Pascal Conan

Export of dissolved organic matter in relation to land use along a European climatic gradient

The terrestrial export of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is associated with climate, vegetation and land use, and thus is under the influence of climatic variability and human interference with terrestrial ecosystems, their soils and hydrological cycles. We present a data-set including catchments from four areas covering the major climate and land use gradients within Europe: a forested boreal zone (Finland), a temperate agricultural area (Denmark), a wet and temperate mountain region in Wales, and a warm Mediterranean catchment draining into the Gulf of Lyon. In all study areas, DOC (dissolved organic carbon) was a major fraction of DOM, with much lower proportions of DON (dissolved organic nitrogen) and DOP (dissolved organic phosphorus). A south-north gradient with highest DOC concentrations and export in the northernmost catchments was recorded: DOC concentrations and loads were highest in Finland and lowest in France. These relationships indicate that DOC concentrations/export are controlled by several factors including wetland and forest cover, precipitation and hydrological processes. DON concentrations and loads were highest in the Danish catchments and lowest in the French catchments. In Wales and Finland, DON concentrations increased with the increasing proportion of agricultural land in the catchment, whereas in Denmark and France no such relationship was found. DOP concentrations and loads were low compared to DOC and DON. The highest DOP concentrations and loads were recorded in catchments with a high extent of agricultural land, large urban areas or a high population density, reflecting the influence of human impact on DOP loads.

Diversity of total and active free-living vs. particle-attached bacteria in the euphotic zone of the NW Mediterranean Sea.

The structure of the total and metabolically active communities of attached and free-living bacteria were analysed in the euphotic zone in the NW Mediterranean Sea with the use of DNA- and RNA-derived capillary electrophoresis single-strand conformation polymorphism fingerprinting. More than half (between 52% and 69%) of the DNA-derived operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were common in both attached and free-living fractions in the euphotic layer, suggesting an exchange or co-occurrence between them. However, analysis targeting 16S rRNA showed that only some of them were found in the dominant active bacterial pool. Especially at the deep chlorophyll maximum, less than half of the attached bacterial populations were found to be active, with regard to the high proportion of OTUs present at the DNA level, but not at the RNA level. These results suggest that even if colonization on and detachment of particles appear to be ubiquitous, most of the particulate organic carbon remineralization appeared to be mediated by a rather low number of dominant active OTUs specialized in exploiting such specific microenvironment.

Small-scale variability in the coupling/uncoupling of bacteria, phytoplankton and organic carbon fluxes along the continental margin of the Gulf of Lions, Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

A High Frequency Flux (HFF) experiment was conducted during spring 1997 on the continental slope of the Gulf of Lions (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) with the aim of examining the dynamical and biological processes controlling particle transfer in this margin environment. Within this general framework, a special attention was paid to short temporal and small spatial variations of phytoplankton and bacterial production through six hydrological and biological surveys performed during a 7-week period at nine sampling stations located on a 10×20-mile grid. Downward fluxes of particulate organic carbon at each station were measured by traps deployed at 240 m depth. The f-ratio and the ratio of integrated bacterial to primary production (IBP/IPP ratio), computed as indexes of biological export for each survey and station, did not provide a clear, unambiguous understanding of the importance of biological processes in the cycling of carbon in the upper water column. However, the data collected allowed to draw up carbon budgets for the different phases of the experiment. The comparison of primary production with measured and estimated organic carbon removal terms (sinking, cycling through the microbial food web, grazing by ciliates and metazoans) showed that a balance was never reached between fluxes of production and removal of organic carbon during the course of the experiment. The system shifted from an initial situation of ‘missing’ carbon (removal>production) to one of ‘excess’ carbon (removal<production). Factors such as horizontal advection of carbon into and out of the experimental area and accumulation of dissolved organic carbon (dissolved biological pump) are invoked to explain the observed imbalances. A sensitivity test of the budget to the variations of the different parameters involved showed that bacterial growth efficiency was the most important factor affecting the budget.

