Article in Geosciences: Validation of Stratification-Driven Phytoplankton Biomass and Nutrient Concentrations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean as Simulated by EC-Earth | Ocean Ecosystems
Authors: Nomikos Skyllas, Richard Bintanja, Anita G. J. Buma, Corina P. D. Brussaard, Matthias Gröger, Jenny Hieronymus and Willem H. van de Poll
Geosciences 2019, 9(10), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9100450
Abstract
We validated simulations of the Earth system model (ESM) EC-Earth-NEMO of present-day temperature, salinity, nutrient, and chlorophyll a profiles with in situ observations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean (29–63º N). Simulations with standard parametrization (run 1) and improved parametrization of vertical mixing (run 2) were compared. Run 1 showed shallower mixed layer depths (MLDs) in spring as compared to observations owing to lower salinities in the upper 200 m of the subpolar North Atlantic (>55º N). This coincided with a mismatch with observed timing and magnitude of the phytoplankton spring bloom. In contrast, the model performed well south of 55º N. Run 2 showed improved springtime MLD, phytoplankton dynamics, and nutrient distributions in the subpolar North Atlantic.
Our study underlines the sensitivity of subpolar North Atlantic phytoplankton blooms to surface freshening, suggesting that future fresh-water inflow from Arctic and Greenland Ice sheet melting could significantly affect phytoplankton productivity. These findings contribute to the generic validation of the EC-Earth ESM and underline the need for rigorous validation of physics-biology links, in particular the sub polar North Atlantic where complex seasonal stratification/vertical mixing processes govern upper ocean phytoplankton productivity.
Keywords: North Atlantic; Earth system models; EC-Earth; NEMO; PISCES; carbon cycle; phytoplankton; Stratiphyt; model validation; stratification; nutrients; chlorophyll a; mixed layer depth.
More information
Last modified: | 19 July 2022 4.29 p.m. |
More news
-
24 March 2025
UG 28th in World's Most International Universities 2025 rankings
The University of Groningen has been ranked 28th in the World's Most International Universities 2025 by Times Higher Education. With this, the UG leaves behind institutions such as MIT and Harvard. The 28th place marks an increase of five places: in...
-
05 March 2025
Women in Science
The UG celebrates International Women’s Day with a special photo series: Women in Science.
-
16 December 2024
Jouke de Vries: ‘The University will have to be flexible’
2024 was a festive year for the University of Groningen. In this podcast, Jouke de Vries, the chair of the Executive Board, looks back.