TY - JOUR T1 - Seasonal and interannual variability of the pelagic ecosystem and of the organic carbon budget in the Rhodes Gyre (Eastern Mediterranean): influence of winter mixing A1 - Habib,Joelle A1 - Ulses,Caroline A1 - Estournel,Claude A1 - Fakhri,Milad A1 - Marsaleix,Patrick A1 - Pujo-Pay,Mireille A1 - Conan,Pascal A1 - Fourrier,Marine A1 - Coppola,Laurent A1 - Mignot,Alexandre A1 - Mortier,Laurent AD - Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS), Université de Toulouse, CNES/CNRS/IRD/UT3, Toulouse, France AD - National Center for Marine Sciences, National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS-L), Jounieh, Lebanon AD - Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR7621, Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne (LOMIC), Paris, France AD - Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France AD - Sorbonne Université, CNRS, OSU STAMAR, UAR2017, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France AD - Mercator Océan International, Toulouse, France AD - Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06 CNRS-IRD-MNHN, Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France UR - https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00806/91825/ DO - 10.5194/bg-20-3203-2023 N2 - The Rhodes Gyre is a cyclonic persistent feature of the general circulation of the Levantine Basin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Although it is located in the most oligotrophic basin of the Mediterranean Sea, it is a relatively high primary production area due to strong winter nutrient supply associated with the formation of Levantine Intermediate Water. In this study, a 3D coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model (SYMPHONIE/Eco3M-S) was used to characterize the seasonal and interannual variability of the Rhodes Gyre’s ecosystem and to estimate an annual organic carbon budget over the 2013–2020 period. Comparisons of model outputs with satellite data and compiled in situ data from cruises and BioGeoChemical-Argo floats revealed the ability of the model to reconstruct the main seasonal and spatial biogeochemical dynamics of the Levantine Basin. The model results indicated that during the winter mixing period, phytoplankton first progressively grow sustained by nutrient supply. Then, short episodes of convection driven by heat loss and wind events, favoring nutrient injections, organic carbon export, and inducing light limitation on primary production, alternate with short episodes of phytoplankton growth. The estimate of the annual organic carbon budget indicated that the Rhodes Gyre is an autotrophic area with a positive net community production in the upper layer (0–150 m) amounting to 31.2 ± 6.9 g C m-2 year-1. Net community production in the upper layer is almost balanced over the seven-year period by physical transfers, (1) via downward export (16.8 ± 6.2 g C m-2 year-1) and (2) through lateral transport towards the surrounding regions (14.1 ± 2.1 g C m-2 year-1). The intermediate layer (150–400 m) also appears to be a source of organic carbon for the surrounding Levantine Sea (7.5 ± 2.8 g C m-2 year-1) mostly through the subduction of Levantine Intermediate Water following winter mixing. The Rhodes Gyre shows high interannual variability with enhanced primary production, net community production, and exports during years marked by intense heat losses and deep mixed layers. However, annual primary production appears to be only partially driven by winter vertical mixing. Based on our results, we can speculate that future increase of temperature and stratification could strongly impact the carbon fluxes in this region. Y1 - 2023/08 PB - Copernicus GmbH JF - Biogeosciences SN - 1726-4170 VL - 20 IS - 15 SP - 3203 EP - 3228 ID - 91825 ER -