecosystem with a high production and as a source of POC for the adjacent basin. The increase in temperature induced by climate change could impact the trophic status of the shelf.
The Gulf of Lion shelf is one of the most productive areas in the Mediterranean. A model is used...
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