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Nutrient biogeochemistry of the eastern Arabian Sea during the southwest monsoon retreat

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Abstract

Hydrography of the eastern Arabian Sea and associated chemical and biological responses were studied during the withdrawal phase of summer monsoon 2003. The shelf region off the southwest coast of India (10°N–15°N) continued to exhibit upwelling of colder (<28.5 °C), nutrient rich (nitrate >2.0 μM, phosphate >0.8 μM, silicate >4.0 μM) and relatively low oxygenated waters (~180 μM). The vertical advection of nutrients, coupled with anthropogenic terrestrial inputs, enhanced the levels of chlorophyll and primary productivity near the coastal margin off Cochin. The influence of both natural and anthropogenic nutrient loadings on the coastal system of the western continental shelf of India leads to eutrophication and hypoxia with negative impacts on the environment in general and fisheries in particular.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Director, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, for providing the facilities for the study. We also express our thanks to the Department of Ocean Development, New Delhi, for the financial support to the Marine Research-Living Resources (MR-LR) Assessment Programme funded by Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Cochin. Rejomon George is deeply indebted to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India, for the financial assistance for the Fast Track Research Project No. SR/FTP/ES-122/2009. This is an NIO Contribution.

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  1. National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Regional Centre, Kochi 18, India

    Rejomon George, K. R. Muraleedharan, G. D. Martin, P. Sabu, Vijay John Gerson, P. K. Dineshkumar & K. K. C. Nair

  2. Department of Chemical Oceanography, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi 16, India

    Rejomon George, G. D. Martin, S. M. Nair & N. Chandramohanakumar

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  1. Rejomon George
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George, R., Muraleedharan, K.R., Martin, G.D. et al. Nutrient biogeochemistry of the eastern Arabian Sea during the southwest monsoon retreat. Environ Earth Sci 68, 703–718 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1772-2

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