TITLE:
First Study of Seawater Carbonate Chemistry Variability in a Portion of the Southern Atlantic Coast of Cameroon: Impact of Organic Pollution
AUTHORS:
Ulrich Joel Felicien Bilounga, Fils Mamert Onana, Antoine Arfao Tamsa, Anselme Crepin Mama, Paul Alain Nana, Emmanuel Henock Dicka, Thomas Ewoukem Efole
KEYWORDS:
Carbonate System, Variability, Coastal Ocean, Ocean Acidification, Cameroon
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.17 No.6,
June
17,
2025
ABSTRACT: The carbonate system variability and acidification process remain little understood in the coastal ocean of Cameroon. The aim of this study was to assess the variability of the carbonate system in a portion of the southern coast of Cameroon, and the influence of local seawater physicochemical and biological properties on keys parameters of this system. The study was carried out at three fixed sampling stations (Bp, Kb, and Eb), from September 2021 to August 2022 involving all the seasons encountered in the study area. The carbonate system was determined from Total alkalinity (TA), pH, temperature and salinity, using the CO2SYS_xls program. In addition, nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and nitrogen ammonia) and chlorophyll-a data were collected simultaneously at each station. The results showed a high variability of the carbonate system parameters on both temporal and spatial scale. TA and bicarbonate ions (
HCO
3
−
) were significantly different between the large rainy season (LRS) and small rainy season (SRS), while
CO
2
and
CO
2
partial pressure (
pCO
2
) were significantly different between Kb and Eb sampling stations (p-value