High resolution modeling of dense water formation in the north-western Mediterranean during winter 2012-2013: Processes and budget

The evolution of the stratification of the north-western Mediterranean between summer 2012 and the end of winter 2013 was simulated and compared with different sets of observations. A summer cruise and profiler observations were used to improve the initial conditions of the simulation. This improvement was crucial to simulate winter convection. Variations of some parameters involved in air - sea exchanges (wind, coefficient of transfer used in the latent heat flux formulation, and constant additive heat flux) showed that the characteristics of water masses and the volume of dense water formed during convection cannot be simply related to the time-integrated buoyancy budget over the autumn - winter period. The volume of dense water formed in winter was estimated to be about 50,000 km 3 with a density anomaly larger than 29.113 kg m -3 . The effect of advection and air/sea fluxes on the heat and salt budget of the convection zone was quantified during the preconditioning phase and the mixing period. Destratification of the surface layer in autumn occurs through an interaction of surface and Ekman buoyancy fluxes associated with displacements of the North Balearic front bounding the convection zone to the south. During winter convection, advection stratifies the convection zone: from December to March, the absolute value of advection represents 58 % of the effect of surface buoyancy fluxes.

Estimating dense water volume and its evolution for the year 2012–2013 in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea: An observing system simulation experiment approach

The Northwestern Mediterranean (NWMed) Sea includes one of the best observed ocean deep convection sites in the World. An observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) is developed to provide a methodology for estimating observing network errors. It is applied to quantify dense water volumes in the NWMed during 2012–2013 with their observation error from MOOSE network. Results from the OSSE show low spatiotemporal sampling errors, which confirms MOOSE network ability to measure dense waters. However, results are highly sensitive to instrumental stability. The dense water volume is then estimated in observations from four ship cruises between summers 2012 and 2013. A large seasonal cycle is found, maximal in spring 2013 and dominated by the area west of 6.5°E. The dense water volume ( σ0>29.11 kg/m3) is stable between summer 2012 ( 13.3±0.6 × 1013 m3) and winter 2013 ( 13.7±1.3 × 1013 m3). It increases dramatically in spring 2013 ( 17.7±0.9 × 1013 m3) due to an intense convective event, and it finally decreases rapidly in summer 2013 ( 15.1±0.6 × 1013 m3) due to restratification and spreading. We estimate an open-sea dense water formation (DWF) rate of 1.4±0.3 Sv between summer 2012 and spring 2013 over the studied area, extrapolated to 2.3±0.5 Sv over the whole NWMed Sea and for the optimal timing. This is to our knowledge the highest measured DWF rate, suggesting winter 2013 was exceptionally convective. The observed restratification rate between spring and summer 2013 is −0.8±0.4 Sv. This study provides robust quantifications of deep convection during an exceptional event that will allow to evaluate numerical simulations.

Physical and Biogeochemical Controls of the Phytoplankton Blooms in North Western Mediterranean Sea: A Multiplatform Approach Over a Complete Annual Cycle (2012–2013 DEWEX Experiment)

The North Western Mediterranean Sea exhibits recurrent and significant autumnal and spring phytoplankton blooms. The existence of these two blooms coincide with typical temperate dynamics. To determine the potential control of physical and biogeochemical factors on these phytoplankton blooms, data from a multiplatform approach (combining ships, Argo and BGC-Argo floats, and bio-optical gliders) were analyzed in association with satellite observations in 2012-2013. The satellite framework allowed a simultaneous analysis over the whole annual cycle of in situ observations of mixed layer depth, photosynthetical available radiation, particle backscattering, nutrients (nitrate and silicate) and chlorophyll-a concentrations. During the year 2012-2013, satellite ocean color observations, confirmed by in situ data, have revealed the existence of two areas (or bioregions) with comparable autumnal blooms but contrasting spring blooms. In both bioregions, the ratio of the euphotic zone (defined as the isolume 0.415 mol photons m−2 d−1, Z0.415) and the MLD identified the initiation of the autumnal bloom, as well as the maximal annual increase in [Chl-a] in spring. In fact, the autumnal phytoplankton bloom might be initiated by mixing of the summer shallowing deep chlorophyll maximum, while the spring restratification (when Z0.415/MLD ratio became > 1) might induce surface phytoplankton production that largely overcomes the losses. Finally, winter deep convection events that took place in one of the bioregions induced higher net accumulation rate of phytoplankton in spring associated with a diatom-dominated phytoplankton community principally. We suggest that very deep winter MLD lead to an increase in surface silicates availability, which favored the development of diatoms.

