The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea
Abstract Water stress is an urgent issue in many regions worldwide, particularly in southern European countries. This study reveals the consequences of decreased freshwater flow on marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea due to climate change and escalating water demands. A 41% reduction in river...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54979-4 |
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| author | Diego Macias Berny Bisselink Cesar Carmona-Moreno Jean-Noël Druon Olaf Duteil Elisa Garcia-Gorriz Bruna Grizzetti Jordi Guillen Svetla Miladinova Alberto Pistocchi Chiara Piroddi Luca Polimene Natalia Serpetti Adolf Stips Ioannis Trichakis Angel Udias Olga Vigiak |
| author_facet | Diego Macias Berny Bisselink Cesar Carmona-Moreno Jean-Noël Druon Olaf Duteil Elisa Garcia-Gorriz Bruna Grizzetti Jordi Guillen Svetla Miladinova Alberto Pistocchi Chiara Piroddi Luca Polimene Natalia Serpetti Adolf Stips Ioannis Trichakis Angel Udias Olga Vigiak |
| author_sort | Diego Macias |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Water stress is an urgent issue in many regions worldwide, particularly in southern European countries. This study reveals the consequences of decreased freshwater flow on marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea due to climate change and escalating water demands. A 41% reduction in river flow may result in a 10% decline in marine primary productivity and a 6% decrease in biomass of commercial fish and invertebrate species. Regional reductions could be as high as 12% and 35%, disrupting coastal and marine ecosystems and their related socio-economic sectors. The findings emphasize the importance of considering nutrient load changes in water management strategies and incorporating marine ecosystem requirements into environmental flow requirements for freshwater bodies. Integrated, source-to-sink management approaches are crucial for sustainable water resource utilization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8444b2ea4967495fbadc8f59a6253e01 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-8444b2ea4967495fbadc8f59a6253e012025-02-09T12:44:49ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-02-0116111110.1038/s41467-024-54979-4The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean SeaDiego Macias0Berny Bisselink1Cesar Carmona-Moreno2Jean-Noël Druon3Olaf Duteil4Elisa Garcia-Gorriz5Bruna Grizzetti6Jordi Guillen7Svetla Miladinova8Alberto Pistocchi9Chiara Piroddi10Luca Polimene11Natalia Serpetti12Adolf Stips13Ioannis Trichakis14Angel Udias15Olga Vigiak16European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)Unisystems Luxembourg Sàrl, L-8070European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)Duteil Environmental Numerics, Reventloustrasse, 17European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)Bulgarian Academy of Science, Institute of MechanicsEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)Abstract Water stress is an urgent issue in many regions worldwide, particularly in southern European countries. This study reveals the consequences of decreased freshwater flow on marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea due to climate change and escalating water demands. A 41% reduction in river flow may result in a 10% decline in marine primary productivity and a 6% decrease in biomass of commercial fish and invertebrate species. Regional reductions could be as high as 12% and 35%, disrupting coastal and marine ecosystems and their related socio-economic sectors. The findings emphasize the importance of considering nutrient load changes in water management strategies and incorporating marine ecosystem requirements into environmental flow requirements for freshwater bodies. Integrated, source-to-sink management approaches are crucial for sustainable water resource utilization.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54979-4 |
| spellingShingle | Diego Macias Berny Bisselink Cesar Carmona-Moreno Jean-Noël Druon Olaf Duteil Elisa Garcia-Gorriz Bruna Grizzetti Jordi Guillen Svetla Miladinova Alberto Pistocchi Chiara Piroddi Luca Polimene Natalia Serpetti Adolf Stips Ioannis Trichakis Angel Udias Olga Vigiak The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea Nature Communications |
| title | The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full | The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_fullStr | The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_short | The overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_sort | overlooked impacts of freshwater scarcity on oceans as evidenced by the mediterranean sea |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54979-4 |
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