Simulated Effects of Seawater Desalination on Persian/Arabian Gulf Exchange Flow
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 4
Abstract
Since the 1980s, the occurrence of harmful algae blooms (HABs) in the Persian/Arabian Gulf has increased concurrently with the rapid expansion of Gulf seawater desalination. Moreover, Gulf HABs have been observed simultaneously with established HABs in the adjacent outer ocean basin. The freshwater sink generated by seawater desalination is balanced by a stronger near-surface influx of the Gulf exchange flow, which carries salt into the Gulf and may also carry HABs that travel passively. Here, the hypothesis that seawater desalination has strengthened Gulf exchange influx, probably leading to accelerated horizontal advection of established HABs in the outer ocean basin into the Gulf and enhanced HAB dispersal within the Gulf, is examined. Two scenarios with differing magnitudes of freshwater loss from seawater desalination and one scenario devoid of freshwater loss are simulated in a coupled Gulf-Atmosphere Model and compared. The results show that, because of this freshwater loss, mean March–June exchange influx (outflux) strengthened by 3.93% (5.38%) and mean July–February exchange influx (outflux) weakened by (); flushing time decreased by , and peak exchange influx occurred sooner by . These results support the above-stated hypothesis and suggest a linkage between Gulf seawater desalination and the recent shift in the seasonal regime of Gulf HABs. This causal mechanism for the increase in Gulf HABs highlights the need for a basin-scale management strategy to monitor and forecast the Gulf’s state under the stresses of seawater desalination and provide early warning signs of environmental problems. Such a strategy is already in place in several marginal seas with anthropogenic activities. The findings here provide design elements for developing this strategy in the Gulf.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code used during the study were provided by a third party.
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Gulf-Atmosphere Regional Model (GARM).
Direct requests for these materials may be made to the provider as indicated in the Acknowledgments.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Dr. Pengfei Xue for providing the numerical model (GARM) used for this study (Xue and Eltahir 2015). All the figures herein are produced with NCAR Command Language or Python. The author declares that no specific funding was received for this research.
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Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 4 • April 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Oct 16, 2021
Accepted: Nov 24, 2021
Published online: Feb 15, 2022
Published in print: Apr 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jul 15, 2022
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- Francesco Paparella, Daniele D’Agostino, John A. Burt, Long-term, basin-scale salinity impacts from desalination in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-022-25167-5, 12, 1, (2022).