Highlights
• The CO2 system in the Oder River Estuary was investigated for the first time.
• OM production and remineralization affect the CO2 system in the Oder River Estuary.
• Extreme primary production may initiate mineral precipitation of calcite in high AT.
• Estuarine processes may modify the riverine loads of AT and CT to the Baltic Sea.
Abstract
This study examined the CO2 system in the estuary of the Oder River, one of the largest rivers entering the Baltic Sea. Three measurable parameters describing the CO2 system, namely total alkalinity (AT), total CO2 (CT), and the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), were investigated together with dissolved oxygen, salinity (S), and temperature during two RV Oceania cruises, in May and November of 2016. Large spatial variabilities of AT (1771–2940 μmol kg−1) and CT (1676–2972 μmol kg−1) were determined along the S gradient between the open Baltic Sea and river mouth. In November, the relationships of AT–S and CT-S indicated conservative mixing whereas in May both were strongly affected by biomass production and calcium carbonate formation. The waters of the Oder were oversaturated with CO2 compared to the atmosphere, irrespective of the season, with pCO2 values of 1351 ± 42 μatm in May and 1120 ± 32 μatm in November. In the Szczecin Lagoon, however, pCO2 levels dropped significantly, to 63 μatm, in May, accompanied by an O2 saturation of up to 134% during the same period. The inverse correlation of pCO2 and O2 saturation indicated that the distribution of CO2 and O2 in the estuary at the time of sampling was controlled mostly by biological activity. The very large drop in the pCO2 of the Szczecin Lagoon induced an extreme oversaturation of CaCO3 that triggered mineral calcite precipitation. The mineral precipitation of carbonates in the lagoon may have accounted for as much as 40% of the CT depletion determined in May, with the remaining 60% attributed to the joint effect of net ecosystem production and CO2 air/water gas exchange.
Stokowski M., Schneider B., Rehder G. & Kuliński K., in press. The characteristics of the CO2 system of the Oder River estuary (Baltic Sea). Journal of Marine Systems. Article (subscription required).
