Oceans and the Atmospheric Carbon Content (eBook)

Preface 6
Contents 10
Chapter 1: Climate Variability in the North-Western Iberian Peninsula During the Last Deglaciation 12
1.1 Introduction 13
1.2 Environmental Settings 15
1.3 Material and Methods 16
1.3.1 Radiometric Dating 16
1.3.2 Pollen Analysis 18
1.4 Results and Discussion 18
1.4.1 The Oldest Dryas (Heinrich Event 1) 18
1.4.2 The Last Glacial–Interglacial Transition (LGIT) 21
1.4.2.1 The Bölling-Allerød Interstadial 22
The Bölling 22
The Older Dryas 23
The Allerød 24
1.4.2.2 The Younger Dryas 24
1.4.3 The Early-Holocene and the End of the Last Deglaciation 25
1.5 Conclusion 27
References 28
Chapter 2Impact of Oporto Metropolitan Area Carbon Dioxide Emissions over the Adjacent Coastal Zone 34
2.1 Introduction 35
2.2 Methodology 36
2.2.1 Study Area: Oporto Metropolitan Area 36
2.2.2 Emission’s Database 38
2.2.3 Dispersion Model (TAPM) 40
2.2.3.1 Modelling Scenarios 43
2.2.3.2 Model Validation 43
2.2.3.3 Approaches for Analysing the Significance of Model Predicted CO2 Changes 44
2.3 Results 46
2.3.1 Oporto Metropolitan Area–Emissions Characterization 46
2.3.2 Validation of the Results from TAPM 46
2.3.3 TAPM Simulations 51
2.4 Discussion 55
2.5 Conclusions 56
References 56
Chapter 3Present Day Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in the Coastal Ocean and Possible Feedbacks Under Global Change 58
3.1 Present Day Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in the Coastal Ocean 60
3.2 Possible Evolution and Feedbacks Under Global Change 64
3.2.1 Changes in Coastal Ocean Physics 66
3.2.2 Changes in Land Use, Waste Water Inputs, Agricultural Fertilizers, Hydrological Cycle and Atmospheric Deposition 70
3.2.3 Changes in Seawater Carbonate Chemistry 72
3.2.4 Anthropogenic Impacts on Specific Near-ShoreCoastal Ecosystems 77
3.3 Conclusions 78
References 79
Chapter 4Aspects of Phytoplankton Communities Response to Climate Changes 89
4.1 Introduction 90
4.2 Material and Methods 92
4.2.1 Study Area and Sampling Locations 92
4.2.2 Analytical Methods 92
4.2.3 Calculation of the Degree of Nutrient Consumption 94
4.3 Results and Discussion 94
4.3.1 Section 1 94
4.3.1.1 Hydrological, Chemical and Productivity Features 94
4.3.2 Section 2 99
4.3.2.1 Phytoplankton and Ocean CO2 Uptake 99
4.4 Final Remarks 101
References 102
Chapter 5pH Decrease and Effects on the Chemistry of Seawater 105
5.1 Introduction 105
5.2 The Oceanic Time Series Station ESTOC 106
5.3 The Carbon Dioxide System at the ESTOC Site 108
5.3.1 fCO2 109
5.3.1.1 fCO2 Measurements 109
5.3.1.2 fCO2 Results 109
5.3.2 pH 110
5.3.2.1 pH Measurements 110
5.3.2.2 pH Results 110
5.3.3 AT 110
5.3.3.1 A.T Measurements 110
5.3.3.2 AT Results 111
5.3.4 CT 112
5.3.4.1 CT Measurements 112
5.3.4.2 CT Results 112
5.4 Inorganic Carbon and Boron Speciation 112
5.5 Buffer Intensity 114
5.6 Revelle Factor 117
5.7 Calcium Carbonate Saturation State 119
5.8 ESTOC Data Under Two IPCC Scenarios 121
5.9 Environmental Consequences 121
5.10 Conclusions 122
References 122
Chapter 6Effects of Sediment Acidification on the Bioaccumulation of Zn in R. Philippinarum 125
6.1 Introduction 126
6.2 Material and Methods 129
6.2.1 Approach 129
6.2.2 Bioassay 129
6.2.3 Chemical Analyses in Organism Tissues: Bioaccumulation 131
6.2.4 Sediment Analysis 132
6.2.5 Water Analysis 132
6.2.6 Data Calculation and Statistical Analysis 132
6.3 Results and Discussion 133
6.3.1 Sediment Chemistry 133
6.3.2 Sediment Bioassay Bioaccumulation 133
6.3.3 Influence of Acidification in Zn Bioaccumulation 136
6.4 Conclusion 138
References 139
Chapter 7: Contaminant Cycling Under Climate Change: Evidences and Scenarios 143
7.1 Introduction 144
7.2 The Effect of Temperature 145
7.2.1 The Arctic and Mercury Cycling 146
7.2.2 The Effect of Increasing Temperatures in Mercury Methylation 149
7.3 The Sea Level Rising 151
7.3.1 The Effect on the Dynamic of Salt Marshes 151
7.3.2 The Predicted Effects on Metal Cycling 151
7.3.3 The Predicted Effects on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons 153
7.4 The Rainfall Events 153
7.4.1 Transport of Particulate Metals 154
7.4.2 Transport of Particulate Organic Pollutants 154
7.4.3 Example of a Historical Pollutant: pp’-DDE 155
7.4.4 Example of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Compounds 156
7.5 Duration of Droughts (Effect of UV Radiation) 158
References 160
Chapter 8: The Use of Weight of Evidence for Environmental Quality Assessment in Sediments Above Sub-Seabed Geological Formations for the Storage of Carbon Dioxide 167
8.1 Introduction 168
8.1.1 Carbon Dioxide Storage in Sub-SeabedGeological Formations 169
8.2 Requirements 170
8.2.1 Risk Assessment and Management 170
8.2.2 Main Risks to the Marine Environment 171
8.2.3 The Integrated Method as a Monitoring Tool of the Marine Environment 176
8.2.4 Final Remarks 178
References 179
Index 182