Moore
J. Keith
Moore
J. Keith
No Thumbnail Available
Search Results
Now showing
1 - 20 of 25
-
ArticleRemote sensing observations of ocean physical and biological properties in the region of the Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX)(American Geophysical Union, 2006-06-17) Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C.Satellite remote sensing estimates of surface chlorophyll, temperature, wind speed, and sea ice cover are examined in the region of the Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX). Our objectives are to place SOFeX into a regional context and highlight regional mesoscale spatial and monthly temporal variability. SOFeX fertilized two patches with iron, one south of the Antarctic Polar front (PF) and one north of the PF but south of the Subantarctic Front (SAF). Satellite observable phytoplankton blooms developed in both patches. The spring sea-ice retreat near the south patch site was delayed in the 2001-2002 season, in turn delaying the naturally occurring, modest spring bloom in this region. Ambient surface chlorophyll concentrations for the area surrounding the southern patch during January 2002 are low (mean 0.26 mg/m3) compared with climatological January values (0.42 mg/m3). Regions east and west at similar latitudes exhibited higher mean chlorophyll concentrations (0.79 and 0.74 mg/m3, respectively). These modest phytoplankton blooms were likely stimulated by melting sea-ice via changes in the light-mixing regime and release of iron, and were smaller in magnitude than the iron-induced bloom within the SOFeX southern patch (> 3 mg/m3). Iron inputs from melting ice may drive much of the natural spatial and temporal variability within the seasonal ice zone. Mean chlorophyll concentrations surrounding the SOFeX northern patch site were similar to climatological values during the SOFeX season. The northern patch was stretched into a long, thin filament along the southern boundary of the SAF, likely increasing the mixing/dilution rate with surrounding waters.
-
ArticleAssessment of skill and portability in regional marine biogeochemical models : role of multiple planktonic groups(American Geophysical Union, 2007-08-02) Friedrichs, Marjorie A. M. ; Dusenberry, Jeffrey A. ; Anderson, Laurence A. ; Armstrong, Robert A. ; Chai, Fei ; Christian, James R. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Dunne, John P. ; Fujii, Masahiko ; Hood, Raleigh R. ; McGillicuddy, Dennis J. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Schartau, Markus ; Spitz, Yvette H. ; Wiggert, Jerry D.Application of biogeochemical models to the study of marine ecosystems is pervasive, yet objective quantification of these models' performance is rare. Here, 12 lower trophic level models of varying complexity are objectively assessed in two distinct regions (equatorial Pacific and Arabian Sea). Each model was run within an identical one-dimensional physical framework. A consistent variational adjoint implementation assimilating chlorophyll-a, nitrate, export, and primary productivity was applied and the same metrics were used to assess model skill. Experiments were performed in which data were assimilated from each site individually and from both sites simultaneously. A cross-validation experiment was also conducted whereby data were assimilated from one site and the resulting optimal parameters were used to generate a simulation for the second site. When a single pelagic regime is considered, the simplest models fit the data as well as those with multiple phytoplankton functional groups. However, those with multiple phytoplankton functional groups produced lower misfits when the models are required to simulate both regimes using identical parameter values. The cross-validation experiments revealed that as long as only a few key biogeochemical parameters were optimized, the models with greater phytoplankton complexity were generally more portable. Furthermore, models with multiple zooplankton compartments did not necessarily outperform models with single zooplankton compartments, even when zooplankton biomass data are assimilated. Finally, even when different models produced similar least squares model-data misfits, they often did so via very different element flow pathways, highlighting the need for more comprehensive data sets that uniquely constrain these pathways.
