Investigating the reasons for the reduction in dissolved oxygen concentration ‎in the Oman Sea

In this study, the relationship between dissolved oxygen reduction in the Gulf of Oman and changes in effective factors such as temperature and thermal stratification, exchanges with nearby water bodies, biological activities, chlorophyll-a concentration, and primary production was studied. The data used in this research were extracted from the measurement data available on global sites such as the World Ocean Atlas and SeaWiFS and MODIS satellite images. Comparing the average annual DO profiles in the Gulf of Oman showed a decrease in the upper 1000 m layer in 2010 compared to 1960. The DO reduction in the surface mixed layer was 0.4 mg/l and reached 3.7 mg/l at 100 m depth. At depths more than 100 m, the amount of change decreased and reached 0.1 mg/l at 1000 m. Due to the deoxygenation, the thickness of the surface layer with DO˃2 mg/l decreased from 150 m to 80 m. The results demonstrated that the drop in DO in the surface mixed layer was consistent with the decrease in gas solubility caused by the temperature increment in this layer. Regarding the severe reduction of DO in the layer below the surface mixed layer, it was shown that the strengthening of thermal vertical stratification and intensification of thermocline (0.01°C/m increase in thermal gradient) were the most important factors.