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Future intensification of summer hypoxia in the tidal Garonne River (SW France) simulated by a coupled hydro sedimentary-biogeochemical model

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Abstract

Projections for the next 50 years predict a widespread distribution of hypoxic zones in the open and coastal ocean due to environmental and global changes. The Tidal Garonne River (SW France) has already experienced few episodic hypoxic events. However, predicted future climate and demographic changes suggest that summer hypoxia could become more severe and even permanent near the city of Bordeaux in the next few decades. A 3D model, which couples hydrodynamic, sediment transport, and biogeochemical processes, is applied to assess the impact of factors submitted to global and regional climate changes on oxygenation in the turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) of the Tidal Garonne River during low-discharge periods. The model simulates an intensification of summer hypoxia with an increase in temperature, a decrease in river flow or an increase in the local population, but not with sea level rise, which has a negligible impact on dissolved oxygen. Different scenarios were tested by combining these different factors according to the regional projections for 2050 and 2100. All the simulations showed a trend toward a spatial and temporal extension of summer hypoxia that needs to be considered by local water authorities to impose management strategies to protect the ecosystem.

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Abbreviations

DO:

dissolved oxygen

DOC:

dissolved organic carbon

OM:

organic matter

POC:

particulate organic carbon

SSC:

suspended sediment concentration

SO:

sewage overflow

TGR:

Tidal Garonne River

TMZ:

turbidity maximum zone

WS:

watershed

WW:

wastewater

WWTP:

wastewater treatment plant

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the MAGEST network for the availability of data and to the SGAC and Bordeaux Metropole for providing urban effluent data and fruitful discussions.

Funding

This study was funded by the Aquitaine Region (DIAGIR project) and LyRE (SUEZ research center) who co-sponsored a PhD grant to K. Lajaunie-Salla. This work was also supported by the Cluster of Excellence COTE at the Université de Bordeaux (ANR-10-LABX-45). This work was supported by the Avakas cluster resources of the Mésocentre de Calcul Intensif Aquitain (MCIA) of the University of Bordeaux.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire EPOC, UMR CNRS 5805, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France

    Katixa Lajaunie-Salla, Aldo Sottolichio, Sabine Schmidt & Gwenaël Abril

  2. LyRE, SUEZ Research Center, Bordeaux, France

    Katixa Lajaunie-Salla, Xavier Litrico & Guillaume Binet

  3. Aix Marseille Université, CNRS/INSU, Université de Toulon, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) UM 110, Marseille, France

    Katixa Lajaunie-Salla

  4. Departamento de Geoquímica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil

    Gwenaël Abril

  5. Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France

    Gwenaël Abril

Authors
  1. Katixa Lajaunie-Salla
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  2. Aldo Sottolichio
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  3. Sabine Schmidt
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  4. Xavier Litrico
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  5. Guillaume Binet
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  6. Gwenaël Abril
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Correspondence to Katixa Lajaunie-Salla.

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Lajaunie-Salla, K., Sottolichio, A., Schmidt, S. et al. Future intensification of summer hypoxia in the tidal Garonne River (SW France) simulated by a coupled hydro sedimentary-biogeochemical model. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 31957–31970 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3035-6

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