-
ArticlePreindustrial-control and twentieth-century carbon cycle experiments with the Earth System Model CESM1(BGC)(American Meteorological Society, 2014-12-15) Lindsay, Keith ; Bonan, Gordon B. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Hoffman, Forrest M. ; Lawrence, David M. ; Long, Matthew C. ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Randerson, James T. ; Thornton, Peter E.Version 1 of the Community Earth System Model, in the configuration where its full carbon cycle is enabled, is introduced and documented. In this configuration, the terrestrial biogeochemical model, which includes carbon–nitrogen dynamics and is present in earlier model versions, is coupled to an ocean biogeochemical model and atmospheric CO2 tracers. The authors provide a description of the model, detail how preindustrial-control and twentieth-century experiments were initialized and forced, and examine the behavior of the carbon cycle in those experiments. They examine how sea- and land-to-air CO2 fluxes contribute to the increase of atmospheric CO2 in the twentieth century, analyze how atmospheric CO2 and its surface fluxes vary on interannual time scales, including how they respond to ENSO, and describe the seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2 and its surface fluxes. While the model broadly reproduces observed aspects of the carbon cycle, there are several notable biases, including having too large of an increase in atmospheric CO2 over the twentieth century and too small of a seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2 in the Northern Hemisphere. The biases are related to a weak response of the carbon cycle to climatic variations on interannual and seasonal time scales and to twentieth-century anthropogenic forcings, including rising CO2, land-use change, and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen.
-
ArticleCarbon-nitrogen interactions regulate climate-carbon cycle feedbacks : results from an atmosphere-ocean general circulation model(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2009-10-08) Thornton, Peter E. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Randerson, James T. ; Fung, Inez Y. ; Lamarque, J.-F. ; Feddema, J. J. ; Lee, Y.-H.Inclusion of fundamental ecological interactions between carbon and nitrogen cycles in the land component of an atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) leads to decreased carbon uptake associated with CO2 fertilization, and increased carbon uptake associated with warming of the climate system. The balance of these two opposing effects is to reduce the fraction of anthropogenic CO2 predicted to be sequestered in land ecosystems. The primary mechanism responsible for increased land carbon storage under radiatively forced climate change is shown to be fertilization of plant growth by increased mineralization of nitrogen directly associated with increased decomposition of soil organic matter under a warming climate, which in this particular model results in a negative gain for the climate-carbon feedback. Estimates for the land and ocean sink fractions of recent anthropogenic emissions are individually within the range of observational estimates, but the combined land plus ocean sink fractions produce an airborne fraction which is too high compared to observations. This bias is likely due in part to an underestimation of the ocean sink fraction. Our results show a significant growth in the airborne fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions over the coming century, attributable in part to a steady decline in the ocean sink fraction. Comparison to experimental studies on the fate of radio-labeled nitrogen tracers in temperate forests indicates that the model representation of competition between plants and microbes for new mineral nitrogen resources is reasonable. Our results suggest a weaker dependence of net land carbon flux on soil moisture changes in tropical regions, and a stronger positive growth response to warming in those regions, than predicted by a similar AOGCM implemented without land carbon-nitrogen interactions. We expect that the between-model uncertainty in predictions of future atmospheric CO2 concentration and associated anthropogenic climate change will be reduced as additional climate models introduce carbon-nitrogen cycle interactions in their land components.
-
PreprintSkill metrics for confronting global upper ocean ecosystem-biogeochemistry models against field and remote sensing data( 2008-03-04) Doney, Scott C. ; Lima, Ivan D. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Lindsay, Keith ; Behrenfeld, Michael J. ; Westberry, Toby K. ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Glover, David M. ; Takahashi, TaroWe present a generalized framework for assessing the skill of global upper ocean ecosystem-biogeochemical models against in-situ field data and satellite observations. We illustrate the approach utilizing a multi-decade (1979-2004) hindcast experiment conducted with the Community Climate System Model (CCSM-3) ocean carbon model. The CCSM-3 ocean carbon model incorporates a multi-nutrient, multi-phytoplankton functional group ecosystem module coupled with a carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and iron biogeochemistry module embedded in a global, threedimensional ocean general circulation model. The model is forced with physical climate forcing from atmospheric reanalysis and satellite data products and time-varying atmospheric dust deposition. Data-based skill metrics are used to evaluate the simulated time-mean spatial patterns, seasonal cycle amplitude and phase, and subannual to interannual variability. Evaluation data include: sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth; satellite derived surface ocean chlorophyll, primary productivity, phytoplankton growth rate and carbon biomass; large-scale climatologies of surface nutrients, pCO2, and air-sea CO2 and O2 flux; and time-series data from the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). Where the data is sufficient, we construct quantitative skill metrics using: model-data residuals, time-space correlation, root mean square error, and Taylor diagrams.
