Contrasting patterns in pH variability in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

Continuous understanding of the ongoing ocean acidification (OA) is essential for predicting the future impact of OA on marine ecosystems. Here we report the results of open ocean time-series measurements (19 cruises) of seawater pH in total hydrogen ion scale (pH) and associated parameters in the Arabian Sea (AS) and the Bay of Bengal (BoB). During southwest monsoon (SWM), the pH within the 30 to 100 m water column shows the maximum difference between the two basins with BoB pH being lower (up to ~0.

Malformation in coccolithophores in low pH waters: evidences from the eastern Arabian Sea.

Oceanic calcifying plankton such as coccolithophores is expected to exhibit sensitivity to climate change stressors such as warming and acidification. Observational studies on coccolithophore communities along with carbonate chemistry provide important perceptions of possible adaptations of these organisms to ocean acidification. However, this phytoplankton group remains one of the least studied in the northern Indian Ocean.

Organic carbon dynamics in the continental shelf waters of the eastern Arabian Sea.

The seasonal and spatial distribution of total organic carbon (TOC) is presented for the coastal waters of the eastern Arabian Sea, which experiences seasonal suboxia during the late southwest monsoon (SWM). This study reveals that high TOC was observed off Kochi as compared to Goa and Mangalore transects, and may be attributed to stronger upwelling along the Kerala coast. This is also supported by the excess carbon due to upwelling during the late SWM that varied from 37 μM (Goa), 39 μM (Mangalore), to 51 μM (Kochi).

Variability of organic nitrogen and its role in regulating phytoplankton in the eastern Arabian Sea.

The relative importance of organic nitrogen (ON) and inorganic nitrogen (IN) as nitrogen sources for the phytoplankton communities were studied through a seasonal time series of nitrogen species in the eastern Arabian Sea. Seasonal data on nitrogen species showed that ON dominates the system throughout the year and account for >90% of the total nitrogen (TN) during north east monsoon (NEM). The average ON concentration in the study region was 11.

Methane stimulates massive nitrogen loss from freshwater reservoirs in India.

The fate of the enormous amount of reactive nitrogen released to the environment by human activities in India is unknown. Here we show occurrence of seasonal stratification and generally low concentrations of dissolved inorganic combined nitrogen, and high molecular nitrogen (N) to argon ratio, thus suggesting seasonal loss to N in anoxic hypolimnia of several dam-reservoirs. However, N-experiments yielded low rates of denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium-except in the presence of methane (CH) that caused ~12-fold increase in denitrification.

Variations in some environmental characteristics including C and N stable isotopic composition of suspended organic matter in the Mandovi estuary.

Chemical and isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) investigation of the Mandovi estuary along the Indian west coast affected strongly by the seasonal monsoon cycle was carried out. The Mandovi estuary is a major waterway for Goa and extensively used for transportation of iron and manganese ore. In addition, with large population centers as well as agricultural fields located on its shores, the estuary is assumed to have been influenced by human activities.

Denitrification as the dominant nitrogen loss process in the Arabian Sea.

Primary production in over half of the world's oceans is limited by fixed nitrogen availability. The main loss term from the fixed nitrogen inventory is the production of dinitrogen gas (N(2)) by heterotrophic denitrification or the more recently discovered autotrophic process, anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox). Oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) are responsible for about 35% of oceanic N(2) production and up to half of that occurs in the Arabian Sea.