J. Keith Moore

Upper ocean ecosystem dynamics and iron cycling in a global three-dimensional model

A global 3-D 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 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 54 Tg N. Diazotrophs directly account for a small fraction of primary production (0.54%) but indirectly support 10% of primary production and nearly 8% of 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 surface waters 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, due 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.A 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.

Iron cycling and nutrient-limitation patterns in surface waters of the World Ocean

Abstract A global marine ecosystem mixed-layer model is used to study iron cycling and nutrient-limitation patterns in surface waters of the world ocean. The ecosystem model has a small phytoplankton size class whose growth can be limited by N, P, Fe, and/or light, a diatom class which can also be Si-limited, and a diazotroph phytoplankton class whose growth rates can be limited by P, Fe, and/or light levels. The model also includes a parameterization of calcification by phytoplankton and is described in detail by Moore et al. (Deep-Sea Res. II, 2002). The model reproduces the observed high nitrate, low chlorophyll (HNLC) conditions in the Southern Ocean, subarctic Northeast Pacific, and equatorial Pacific, and realistic global patterns of primary production, biogenic silica production, nitrogen fixation, particulate organic carbon export, calcium carbonate export, and surface chlorophyll concentrations. Phytoplankton cellular Fe/C ratios and surface layer dissolved iron concentrations are also in general agreement with the limited field data. Primary production, community structure, and the sinking carbon flux are quite sensitive to large variations in the atmospheric iron source, particularly in the HNLC regions, supporting the Iron Hypothesis of Martin (Paleoceanography 5 (1990) 1–13). Nitrogen fixation is also strongly influenced by atmospheric iron deposition. Nitrogen limits phytoplankton growth rates over less than half of the world ocean during summer months. Export of biogenic carbon is dominated by the sinking particulate flux, but detrainment and turbulent mixing account for 30% of global carbon export. Our results, in conjunction with other recent studies, suggest the familiar paradigm that nitrate inputs to the surface layer can be equated with particulate carbon export needs to be expanded to include multiple limiting nutrients and modes of export.

An intermediate complexity marine ecosystem model for the global domain

A new marine ecosystem model designed for the global domain is presented, and model output is compared with field data from nine different locations. Field data were collected as part of the international Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) program, and from historical time series stations. The field data include a wide variety of marine ecosystem types, including nitrogen- and iron-limited systems, and different physical environments from high latitudes to the mid-ocean gyres. Model output is generally in good agreement with field data from these diverse ecosystems. These results imply that the ecosystem model presented here can be reliably applied over the global domain. The model includes multiple potentially limiting nutrients that regulate phytoplankton growth rates. There are three phytoplankton classes, diatoms, diazotrophs, and a generic small phytoplankton class. Growth rates can be limited by available nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and/or light levels. The diatoms can also be limited by silicon. The diazotrophs are capable of nitrogen fixation of N2 gas and cannot be nitrogen-limited. Calcification by phytoplankton is parameterized as a variable fraction of primary production by the small phytoplankton group. There is one zooplankton class that grazes the three phytoplankton groups and a large detrital pool. The large detrital pool sinks out of the mixed layer, while a smaller detrital pool, representing dissolved organic matter and very small particulates, does not sink. Remineralization of the detrital pools is parameterized with a temperature-dependent function. We explicitly model the dissolved iron cycle in marine surface waters including inputs of iron from subsurface sources and from atmospheric dust deposition.

Location and dynamics of the Antarctic Polar Front from satellite sea surface temperature data

The location of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF) was mapped over a 7-year period (1987–1993) within images of satellite-derived sea surface temperature. The mean path of the PF is strongly steered by the topographic features of the Southern Ocean. The topography places vorticity constraints on the dynamics of the PF that strongly affect spatial and temporal variability. Over the deep ocean basins the surface expression of the PF is weakened, and the PF meanders over a wide latitudinal range. Near large topographic features, width and temperature change across the front increase, and large-scale meandering is inhibited. Elevated mesoscale variability is seen within and downstream of these areas and may be the result of baroclinic instabilities initiated where the PF encounters large topographic features. The strong correlations between topography and PF dynamics can be understood in the context of the planetary potential vorticity (PPV or f/H) field. Mean PPV at the PF varies by more than a factor of 2 along its circumpolar path. However, at the mesoscale the PF remains within a relatively narrow range of PPV values around the local mean. Away from large topographic features, the PF returns to a preferred PPV value of ∼25 × 10−9 m−1 s−1 despite large latitudinal shifts. The mean paths of the surface and subsurface expressions of the PF are closely coupled over much of the Southern Ocean.