-
ArticleSatellite-detected fluorescence reveals global physiology of ocean phytoplankton(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2009-05-08) Behrenfeld, Michael J. ; Westberry, Toby K. ; Boss, Emmanuel S. ; O'Malley, Robert T. ; Siegel, David A. ; Wiggert, Jerry D. ; Franz, Bryan A. ; McClain, Charles R. ; Feldman, G. C. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Dall'Olmo, Giorgio ; Milligan, A. J. ; Lima, Ivan D. ; Mahowald, Natalie M.Phytoplankton photosynthesis links global ocean biology and climate-driven fluctuations in the physical environment. These interactions are largely expressed through changes in phytoplankton physiology, but physiological status has proven extremely challenging to characterize globally. Phytoplankton fluorescence does provide a rich source of physiological information long exploited in laboratory and field studies, and is now observed from space. Here we evaluate the physiological underpinnings of global variations in satellite-based phytoplankton chlorophyll fluorescence. The three dominant factors influencing fluorescence distributions are chlorophyll concentration, pigment packaging effects on light absorption, and light-dependent energy-quenching processes. After accounting for these three factors, resultant global distributions of quenching-corrected fluorescence quantum yields reveal a striking consistency with anticipated patterns of iron availability. High fluorescence quantum yields are typically found in low iron waters, while low quantum yields dominate regions where other environmental factors are most limiting to phytoplankton growth. Specific properties of photosynthetic membranes are discussed that provide a mechanistic view linking iron stress to satellite-detected fluorescence. Our results present satellite-based fluorescence as a valuable tool for evaluating nutrient stress predictions in ocean ecosystem models and give the first synoptic observational evidence that iron plays an important role in seasonal phytoplankton dynamics of the Indian Ocean. Satellite fluorescence may also provide a path for monitoring climate-phytoplankton physiology interactions and improving descriptions of phytoplankton light use efficiencies in ocean productivity models.
-
ArticleMechanisms controlling dissolved iron distribution in the North Pacific : a model study(American Geophysical Union, 2011-07-22) Misumi, Kazuhiro ; Tsumune, Daisuke ; Yoshida, Yoshikatsu ; Uchimoto, K. ; Nakamura, T. ; Nishioka, Jun ; Mitsudera, Humio ; Bryan, Frank O. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C.Mechanisms controlling the dissolved iron distribution in the North Pacific are investigated using the Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC) model with a resolution of approximately 1° in latitude and longitude and 60 vertical levels. The model is able to reproduce the general distribution of iron as revealed in available field data: surface concentrations are generally below 0.2 nM; concentrations increase with depth; and values in the lower pycnocline are especially high in the northwestern Pacific and off the coast of California. Sensitivity experiments changing scavenging regimes and external iron sources indicate that lateral transport of sedimentary iron from continental margins into the open ocean causes the high concentrations in these regions. This offshore penetration only appears under a scavenging regime where iron has a relatively long residence time at high concentrations, namely, the order of years. Sedimentary iron is intensively supplied around continental margins, resulting in locally high concentrations; the residence time with respect to scavenging determines the horizontal scale of elevated iron concentrations. Budget analysis for iron reveals the processes by which sedimentary iron is transported to the open ocean. Horizontal mixing transports sedimentary iron from the boundary into alongshore currents, which then carry high iron concentrations into the open ocean in regions where the alongshore currents separate from the coast, most prominently in the northwestern Pacific and off of California.
-
ArticleNorth Pacific carbon cycle response to climate variability on seasonal to decadal timescales(American Geophysical Union, 2006-07-04) McKinley, Galen A. ; Takahashi, Taro ; Buitenhuis, Erik T. ; Chai, Fei ; Christian, James R. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Jiang, Mingshun ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Le Quere, Corinne ; Lima, Ivan D. ; Murtugudde, Raghu ; Shi, L. ; Wetzel, PatrickClimate variability drives significant changes in the physical state of the North Pacific, and thus there may be important impacts of climate variability on the upper ocean carbon balance across the basin. We address this issue by considering the response of seven biogeochemical ocean models to climate variability in the North Pacific. The models’ upper ocean pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux respond similarly to climate variability on seasonal to decadal timescales. Modeled seasonal cycles of pCO2 and its temperature and non-temperature driven components at three contrasting oceanographic sites capture the basic features found in observations [Takahashi et al., 2002, 2006; Keeling et al., 2004; Brix et al., 2004]. However, particularly in the Western Subarctic Gyre, the models have difficulty representing the temporal structure of the total pCO2 cycle because it results from the difference of these two large and opposing components. In all but one model, the airsea CO2 flux interannual variability (1σ) in the North Pacific is smaller (ranges across models from 0.03 to 0.11 PgC/yr) than in the Tropical Pacific (ranges across models from 0.08 to 0.19 PgC/yr), and the timeseries of the first or second EOF of the air-sea CO2 flux has a significant correlation with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Though air-sea CO2 flux anomalies are correlated with the PDO, their magnitudes are small (up to ±0.025 PgC/yr (1σ)). Flux anomalies are damped because anomalies in the key drivers of pCO2 (temperature, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and alkalinity) are all of similar magnitude and have strongly opposing effects that damp total pCO2 anomalies.
