nerc.ac.uk

Mechanisms controlling primary and new production in a global ecosystem model Part I: Validation of the biological simulation

Popova, E.E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2012-708X; Coward, A.C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9111-7700; Nurser, G.A.; de Cuevas, B.; Fasham, M.J.R.; Anderson, T.R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7408-1566. 2006 Mechanisms controlling primary and new production in a global ecosystem model Part I: Validation of the biological simulation. Ocean Science, 2 (2). 249-266.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract/Summary

A global general circulation model coupled to a simple six-compartment ecosystem model is used to study the extent to which global variability in primary and export production can be realistically predicted on the basis of advanced parameterizations of upper mixed layer physics, without recourse to introducing extra complexity in model biology. The “K profile parameterization” (KPP) scheme employed, combined with 6-hourly external forcing, is able to capture short-term periodic and episodic events such as diurnal cycling and storm-induced deepening. The model realistically reproduces various features of global ecosystem dynamics that have been problematic in previous global modelling studies, using a single generic parameter set. The realistic simulation of deep convection in the North Atlantic, and lack of it in the North Pacific and Southern Oceans, leads to good predictions of chlorophyll and primary production in these contrasting areas. Realistic levels of primary production are predicted in the oligotrophic gyres due to high frequency external forcing of the upper mixed layer (accompanying paper Popova et al., 2006) and novel parameterizations of zooplankton excretion. Good agreement is shown between model and observations at various JGOFS time series sites: BATS, KERFIX, Papa and HOT. One exception is the northern North Atlantic where lower grazing rates are needed, perhaps related to the dominance of mesozooplankton there. The model is therefore not globally robust in the sense that additional parameterizations are needed to realistically simulate ecosystem dynamics in the North Atlantic. Nevertheless, the work emphasises the need to pay particular attention to the parameterization of mixed layer physics in global ocean ecosystem modelling as a prerequisite to increasing the complexity of ecosystem models.

Item Type: Publication - Article
ISSN: 18120792
Date made live: 01 Feb 2007 +0 (UTC)
URI: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/143919

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Document Downloads

Downloads for past 30 days

Downloads per month over past year

More statistics for this item...