Modélisation de la pompe biologique de carbone dans l'Océan Austral

Doctorat en Sciencesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

Spatial distribution of the iron supply to phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean: a model study

An upgraded version of the biogeochemical model SWAMCO is coupled to the ocean-sea-ice model NEMO-LIM to explore processes governing the spatial distribution of the iron supply to phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean. The 3-D NEMO-LIM-SWAMCO model is implemented in the ocean domain south of latitude 30° S and runs are performed over September 1989–December 2000. Model scenarios include potential iron sources (atmospheric deposition, iceberg calving and continental sediments) as well as iron storage within sea ice, all formulated based on a literature review. When all these processes are included, the simulated iron profiles and phytoplankton bloom distributions show satisfactory agreement with observations. Analysis of simulations points to the key role played by continental sediments as a primary source for iron. Iceberg calving and melting contribute by up to 25% of Chl a simulated in areas under influence of icebergs while atmospheric deposition has little effect at high latitudes. Activating sea ice-ocean iron exchanges redistribute iron geographically. Stored in the ice during winter formation, iron is then transported due to ice motion and is released and made available to phytoplankton during summer melt, in the vicinity of the marginal ice zones. Transient iron storage and transport associated with sea ice dynamics stimulate summer phytoplankton blooming (up to 3 mg Chl a m−3) in the Weddell Sea and off East Antarctica but not in the Ross, Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas. This contrasted feature results from the simulated variable content of iron in sea ice and release of melting ice showing higher ice-ocean iron fluxes in the continental shelves of the Weddell and Ross Seas than in the Eastern Weddell Sea and the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Seas. This study confirms that iron sources and transport in the Southern Ocean likely provide important mechanisms in the geographical development of phytoplankton blooms and associated ecosystems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Linking ocean biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem structure and function: results of the complex SWAMCO-4 model

We present results obtained with SWAMCO-4, a complex model of the marine planktonic system calculating C, N, P, Si, Fe cycling within the upper ocean, the export production and the exchange of CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere. The model, constrained by physical, chemical and biological (grazing, lysis) controls, explicitly details the dynamics of four relevant phytoplankton functional groups with respect to C, N, P, Si, Fe cycling and climate change. Those are diatoms, pico/nano phytoplankton, coccolithophorids, and Phaeocystis spp. whose growth regulation by light, temperature and nutrients has been obtained based on a comprehensive analysis of literature reviews on these taxonomic groups. The performance of SWAMCO-4 is first evaluated in a 1D physical frame throughout its cross application in provinces with contrasted key species dominance, export production, CO2 air-sea fluxes and where biogeochemical time-series data are available for model initialisation and comparison of results. These are: (i) the ice-free Southern Ocean Time Series station KERFIX (50°40S, 68°E) for the period 1993-1994 (diatom-dominated); (ii) the sea-ice associated Ross Sea domain (Station S; 76°S, 180°W) of the Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Process Study AESOPS in 1996-1997 (Phaeocystis-dominated); and (iii) the North Atlantic Bloom Experiment NABE (60°N, 20°W) in 1991 (coccolithophorids). We then explore and compare the ocean response to increased atmospheric CO2 by running SWAMCO-4 at the different locations over the last decade. Results show that at all tested latitudes the prescribed increase of atmospheric CO2 enhances the carbon uptake by the ocean. However, the amplitude of the predicted atmospheric CO2 sinks displays large regional and interannual variations due to the actual meteorological forcing that drives the local hydrodynamics. This is particularly true in the marginal ice zone of the Ross Sea (AESOPS) where the magnitude of the predicted annual CO2 sink is positively related to the length of the surface ocean ice-cover period which determines the iron surface concentration at the time of ice melting.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Distribution of dissolved iron in Antarctic sea ice: Spatial, seasonal, and inter-annual variability

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe