scholarly journals Alkalinity Generation in the Coastal Area, the Case of the Wadden Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamil Yakubov ◽  
Elizaveta Protsenko
Keyword(s):  
Sulfate Reduction ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
The North ◽  
Alkalinity Generation ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
High Alkalinity

High alkalinity values on the seaside can influence the exchange of carbon dioxide between seawater and the atmosphere. Still, there are many uncertainties about biogeochemical processes responsible for alkalinity generation in the coastal area. One example of coastal areas with high alkalinity is the German Bight. The German Bight is the south-east part of the North Sea. The literature suggests that high summer alkalinity values in the German Bight result from the exchange of the German Bight with the Wadden Sea (an intertidal zone along Dutch, German, and Danish coasts). We show that the origin of high alkalinity values in the German Bight can be sulfate reduction in sediments of the Wadden Sea and that it can increase alkalinity from March to August up to approximately 220 micromoles per liter. Also, we show that sulfate reduction does not cause any significant year alkalinity flux from the Wadden Sea to the German Bight; instead, nitrogen compounds ( and ) are responsible for it and cause an alkalinity flux about 13 GM a year from the Wadden Sea to the German Bight.

Sources and Fate of PCBs in the North Sea: A Review of Available Data

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Klamer ◽  
R. W. P. M. Laane ◽  
J. M. Marquenie
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Annual Basis ◽  
The North ◽  
Total Input ◽  
Seal Population ◽  
The North Sea

From literature data it is calculated that on an annual basis, 11 to 17 tonnes of PCBs enter the North Sea. Largest sources are the Atlantic Ocean and the atmosphere: together they account for 60-79% of the total input. Sources with greatest impact are the rivers, sewers and sludge. Highest concentrations are found close to the Dutch shore and in the German Bight. The PCB levels result in adverse effects on the seal population in the Wadden Sea. Of the total world PCB production, at least 57% is still in use and their future dispersal into the oceans cannot easily be controlled. If the increase in ocean PCB concentration continues, it may ultimately result in the extinction of fish-eating marine mammals.

Thalassiosiraspecies (Bacillariophyceae, Thalassiosirales) in the North Sea at Helgoland (German Bight) and Sylt (North Frisian Wadden Sea) – a first approach to assessing diversity

2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Hoppenrath ◽  
Bank Beszteri ◽  
Gerhard Drebes ◽  
Hannelore Halliger ◽  
Justus E. E. Van Beusekom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
North Frisian

scholarly journals The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Schwichtenberg ◽  
Johannes Pätsch ◽  
Michael Ernst Böttcher ◽  
Helmuth Thomas ◽  
Vera Winde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Anaerobic Degradation ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Carbonate System ◽  
Southern North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract. The coastal ocean is strongly affected by ocean acidification because it is shallow and has a low volume. Earlier observations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the southern part of the North Sea and the German Bight, a Northwest-European shelf sea, have revealed lower acidification effects than expected. It has been assumed that anaerobic degradation and subsequent TA release in the adjacent tidal areas (Wadden Sea) in summer time is responsible for this phenomenon. In this study the exchange rates of TA and DIC between the Wadden Sea and the North Sea and the consequences for the carbonate system in the German Bight are estimated using a 3-D ecosystem model. Observed TA and DIC sources in the Wadden Sea were considered as boundary conditions. This procedure is based on the dynamic behaviour of the Wadden Sea as an area of effective production and decomposition of organic material. In addition, modelled tidal water mass exchange was used to transport material between the open North Sea and the Wadden Sea. In the model, 39 Gmol TA yr−1 were exported from the Wadden Sea into the North Sea, which is lower than a previous estimate, but within a comparable range. Furthermore, the interannual variabilities of TA and DIC concentrations, which were mainly driven by hydrodynamic conditions, were examined for the years 2001–2009. Variability in the carbonate system of the German Bight is related to weather in that the occurrence of weak meteorological blocking situations leads to enhanced accumulation of TA there. The results suggest that the Wadden Sea is an important driver of the carbonate system variability in the southern North Sea. According to the model results, on average 63 % of all TA mass changes in the German Bight were caused by net transport, 25 % by Wadden Sea export, 9 % were caused by the internal production of TA and 3 % caused by effective TA river loads (i.e. river load including freshwater dilution). The ratio of exported TA and DIC reflects the dominant underlying biogeochemical processes in the different Wadden Sea areas. Aerobic degradation of organic matter plays a key role in the North Frisian Wadden Sea during all seasons of the year. In the East Frisian Wadden Sea anaerobic degradation of organic matter dominated.