-
ArticleExploring the sensitivity of interannual basin-scale air-sea CO2 fluxes to variability in atmospheric dust deposition using ocean carbon cycle models and atmospheric CO2 inversions(American Geophysical Union, 2007-05-04) Patra, Prabir K. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Uematsu, Mitsuo ; Doney, Scott C. ; Nakazawa, TakakiyoEstimates of sources/sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the Earth's surface are commonly made using atmospheric CO2 inverse modeling, terrestrial and oceanic biogeochemical modeling, and inventory-based studies. In this study, we compare sea-air CO2 fluxes from the Time-Dependent Inverse (TDI) atmosphere model and the marine Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC) model to study the processes involved in ocean carbon cycling at subbasin scales. A dust generation and transport model, based on analyzed meteorology and terrestrial vegetation cover, is also used to estimate the interannual variability in dust and iron deposition to different ocean basins. Overall, a fairly good agreement is established between the TDI and BEC model results for the net annual patterns and seasonal cycle of sea-air CO2 exchange. Sensitivity studies with the ocean biogeochemical model using increased or reduced atmospheric iron inputs indicate the relative sensitivity of air-sea CO2 exchange. The simulated responses to changes in iron inputs are not instantaneous (peak response after ∼2−3 years). The TDI model derived seasonal cycles for the Southern Ocean (South Atlantic) are better matched by the BEC model by increasing (decreasing) iron inputs through atmospheric aerosols. Our results suggest that some of the interannual variability in TDI model air-sea CO2 fluxes during the past decade may be explainable by dust variability that relaxes/increases iron limitation in high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) ocean regions.
-
ArticleIron availability limits the ocean nitrogen inventory stabilizing feedbacks between marine denitrification and nitrogen fixation(American Geophysical Union, 2007-04-04) Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C.Recent upward revisions in key sink/source terms for fixed nitrogen (N) in the oceans imply a short residence time and strong negative feedbacks involving denitrification and N fixation to prevent large swings in the ocean N inventory over timescales of a few centuries. We tested the strength of these feedbacks in a global biogeochemical elemental cycling (BEC) ocean model that includes water column denitrification and an explicit N fixing phytoplankton group. In the northern Indian Ocean and over longer timescales in the tropical Atlantic, we find strong stabilizing feedbacks that minimize changes in marine N inventory over timescales of ∼30–200 years. In these regions high atmospheric dust/iron inputs lead to phosphorus limitation of diazotrophs, and thus a tight link between N fixation and surface water N/P ratios. Maintenance of the oxygen minimum zones in these basins depends on N fixation driven export. The stabilizing feedbacks in other regions are significant but weaker owing to iron limitation of the diazotrophs. Thus Fe limitation appears to restrict the ability of N fixation to compensate for changes in denitrification in the current climate, perhaps leading the oceans to lose fixed N. We suggest that iron is the ultimate limiting nutrient leading to nitrogen being the proximate limiting nutrient over wide regions today. Iron stress was at least partially alleviated during more dusty, glacial times, leading to a higher marine N inventory, increased export production, and perhaps widespread phosphorus limitation of the phytoplankton community. The increased efficiency of the biological pump would have contributed to the glacial drawdown in atmospheric CO2.