Phytoplankton chlorophyll distributions and primary production in the Southern Ocean

Satellite ocean color data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) were used to examine distributions of chlorophyll concentration within the Southern Ocean for the period October 1997 through September 1998. Over most of the Southern Ocean, mean chlorophyll concentrations remained quite low ( 30°S) was estimated to be 14.2 Gt C yr−1, with most production (∼80%) taking place at midlatitudes from 30° to 50°S. Primary production at latitudes >50°S was estimated to be 2.9 Gt C yr−1. This is considerably higher than previous estimates based on in situ data but less than some recent estimates based on CZCS data. Our estimated primary production is sufficient to account for the observed Southern Hemisphere seasonal cycle in atmospheric O2 concentrations.

Assessment of skill and portability in regional marine biogeochemical models: Role of multiple planktonic groups

[1] 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 onedimensional 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.

Iron availability limits the ocean nitrogen inventory stabilizing feedbacks between marine denitrification and nitrogen fixation

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.

Marine 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

AbstractThe 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....

The southern ocean at the Last Glacial Maximum: A strong sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide

Analysis of satellite ocean color, sea surface temperature, and sea ice cover data reveals consistent patterns between biological production, iron availability, and physical forcings in the Southern Ocean. The consistency of these patterns, in conjunction with information on physical conditions during the last glacial maximum (LGM), enables estimates of export production at the LGM. The LGM Southern Ocean experienced increased wind speeds, colder sea surface and atmospheric temperatures, increased deposition of atmospheric dust, and a greatly expanded winter sea ice cover. These variations had strong effects on Southern Ocean ecology and on air-sea fluxes of CO2. The seasonal ice zone (SIZ) was much larger at the LGM (30 million km2) than at present (19 million km2). The Antarctic Polar Front (PF) likely marked the northern boundary of this expanded SIZ throughout the Southern Ocean, as it does today in the Drake Passage region. A large northward shift in the position of the PF during glacial times is unlikely due to topographic constraints. North of the PF, the increased flux of aeolian dust during glacial times altered phytoplankton species composition and increased export production, and as a result this region was a stronger sink for atmospheric CO2 than in the modern ocean. South of the PF, interactions between the biota and sea ice strongly influence air-sea gas exchange over seasonal timescales. The combined influence of melting sea ice and increased aeolian dust flux (with its associated iron) increased both primary and export production by phytoplankton over daily-monthly timescales during austral spring/summer, resulting in a strong flux of CO2 into the ocean. Heavy ice cover would have minimized air-sea gas exchange over much of the rest of the year. Thus, an increased net flux of CO2 into the ocean is likely during glacial times, even in areas where annual primary production declined. We estimate that export production in the Southern Ocean as a whole was increased by 2.9-3.6 Gt C yr−1 at the LGM, relative to the modern era. Altered seasonal sea ice dynamics would further increase the net flux of CO2 into the ocean. Thus the Southern Ocean was a strong sink for atmospheric CO2 and contributed substantially to the lowering of atmospheric CO2 levels during the last ice age.

Surface chlorophyll concentrations in relation to the Antarctic Polar Front: seasonal and spatial patterns from satellite observations

Satellite ocean color data from the Sea Viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS) are used to investigate phytoplankton bloom dynamics at the Antarctic Polar Front (PF). Satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data are used to map the location of the PF at weekly timescales. Elevated chlorophyll within the PF often appears as a narrow band that occupies only a portion of the SST gradient across the PF. Phytoplankton blooms within the PF occur most frequently during the month of December and are unevenly distributed within the Southern Ocean. Elevated chlorophyll concentrations at the PF are most frequently observed where the current is interacting with large topographic features. Mesoscale physical processes, including meander-induced upwelling and increased eddy mixing, where the PF encounters large topographic features likely leads to increased nutrient flux to surface waters in these regions. The highest mean chlorophyll values associated with the PF occur where the front comes into contact with relatively shallow waters along the North Scotia Ridge and at Kerguelen Plateau. Iron input from sedimentary sources likely plays an important role in these regions. Over seasonal timescales it appears likely that light-limitation prevents phytoplankton blooms at the PF during winter and spring months. PF blooms are observed most commonly during December when surface radiation peaks and mixed layer depths are rapidly shoaling. Even during December, when the light regime would seem to be favorable, PF blooms are largely restricted to regions where enhanced nutrient fluxes to surface waters due to frontal dynamics are likely. During late summer, nutrient limitation due to depletion of iron and possibly silicate largely prevent blooms at the PF. In the fall, deepening mixed layers would provide some relief from nutrient limitation but likely lead again to light-limitation of growth rates and the prevention of blooms. D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.