Seasonal, Diurnal, and Tidal Variations of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and pCO2 in Surface Waters of a Temperate Coastal Lagoon (Arcachon, SW France)

We report on diurnal, tidal, and seasonal variations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), water partial pressure of CO2 (pCO(2)), and associated water-air CO2 fluxes in a tidal creek of a temperate coastal lagoon with 70% of intertidal flats, during eight tidal/diurnal cycles and two consecutive years covering all seasons. Surface waters of the lagoon were always slightly oversaturated in CO2 with respect to the atmosphere with an average pCO(2) value of 496 +/- 36 ppmv. Seasonally, subsurface water pCO(2) values were controlled by both temperature and biological/tidal advection effects that compensated each other and resulted in weak annual variations. High-resolution temporal pCO(2) records reveal that the highest fluctuations (192 ppmv) occurred at the tidal/diurnal scale as a result of biological activity, advection from the tidal flat, and porewater pumping that all contributed to water pCO(2) and carbonate chemistry variations. Total alkalinity (TA) versus salinity plots suggest a net production of alkalinity in the lagoon attributed to benthic carbonate dissolution and/or anaerobic degradation of organic matter. We specifically highlighted that for the same salinity range, during flooding, daytime pCO(2) were generally lower than nighttime pCO(2) values because of photosynthesis, whereas during ebbing, daytime pCO(2) were higher than nighttime pCO(2) values because of heating. Waters in the lagoon were a relatively weak CO2 source to the atmosphere over the year compared to other estuarine and lagoon waters elsewhere, and to sediment-air fluxes measured simultaneously by atmospheric Eddy Covariance (EC) in the Arcachon lagoon. Because of low values and small variations of the air-sea pCO(2) gradient, the variability of fluxes calculated using the piston velocity parameterization was greatly controlled by the wind speed at the diurnal and, to a lesser extent, seasonal time scales. During the emersion, the comparison of these pCO(2) data in the tidal creek with EC fluxes measured 1.8 km away on the tidal flat suggests high heterogeneity in air-sea CO2 fluxes, both spatially and at short time scales according to the inundation cycle and the wind speed. In addition to tidal pumping when the flat becomes emerged, our data suggest that lateral water movement during the emersion of the flat generates strong spatial heterogeneity in water-air CO2 flux.

Automated summary

This study investigates the variations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), water partial pressure of CO2 (pCO(2)), and water-air CO2 fluxes in a tidal creek of a temperate coastal lagoon. The results show that the surface water of the lagoon is slightly oversaturated in CO2 compared to the atmosphere, and the subsurface water pCO(2) values are controlled by temperature and biological/tidal advection effects. High-resolution pCO(2) records reveal that biological activity, tidal flat advection, and porewater pumping contribute to the variations of water pCO(2) and carbonate chemistry. The alkalinity-salinity relationship suggests a net production of alkalinity in the lagoon due to benthic carbonate dissolution and anaerobic degradation of organic matter. During flooding, daytime pCO(2) values are lower than nighttime pCO(2) values due to photosynthesis, while during ebbing, daytime pCO(2) values are higher than nighttime pCO(2) values due to heating. The lagoon waters are a relatively weak CO2 source to the atmosphere compared to other estuarine and lagoon waters.