The carbonate system in the Ligurian Sea

Chapter 4International audienceThe study of the oceanic carbonate system is linked to two important environmental issues: ocean CO$_2$ uptake and ocean acidification and its impact on organisms, ecosystems and ecosystem services. This chapter mainly focuses on the seasonal cycles and long‐term trends of the ocean carbonate system based on a synthesis of data collected in the Ligurian Sea from 1998 to 2016. In addition to the effect of potential T (theta) on CO$_2$ solubility, the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon CT in the water column is driven by the antagonistic effects of the biological carbon pump that increases the vertical gradient of CT (lowering CT at the surface and increasing it in the ocean interior) and the exchange of CO$_2$ at the air–sea interface. The chapter also presents the seasonal cycle of the carbonate system and ancillary variables in the surface water