Temporal nutrient dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea in response to anthropogenic inputs

Abstract

The temporal dynamics of the concentrations of nitrate (N), phosphate (P), and the N: P ratio in the upper water column (200-600 m) of the Mediterranean (MED) Sea were investigated using observational data (similar to 123,100 data points) collected between 1985 and 2014. The studied variables were found to evolve similarly in the western and easternMED Sea. In both basins, the N concentration increased during the first part of the observational period (1985-1998), and the temporal trend of N was broadly consistent with the history of riverine and atmospheric nitrogen input from populated areas in Europe, with a lag period of 20 years. In subsequent years, the N concentration was high and relatively constant between 1998 and 2005, after which N decreased gradually, although the decreasing trend was indistinct in the western basin. In particular, the trend of constant then declining N after 1998 is consistent with the history of pollutant nitrogen emissions from the European continent, allowing a 20 year lag following the introduction of regulation of pollutant nitrogen in the 1970s. The three-phase temporal transition in P in both basins was more consistent with the riverine phosphorus input, with a lag period of 20 years. Our analysis indicates that the recent dynamics of N and P in the upper MED Sea has been sensitive to the dynamics of anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus input from atmospheric deposition and rivers.