-
ArticleImpacts of increasing anthropogenic soluble iron and nitrogen deposition on ocean biogeochemistry(American Geophysical Union, 2009-08-28) Krishnamurthy, Aparna ; Moore, J. Keith ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Luo, Chao ; Doney, Scott C. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Zender, Charles S.We present results from transient sensitivity studies with the Biogeochemical Elemental Cycling (BEC) ocean model to increasing anthropogenic atmospheric inorganic nitrogen (N) and soluble iron (Fe) deposition over the industrial era. Elevated N deposition results from fossil fuel combustion and agriculture, and elevated soluble Fe deposition results from increased atmospheric processing in the presence of anthropogenic pollutants and soluble Fe from combustion sources. Simulations with increasing Fe and increasing Fe and N inputs raised simulated marine nitrogen fixation, with the majority of the increase in the subtropical North and South Pacific, and raised primary production and export in the high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions. Increasing N inputs alone elevated small phytoplankton and diatom production, resulting in increased phosphorus (P) and Fe limitation for diazotrophs, hence reducing nitrogen fixation (∼6%). Globally, the simulated primary production, sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) export. and atmospheric CO2 uptake were highest under combined increase in Fe and N inputs compared to preindustrial control. Our results suggest that increasing combustion iron sources and aerosol Fe solubility along with atmospheric anthropogenic nitrogen deposition are perturbing marine biogeochemical cycling and could partially explain the observed trend toward increased P limitation at station ALOHA in the subtropical North Pacific. Excess inorganic nitrogen ([NO3 −] + [NH4 +] − 16[PO4 3−]) distributions may offer useful insights for understanding changing ocean circulation and biogeochemistry.
-
ArticleChallenges of modeling depth-integrated marine primary productivity over multiple decades : a case study at BATS and HOT(American Geophysical Union, 2010-09-15) Saba, Vincent S. ; Friedrichs, Marjorie A. M. ; Carr, Mary-Elena ; Antoine, David ; Armstrong, Robert A. ; Asanuma, Ichio ; Aumont, Olivier ; Bates, Nicholas R. ; Behrenfeld, Michael J. ; Bennington, Val ; Bopp, Laurent ; Bruggeman, Jorn ; Buitenhuis, Erik T. ; Church, Matthew J. ; Ciotti, Aurea M. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Dowell, Mark ; Dunne, John P. ; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie ; Gregg, Watson ; Hoepffner, Nicolas ; Hyde, Kimberly J. W. ; Ishizaka, Joji ; Kameda, Takahiko ; Karl, David M. ; Lima, Ivan D. ; Lomas, Michael W. ; Marra, John F. ; McKinley, Galen A. ; Melin, Frederic ; Moore, J. Keith ; Morel, Andre ; O'Reilly, John ; Salihoglu, Baris ; Scardi, Michele ; Smyth, Tim J. ; Tang, Shilin ; Tjiputra, Jerry ; Uitz, Julia ; Vichi, Marcello ; Waters, Kirk ; Westberry, Toby K. ; Yool, AndrewThe performance of 36 models (22 ocean color models and 14 biogeochemical ocean circulation models (BOGCMs)) that estimate depth-integrated marine net primary productivity (NPP) was assessed by comparing their output to in situ 14C data at the Bermuda Atlantic Time series Study (BATS) and the Hawaii Ocean Time series (HOT) over nearly two decades. Specifically, skill was assessed based on the models' ability to estimate the observed mean, variability, and trends of NPP. At both sites, more than 90% of the models underestimated mean NPP, with the average bias of the BOGCMs being nearly twice that of the ocean color models. However, the difference in overall skill between the best BOGCM and the best ocean color model at each site was not significant. Between 1989 and 2007, in situ NPP at BATS and HOT increased by an average of nearly 2% per year and was positively correlated to the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation index. The majority of ocean color models produced in situ NPP trends that were closer to the observed trends when chlorophyll-a was derived from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), rather than fluorometric or SeaWiFS data. However, this was a function of time such that average trend magnitude was more accurately estimated over longer time periods. Among BOGCMs, only two individual models successfully produced an increasing NPP trend (one model at each site). We caution against the use of models to assess multiannual changes in NPP over short time periods. Ocean color model estimates of NPP trends could improve if more high quality HPLC chlorophyll-a time series were available.
