Two new publications by Helen Powley, Philippe Van Cappellen and colleagues on nutrient cycling in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

In a set of two companion papers published in the Journal of Marine Systems, Helen Powley and Philippe Van Cappellen of the Ecohydrology Research Group, and their collaborators Mike Krom (University of Leeds) and Kay-Christian Emeis (University of Hamburg), explore the unique biogeochemistry of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS). In their first paper, they develop and calibrate a dynamic mass balance model for the coupled cycles of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in the EMS. The model helps explain why, despite being nearly entirely surrounded by land, the EMS exhibits a much lower biological productivity and much higher water column N:P ratios than most of the oceans. In the second paper, the model is used to simulate the response of the EMS to the large increases in nutrient P and N inputs over the course of the second half of the 20^th century.

Water cycle of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Water fluxes are given in Sverdrup units (1 Sv = 10⁶m³s^-1).