Modeling of the Total Alkalinity and the Total Inorganic Carbon in the Mediterranean Sea

Measurements of the CO2 system parameters in the Mediterranean Seaare relatively scarce and not representative for all its sub-basins. High quality data collected on May 2013 during the 2013 MedSeA cruise covering the whole basin were used to provide for the first time linear relationships estimating the total alkalinity (AT) and the total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) from salinity in each Mediterranean basinand sub-basin at different depth layers. These correlations show that a substantial quantity of alkalinity is added to the seawater during its residence time in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the biological processes, the air-sea exchange and the high remineralization rate are responsible of the high CT concentrations in this sea. Moreover, these fits could be used to estimate the AT and CT from salinity where there are not available measurements of the carbonate system parameters.