-
PreprintThe effects of dilution and mixed layer depth on deliberate ocean iron fertilization : 1-D simulations of the southern ocean iron experiment (SOFeX)( 2007-06-25) Krishnamurthy, Aparna ; Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C.To better understand the role of iron in driving marine ecosystems, the Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) fertilized two surface water patches with iron north and south of the Antarctic Polar Front Zone (APFZ). Using 1-D coupled biological-physical simulations, we examine the biogeochemical dynamics that occurred both inside and outside of the fertilized patches during and shortly after the SOFeX field campaign. We focus, in particular, on three main issues governing the biological response to deliberate iron fertilization: the interaction among phytoplankton, light, macro-nutrient and iron limitation; dilution and lateral mixing between the fertilized patch and external, unfertilized waters; and the effect of varying mixed layer depth on the light field. At the patch south of the APFZ, sensitivity simulations with no dilution results in the maximum bloom magnitude, whereas dilution with external water extends the development of the north patch bloom by relieving silicon limitation. In model sensitivity studies for both sites, maximum chlorophyll concentration and dissolved inorganic carbon depletion inside the fertilized patches are inversely related to mixed layer depth, similar to the patterns observed across a number of iron fertilization field experiments. Our results suggest that Southern Ocean phytoplankton blooms resulting from natural or deliberate iron fertilization will tend to become iron-light co-limited unless the mixed layer depth is quite shallow.
-
ArticleHumic substances may control dissolved iron distributions in the global ocean : implications from numerical simulations(John Wiley & Sons, 2013-05-20) Misumi, Kazuhiro ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C. ; Tsumune, Daisuke ; Yoshida, YoshikatsuThis study used an ocean general circulation model to simulate the marine iron cycle in an investigation of how simulated distributions of weak iron-binding ligands would be expected to control dissolved iron concentrations in the ocean, with a particular focus on deep ocean waters. The distribution of apparent oxygen utilization was used as a proxy for humic substances that have recently been hypothesized to account for the bulk of weak iron-binding ligands in seawater. Compared to simulations using a conventional approach with homogeneous ligand distributions, the simulations that incorporated spatially variable ligand concentrations exhibited substantial improvement in the simulation of global dissolved iron distributions as revealed by comparisons with available field data. The improved skill of the simulations resulted largely because the spatially variable ligand distributions led to a more reasonable basin-scale variation of the residence time of iron when present at high concentrations. The model results, in conjunction with evidence from recent field studies, suggest that humic substances play an important role in the iron cycle in the ocean.
-
ArticleUpper ocean ecosystem dynamics and iron cycling in a global three-dimensional model(American Geophysical Union, 2004-12-14) Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C. ; Lindsay, KeithA global three-dimensional marine ecosystem model with several key phytoplankton functional groups, multiple limiting nutrients, explicit iron cycling, and a mineral ballast/organic matter parameterization is run within a global ocean circulation model. The coupled biogeochemistry/ecosystem/circulation (BEC) model reproduces known basin-scale patterns of primary and export production, biogenic silica production, calcification, chlorophyll, macronutrient and dissolved iron concentrations. The model captures observed high nitrate, low chlorophyll (HNLC) conditions in the Southern Ocean, subarctic and equatorial Pacific. Spatial distributions of nitrogen fixation are in general agreement with field data, with total N-fixation of 55 Tg N. Diazotrophs directly account for a small fraction of primary production (0.5%) but indirectly support 10% of primary production and 8% of sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) export. Diatoms disproportionately contribute to export of POC out of surface waters, but CaCO3 from the coccolithophores is the key driver of POC flux to the deep ocean in the model. An iron source from shallow ocean sediments is found critical in preventing iron limitation in shelf regions, most notably in the Arctic Ocean, but has a relatively localized impact. In contrast, global-scale primary production, export production, and nitrogen fixation are all sensitive to variations in atmospheric mineral dust inputs. The residence time for dissolved iron in the upper ocean is estimated to be a few years to a decade. Most of the iron utilized by phytoplankton is from subsurface sources supplied by mixing, entrainment, and ocean circulation. However, owing to the short residence time of iron in the upper ocean, this subsurface iron pool is critically dependent on continual replenishment from atmospheric dust deposition and, to a lesser extent, lateral transport from shelf regions.
