Abstract
Aerosols are emitted in the atmosphere from contrasted sources. The reactivity of these particles and the fate in the water column of the elements attached to them are different according to these sources. As a fraction of the atmospheric input becomes bioavailable when entering the water column, the cycle of biota is linked to the atmospheric input. The results presented here emphasize on the necessity to consider the atmospheric input when studying a marine environment. This is particularly true in the case of a regional sea such as the Mediterranean Sea receiving important atmospheric inputs. In the Mediterranean Sea, the geochemical cycle of many elements are linked to the atmospheric input. For example, the Pb cycle is dominated by atmospheric inputs from anthropogenic sources. Iron and phosphorus cycles are influenced by atmospheric inputs from natural sources (Sahara). Saharan dust represents a source of nutrients directly available for the phytoplankton, able to stimulate the primary productivity at the event scale during oligotrophic period.
Translated title of the contribution | Atmospheric input: Source and fate in the Mediterranean column water |
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Original language | French |
Pages (from-to) | 601-625 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Oceanis |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 4 |
State | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Atmospheric input
- Biogeochemical cycles
- Mediterranean Sea
- Nutrients
- Sahara
- Trace metals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oceanography