The stable isotope composition of waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Waters of the eastern Mediterranean portray an unusual pattern of stable isotope composition compared with other evaporitic systems: an increase in 18O concentration up to value of δ18O = +2.2‰ is not matched by a commensurate increase of deuterium. It is shown that this unusual pattern is an expression of the “medi‐terranean” location of the sea, where the air‐sea interaction with relatively dry and isotopically depleted continental air masses dominates the evaporation process in winter and where the diluting meteoric waters are extremely depleted in the heavy isotopes. As a result, the slope of the evaporation line in δ(2H)‐δ(18O) space is lower than in other marine systems, whereas the mixing line between the meteoric waters and the seawater is very steep. This pattern provides an independent method for the estimation of the evaporation E and freshwater influx terms M of the water balance of the Mediterranean Sea. In winter, the ratio of evaporation to freshwater input is found to be E/M = 1.20, whereas in summer this ratio E/M = 1.83.

Recent unprecedented warming and oligotrophy of the eastern Mediterranean Sea within the last millennium

“…Water circulation over the EM shelf is northward throughout the year with strong seasonal variability. The shelf and slope current system are part of the Levantine basin's general circulation, which is composed of the Atlantic Ionian stream, the Mid-Mediterranean Jet, and the cyclonic basin-wide current that follows the coast [Gat et al, 1996;Hecht et al, 1988]. In summer, the strong currents are confined to the upper layer with seaward intensification.…”

Illite occurrences related to volcanic-hosted hydrothermal mineralization in the Biga Peninsula, NW Turkey: Implications for the age and origin of fluids

“…The calculated isotopic ratios of fluids in equilibrium with illite-water fractionation factors (Savin and Lee, 1988 Gat et al, 1996) (Fig. 12).…”

The Use of Stable Water Isotopes as Tracers in Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) and in Regional Water Systems

“…Some studies have shown that slopes smaller than 8, which characterize the GMWL and EMMWL lines, are typical for mixing and evaporating systems (e.g., [29,[36][37][38]). In a specific study, a slope of 4.3 was measured for water systems under controlled evaporating conditions [36].…”

“…Water molecule isotopic compositions: (a) the Shafdan system, including the recharged effluents (PS-6 or at the ponds) and the recovery wells (RW); and (b) the freshwater sources, in the National Water Carrier (NWC) and in the Shafdan system. Isotope data for the Coastal Aquifer, Mountain Aquifer, Mediterranean Sea, desalinated water (DSP), and for the Sea of Galilee (SOG) were taken from previous works [3,5,8,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. The secondary effluents compose the heavier end-member, with δ 18 O of −1.5 ± 0.1 and δ 2 H of −4.9 ± 0.9 for 2010-2011 campaign, and δ 18 O of −1.4 ± 0.2 and δ 2 H of −1.2 ± 1.3 for 2014 campaign (Table 3).…”

“…This time the end-members are composed of the Mediterranean Sea water, either preor post-desalination, and from the Mountain Aquifer water. Isotope data for the Coastal Aquifer, Mountain Aquifer, Mediterranean Sea, desalinated water and for the SOG were taken from previous studies [3,5,8,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”