-
ArticleProjected 21st century decrease in marine productivity : a multi-model analysis(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2010-03-11) Steinacher, M. ; Joos, Fortunat ; Frolicher, T. L. ; Bopp, Laurent ; Cadule, P. ; Cocco, V. ; Doney, Scott C. ; Gehlen, M. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Schneider, B. ; Segschneider, J.Changes in marine net primary productivity (PP) and export of particulate organic carbon (EP) are projected over the 21st century with four global coupled carbon cycle-climate models. These include representations of marine ecosystems and the carbon cycle of different structure and complexity. All four models show a decrease in global mean PP and EP between 2 and 20% by 2100 relative to preindustrial conditions, for the SRES A2 emission scenario. Two different regimes for productivity changes are consistently identified in all models. The first chain of mechanisms is dominant in the low- and mid-latitude ocean and in the North Atlantic: reduced input of macro-nutrients into the euphotic zone related to enhanced stratification, reduced mixed layer depth, and slowed circulation causes a decrease in macro-nutrient concentrations and in PP and EP. The second regime is projected for parts of the Southern Ocean: an alleviation of light and/or temperature limitation leads to an increase in PP and EP as productivity is fueled by a sustained nutrient input. A region of disagreement among the models is the Arctic, where three models project an increase in PP while one model projects a decrease. Projected changes in seasonal and interannual variability are modest in most regions. Regional model skill metrics are proposed to generate multi-model mean fields that show an improved skill in representing observation-based estimates compared to a simple multi-model average. Model results are compared to recent productivity projections with three different algorithms, usually applied to infer net primary production from satellite observations.
-
ArticleMulticentury changes in ocean and land contributions to the climate-carbon feedback(John Wiley & Sons, 2015-06-02) Randerson, James T. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Munoz, E. ; Fu, W. ; Moore, J. Keith ; Hoffman, Forrest M. ; Mahowald, Natalie M. ; Doney, Scott C.Improved constraints on carbon cycle responses to climate change are needed to inform mitigation policy, yet our understanding of how these responses may evolve after 2100 remains highly uncertain. Using the Community Earth System Model (v1.0), we quantified climate-carbon feedbacks from 1850 to 2300 for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and its extension. In three simulations, land and ocean biogeochemical processes experienced the same trajectory of increasing atmospheric CO2. Each simulation had a different degree of radiative coupling for CO2 and other greenhouse gases and aerosols, enabling diagnosis of feedbacks. In a fully coupled simulation, global mean surface air temperature increased by 9.3 K from 1850 to 2300, with 4.4 K of this warming occurring after 2100. Excluding CO2, warming from other greenhouse gases and aerosols was 1.6 K by 2300, near a 2 K target needed to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Ocean contributions to the climate-carbon feedback increased considerably over time and exceeded contributions from land after 2100. The sensitivity of ocean carbon to climate change was found to be proportional to changes in ocean heat content, as a consequence of this heat modifying transport pathways for anthropogenic CO2 inflow and solubility of dissolved inorganic carbon. By 2300, climate change reduced cumulative ocean uptake by 330 Pg C, from 1410 Pg C to 1080 Pg C. Land fluxes similarly diverged over time, with climate change reducing stocks by 232 Pg C. Regional influence of climate change on carbon stocks was largest in the North Atlantic Ocean and tropical forests of South America. Our analysis suggests that after 2100, oceans may become as important as terrestrial ecosystems in regulating the magnitude of the climate-carbon feedback.
-
ArticleThe iron budget in ocean surface waters in the 20th and 21st centuries : projections by the Community Earth System Model version 1(Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union, 2014-01-04) Misumi, Kazuhiro ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Doney, Scott C. ; Bryan, Frank O. ; Tsumune, Daisuke ; Yoshida, YoshikatsuWe investigated the simulated iron budget in ocean surface waters in the 1990s and 2090s using the Community Earth System Model version 1 and the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 future CO2 emission scenario. We assumed that exogenous iron inputs did not change during the whole simulation period; thus, iron budget changes were attributed solely to changes in ocean circulation and mixing in response to projected global warming, and the resulting impacts on marine biogeochemistry. The model simulated the major features of ocean circulation and dissolved iron distribution for the present climate. Detailed iron budget analysis revealed that roughly 70% of the iron supplied to surface waters in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions is contributed by ocean circulation and mixing processes, but the dominant supply mechanism differed by region: upwelling in the eastern equatorial Pacific and vertical mixing in the Southern Ocean. For the 2090s, our model projected an increased iron supply to HNLC waters, even though enhanced stratification was predicted to reduce iron entrainment from deeper waters. This unexpected result is attributed largely to changes in gyre-scale circulations that intensified the advective supply of iron to HNLC waters. The simulated primary and export production in the 2090s decreased globally by 6 and 13%, respectively, whereas in the HNLC regions, they increased by 11 and 6%, respectively. Roughly half of the elevated production could be attributed to the intensified iron supply. The projected ocean circulation and mixing changes are consistent with recent observations of responses to the warming climate and with other Coupled Model Intercomparison Project model projections. We conclude that future ocean circulation has the potential to increase iron supply to HNLC waters and will potentially buffer future reductions in ocean productivity.