scholarly journals The impact of intertidal areas on the carbonate system of the southern North Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 4223-4245
Author(s):  
Fabian Schwichtenberg ◽  
Johannes Pätsch ◽  
Michael Ernst Böttcher ◽  
Helmuth Thomas ◽  
Vera Winde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Anaerobic Degradation ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Carbonate System ◽  
Southern North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract. The coastal ocean is strongly affected by ocean acidification because of its shallow water depths, low volume, and the closeness to terrestrial dynamics. Earlier observations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) in the southern part of the North Sea, a northwest European shelf sea, revealed lower acidification effects than expected. It has been assumed that anaerobic degradation and subsequent TA release in the adjacent back-barrier tidal areas (Wadden Sea) in summertime is responsible for this phenomenon. In this study the exchange rates of TA and DIC between the Wadden Sea tidal basins and the North Sea and the consequences for the carbonate system in the German Bight are estimated using a 3D ecosystem model. The aim of this study is to differentiate the various sources contributing to observed high summer TA in the southern North Sea. Measured TA and DIC in the Wadden Sea are considered as model boundary conditions. This procedure acknowledges the dynamic behaviour of the Wadden Sea as an area of effective production and decomposition of organic material. According to the modelling results, 39 Gmol TA yr−1 were exported from the Wadden Sea into the North Sea, which is less than a previous estimate but within a comparable range. The interannual variabilities in TA and DIC, mainly driven by hydrodynamic conditions, were examined for the years 2001–2009. Dynamics in the carbonate system are found to be related to specific weather conditions. The results suggest that the Wadden Sea is an important driver for the carbonate system in the southern North Sea. On average 41 % of TA inventory changes in the German Bight were caused by riverine input, 37 % by net transport from adjacent North Sea sectors, 16 % by Wadden Sea export, and 6 % were caused by internal net production of TA. The dominant role of river input for the TA inventory disappears when focusing on TA concentration changes due to the corresponding freshwater fluxes diluting the marine TA concentrations. The ratio of exported TA versus DIC reflects the dominant underlying biogeochemical processes in the Wadden Sea. Whereas aerobic degradation of organic matter played a key role in the North Frisian Wadden Sea during all seasons of the year, anaerobic degradation of organic matter dominated in the East Frisian Wadden Sea. Despite the scarcity of high-resolution field data, it is shown that anaerobic degradation in the Wadden Sea is one of the main contributors of elevated summer TA values in the southern North Sea.

A cadmium budget for the German Bight in the North Sea

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 375-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Radach ◽  
K. Heyer
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

scholarly journals The impact of sedimentary alkalinity release on the water column CO<sub>2</sub> system in the North Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 841-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Brenner ◽  
U. Braeckman ◽  
M. Le Guitton ◽  
F. J. R. Meysman
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zone ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Overlying Water ◽  
Southern North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Alkalinity Generation ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. It has been previously proposed that alkalinity release from sediments can play an important role in the carbonate dynamics on continental shelves, lowering the pCO2 of seawater and hence increasing the CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. To test this hypothesis, sedimentary alkalinity generation was quantified within cohesive and permeable sediments across the North Sea during two cruises in September 2011 (basin-wide) and June 2012 (Dutch coastal zone). Benthic fluxes of oxygen (O2), alkalinity (AT) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were determined using shipboard closed sediment incubations. Our results show that sediments can form an important source of alkalinity for the overlying water, particularly in the shallow southern North Sea, where high AT and DIC fluxes were recorded in near-shore sediments of the Belgian, Dutch and German coastal zone. In contrast, fluxes of AT and DIC are substantially lower in the deeper, seasonally stratified, northern part of the North Sea. Based on the data collected, we performed a model analysis to constrain the main pathways of alkalinity generation in the sediment, and to quantify how sedimentary alkalinity drives atmospheric CO2 uptake in the southern North Sea. Overall, our results show that sedimentary alkalinity generation should be regarded as a key component in the CO2 dynamics of shallow coastal systems.

scholarly journals The significance of coastal bathymetry representation for modelling the tidal response to mean sea level rise in the German Bight

Ocean Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Rasquin ◽  
Rita Seiffert ◽  
Benno Wachler ◽  
Norbert Winkel
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
North Sea ◽  
German Bight ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Tidal Dynamics ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Due to climate change an accelerated mean sea level rise is expected. One key question for the development of adaptation measures is how mean sea level rise affects tidal dynamics in shelf seas such as the North Sea. Owing to its low-lying coastal areas, the German Bight (located in the southeast of the North Sea) will be especially affected. Numerical hydrodynamic models help to understand how mean sea level rise changes tidal dynamics. Models cannot adequately represent all processes in overall detail. One limiting factor is the resolution of the model grid. In this study we investigate which role the representation of the coastal bathymetry plays when analysing the response of tidal dynamics to mean sea level rise. Using a shelf model including the whole North Sea and a high-resolution hydrodynamic model of the German Bight we investigate the changes in M2 amplitude due to a mean sea level rise of 0.8 and 10 m. The shelf model and the German Bight Model react in different ways. In the simulations with a mean sea level rise of 0.8 m the M2 amplitude in the shelf model generally increases in the region of the German Bight. In contrast, the M2 amplitude in the German Bight Model increases only in some coastal areas and decreases in the northern part of the German Bight. In the simulations with a mean sea level rise of 10 m the M2 amplitude increases in both models with largely similar spatial patterns. In two case studies we adjust the German Bight Model in order to more closely resemble the shelf model. We find that a different resolution of the bathymetry results in different energy dissipation changes in response to mean sea level rise. Our results show that the resolution of the bathymetry especially in flat intertidal areas plays a crucial role for modelling the impact of mean sea level rise.

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