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Phosphorus limitation of primary productivity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Author(s) -
Krom M. D.,
Kress N.,
Brenner S.,
Gordon L. I.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1991.36.3.0424
Subject(s) - water column , mediterranean climate , mediterranean sea , productivity , oceanography , phosphorus , phytoplankton , structural basin , environmental science , bloom , primary productivity , mediterranean basin , atmospheric sciences , geology , chemistry , nutrient , ecology , biology , geomorphology , macroeconomics , organic chemistry , economics
Although NO 3 is generally considered to limit primary productivity in most of the world’s oceans, previous studies have suggested the Mediterranean Sea may be an exception. In this study of the southeastern Mediterranean, we found that all the PO 4 3− was removed from the upper water column during the winter phytoplankton bloom in the core and boundary of a warm‐core eddy, while measurable (0.3–0.6 µ M) NO 3 − remained. The N : P (NO 3 − :PO 4 3− ) ratio in the core and boundary of the Cyprus eddy was 27.4 and the slope of the linear portion of the N vs. P scattergram was 25.5 with a positive intercept of 0.5 µ M on the NO 3 − axis. A similar N : P ratio (28–29), slope (21–23), and intercept (0.9–1.1) was found for the water column across much of the southern Levantine basin. These data, taken together with the results of incubation experiments, lead us to conclude that the southeastern Mediterranean is strongly P limited. The degree of P limitation increases from west to east across the entire basin. We suggest that removal of PO 4 3− by adsorbtion on Fe − rich dust particles may be an important process controlling the concentration of P in the water column.