-
ArticleMarine ecosystem dynamics and biogeochemical cycling in the Community Earth System Model [CESM1(BGC)] : comparison of the 1990s with the 2090s under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios(American Meteorological Society, 2013-12-01) Moore, J. Keith ; Lindsay, Keith ; Doney, Scott C. ; Long, Matthew C. ; Misumi, KazuhiroThe authors compare Community Earth System Model results to marine observations for the 1990s and examine climate change impacts on biogeochemistry at the end of the twenty-first century under two future scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Late-twentieth-century seasonally varying mixed layer depths are generally within 10 m of observations, with a Southern Ocean shallow bias. Surface nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations exhibit positive biases at low latitudes and negative biases at high latitudes. The volume of the oxygen minimum zones is overestimated. The impacts of climate change on biogeochemistry have similar spatial patterns under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, but perturbation magnitudes are larger under RCP8.5. Increasing stratification leads to weaker nutrient entrainment and decreased primary and export production (>30% over large areas). The global-scale decreases in primary and export production scale linearly with the increases in mean sea surface temperature. There are production increases in the high nitrate, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, driven by lateral iron inputs from adjacent areas. The increased HNLC export partially compensates for the reductions in non-HNLC waters (~25% offset). Stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and climate by the end of this century (as in RCP4.5) will minimize the changes to nutrient cycling and primary production in the oceans. In contrast, continued increasing emission of CO2 (as in RCP8.5) will lead to reduced productivity and significant modifications to ocean circulation and biogeochemistry by the end of this century, with more drastic changes beyond the year 2100 as the climate continues to rapidly warm.
-
ArticleNorth-South asymmetry in the modeled phytoplankton community response to climate change over the 21st century(John Wiley & Sons, 2013-12-20) Marinov, Irina ; Doney, Scott C. ; Lima, Ivan D. ; Lindsay, Keith ; Moore, J. Keith ; Mahowald, Natalie M.Here we analyze the impact of projected climate change on plankton ecology in all major ocean biomes over the 21st century, using a multidecade (1880–2090) experiment conducted with the Community Climate System Model (CCSM-3.1) coupled ocean-atmosphere-land-sea ice model. The climate response differs fundamentally in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres for diatom and small phytoplankton biomass and consequently for total biomass, primary, and export production. Increasing vertical stratification in the Northern Hemisphere oceans decreases the nutrient supply to the ocean surface. Resulting decreases in diatom and small phytoplankton biomass together with a relative shift from diatoms to small phytoplankton in the Northern Hemisphere result in decreases in the total primary and export production and export ratio, and a shift to a more oligotrophic, more efficiently recycled, lower biomass euphotic layer. By contrast, temperature and stratification increases are smaller in the Southern compared to the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, a southward shift and increase in strength of the Southern Ocean westerlies act against increasing temperature and freshwater fluxes to destratify the water-column. The wind-driven, poleward shift in the Southern Ocean subpolar-subtropical boundary results in a poleward shift and increase in the frontal diatom bloom. This boundary shift, localized increases in iron supply, and the direct impact of warming temperatures on phytoplankton growth result in diatom increases in the Southern Hemisphere. An increase in diatoms and decrease in small phytoplankton partly compensate such that while total production and the efficiency of organic matter export to the deep ocean increase, total Southern Hemisphere biomass does not change substantially. The impact of ecological shifts on the global carbon cycle is complex and varies across ecological biomes, with Northern and Southern Hemisphere effects on the biological production and export partially compensating. The net result of climate change is a small Northern Hemisphere-driven decrease in total primary production and efficiency of organic matter export to the deep ocean.