Muthukumar C, Balasubramaniyan S, Garlapati D, Bharathi MD, Kumar BC, James RA, Ramu K, Ramanamurthy MV. Impact of untreated sewage and thermal effluent discharges on the air-sea CO
2 fluxes in a highly urbanized tropical coastal region.
Mar Pollut Bull 2022;
175:113166. [PMID:
34823864 DOI:
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113166]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Various biotic and abiotic factors regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption and emission in coastal waters. Factors controlling the regional air-sea CO2 fluxes were studied in Tuticorin Bay, a highly urbanized region along the southeast coast of India. Significant spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of inorganic carbon components in the bay was observed based on the exposure to different anthropogenic pressures. Thermal effluent discharges made the south zone of the bay a strong CO2 source by enhancing heterotrophy. Untreated sewage discharges in the middle zone mediated eutrophic conditions leading to strong autotrophy and restricting the zone as a weak source of CO2. Irrespective of the anthropogenic stressors, biological processes dominated the air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Tuticorin Bay. The results indicated that micro-level studies are needed in understanding the carbon cycle in environments with multiple anthropogenic stressors.
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