Deep sediment resuspension and thick nepheloid layer generation by open-ocean convection

The Gulf of Lions in the northwestern Mediterranean is one of the few sites around the world ocean exhibiting deep open-ocean convection. Based on 6-year long (2009-2015) time series from a mooring in the convection region, shipborne measurements from repeated cruises, from 2012 to 2015, and glider measurements, we report evidence of bottom thick nepheloid layer formation, which is coincident with deep sediment resuspension induced by bottom-reaching convection events. This bottom nepheloid layer, which presents a maximum thickness of around 2000 m in the center of the convection region, probably results from the action of cyclonic eddies that are formed during the convection period and can persist within their core while they travel through the basin. The residence time of this bottom nepheloid layer appears to be less than a year. In-situ measurements of suspended particle size further indicate that the bottom nepheloid layer is primarily composed of aggregates between 100 and 1000 µm in diameter, probably constituted of fine silts. Bottom-reaching open ocean convection, as well as deep dense shelf water cascading that occurred concurrently some years, lead to recurring deep sediments resuspension episodes. They are key mechanisms that control the concentration and characteristics of the suspended particulate matter in the basin, and in turn affect the bathypelagic biological activity

Multiscale Observations of Deep Convection in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea during Winter 2012–2013 Using Multiple Platforms

During winter 2012–2013, open‐ocean deep convection which is a major driver for the thermohaline circulation and ventilation of the ocean, occurred in the Gulf of Lions (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) and has been thoroughly documented thanks in particular to the deployment of several gliders, Argo profiling floats, several dedicated ship cruises, and a mooring array during a period of about a year. Thanks to these intense observational efforts, we show that deep convection reached the bottom in winter early in February 2013 in a area of maximum 28 ± 3 109 m2. We present new quantitative results with estimates of heat and salt content at the subbasin scale at different time scales (on the seasonal scale to a 10 days basis) through optimal interpolation techniques, and robust estimates of the deep water formation rate of 2.0 ± 0.2 Sv. We provide an overview of the spatiotemporal coverage that has been reached throughout the seasons this year and we highlight some results based on data analysis and numerical modeling that are presented in this special issue. They concern key circulation features for the deep convection and the subsequent bloom such as Submesoscale Coherent Vortices (SCVs), the plumes, and symmetric instability at the edge of the deep convection area.

Open‐ocean convection process: A driver of the winter nutrient supply and the spring phytoplankton distribution in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

This study was a part of the DeWEX project (Deep Water formation EXperiment), designed to better understand the impact of dense water formation on the marine biogeochemical cycles. Here, nutrient and phytoplankton vertical and horizontal distributions were investigated during a deep open-ocean convection event and during the following spring bloom in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea (NWM). In February 2013, the deep convection event established a surface nutrient gradient from the center of the deep convection patch to the surrounding mixed and stratified areas. In the center of the convection area, a slight but significant difference of nitrate, phosphate and silicate concentrations was observed possibly due to the different volume of deep waters included in the mixing or to the sediment resuspension occurring where the mixing reached the bottom. One of this process, or a combination of both, enriched the water column in silicate and phosphate, and altered significantly the stoichiometry in the center of the deep convection area. This alteration favored the local development of microphytoplankton in spring, whereas nanophytoplankton dominated neighboring locations where the convection reached the deep layer but not the bottom. This study shows that the convection process influences both winter nutrients distribution and spring phytoplankton distribution and community structure. Modifications of the convection spatial scale and intensity (i.e. convective mixing depth) is likely to have strong consequences on phytoplankton community structure and distribution in the NWM, and thus on the marine food web.

Multicontamination phenomena occur more often than expected in Mediterranean coastal watercourses: Study case of the Têt River (France)

Contaminants found in watercourses are not only the result of anthropogenic activities but also depend on rivers seasonal hydrodynamics. This is particularly true in Mediterranean climate regions where long dry periods are interrupted by strong rainfalls. Storm events remobilize particles from soils and sediments and, as a consequence, the load of particulate matter in rivers can be quite considerable, severely affecting water quality. Nevertheless, an absence of fieldwork studies exists concerning the simultaneous dynamics of mixtures of pollutants in river waters, particularly during strong rainfalls and floods. Our study assessed the concentrations of six families of pollutants, including pesticides, at these events, and compared them to those observed at drought sampling periods. We have used as model a typical Mediterranean coastal river from Southeast France, the Têt River, whose hydrodynamics and major elements fluxes have been fairly investigated. As expected, our results show that chemical mixtures due to human activities occur and that they are particularly relevant during storm events. But the results of our study argue that exceptional multicontamination phenomena actually happen more often than expected because they are linked to recurrent sudden intense rainfall events in the Mediterranean. In particular, combined sewer overflows are responsible for this major issue in urbanized areas, whereas runoff and leaching will be the most important sources of pollutant mixtures occurring at flood flow peak. After an overview of the sources responsible for chronic multiple stressors events in regions under a Mediterranean climate regime worldwide, we revisit best management measures to reduce risks from the presence of chemical mixtures in the environment.