scholarly journals Influence of consumer-driven nutrient recycling on primary production and the distribution of N and P in the ocean

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1285-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nugraha ◽  
P. Pondaven ◽  
P. Tréguer
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Nutrient Recycling ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
N:P Ratios ◽  
Limiting Nutrient ◽  
Consumer Interactions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
N And P Cycling

Abstract. In this study we investigated the impact of consumer-driven nutrient recycling (CNR) on oceanic primary production and the distribution of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the deep ocean. For this purpose, we used and extended two existing models: a 2-box model of N and P cycling in the global ocean (Tyrrell, 1999), and the model of Sterner (1990) which formalised the principles of CNR theory. The resulting model showed that marine herbivores may affect the supply and the stoichiometry of N and P in the ocean, thereby exerting a control on global primary production. The predicted global primary production was higher when herbivores were included in the model, particularly when these herbivores had higher N:P ratios than phytoplankton. This higher primary production was triggered by a low N:P resupply ratio, which, in turn, favoured the P-limited N2-fixation and eventually the N-limited non-fixers. Conversely, phytoplankton with higher N:P ratios increased herbivore yield until phosphorus became the limiting nutrient, thereby favouring herbivores with a low P-requirement. Finally, producer-consumer interactions fed back on the N and P inventories in the deep ocean through differential nutrient recycling. In this model, N deficit or N excess in the deep ocean resulted not only from the balance between N2-fixation and denitrification, but also from CNR, especially when the elemental composition of producers and consumers differed substantially. Although the model is fairly simple, these results emphasize our need for a better understanding of how consumers influence nutrient recycling in the ocean.

scholarly journals Influence of consumer-driven nutrient recycling on primary production and the distribution of N and P in the ocean

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-164
Author(s):  
A. Nugraha ◽  
P. Pondaven ◽  
P. Tréguer
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Nutrient Recycling ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
N:P Ratios ◽  
Limiting Nutrient ◽  
Consumer Interactions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
N And P Cycling

Abstract. In this study we investigated the impact of consumer-driven nutrient recycling (CNR) on oceanic primary production and the distribution of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the deep ocean. For this purpose, we used and extended two existing models: a 2-box model of N and P cycling in the global ocean (Tyrrell, 1999), and the model of Sterner (1990) which formalised the principles of CNR theory. The resulting model showed that marine herbivores may affect the supply and the stoichiometry of N and P in the ocean, thereby exerting a control on global primary production. The predicted global primary production was higher when herbivores were included in the model, particularly when these herbivores had higher N:P ratios than phytoplankton. This higher primary production was triggered by a low N:P resupply ratio, which, in turn, favoured the P-limited N2-fixation and eventually the N-limited non-fixers. Conversely, phytoplankton with higher N:P ratios increased herbivore yield until phosphorus became the limiting nutrient, thereby favouring herbivores with a low P-requirement. Finally, producer-consumer interactions fed back on the N and P inventories in the deep ocean through differential nutrient recycling. In this model, N deficit or N excess in the deep ocean resulted not only from the balance between N2-fixation and denitrification, but also from CNR, especially when the elemental composition of producers and consumers differed substantially. Although the model is fairly simply, these results emphasize our need for a better understanding of how consumers influence nutrient recycling in the ocean.

On the impact of sea ice in a global ocean circulation model

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achim Stössel
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Convective Activity ◽  
The Impact

This paper investigates the long-term impact of sea ice on global climate using a global sea-ice–ocean general circulation model (OGCM). The sea-ice component involves state-of-the-art dynamics; the ocean component consists of a 3.5° × 3.5° × 11 layer primitive-equation model. Depending on the physical description of sea ice, significant changes are detected in the convective activity, in the hydrographic properties and in the thermohaline circulation of the ocean model. Most of these changes originate in the Southern Ocean, emphasizing the crucial role of sea ice in this marginally stably stratified region of the world's oceans. Specifically, if the effect of brine release is neglected, the deep layers of the Southern Ocean warm up considerably; this is associated with a weakening of the Southern Hemisphere overturning cell. The removal of the commonly used “salinity enhancement” leads to a similar effect. The deep-ocean salinity is almost unaffected in both experiments. Introducing explicit new-ice thickness growth in partially ice-covered gridcells leads to a substantial increase in convective activity, especially in the Southern Ocean, with a concomitant significant cooling and salinification of the deep ocean. Possible mechanisms for the resulting interactions between sea-ice processes and deep-ocean characteristics are suggested.

scholarly journals Warming effect on nitrogen fixation in Mediterranean macrophyte sediments

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neus Garcias-Bonet ◽  
Raquel Vaquer-Sunyer ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Núria Marbà
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Thermal Sensitivity ◽  
Thermal Response ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Posidonia Oceanica ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Thermal Dependence ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Marine Macrophytes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The Mediterranean Sea is warming faster than the global ocean, with important consequences for organisms and biogeochemical cycles. Warming is a major stressor for key marine benthic macrophytes. However, the effect of warming on marine N2 fixation remains unknown, despite the fact that the high productivity of macrophytes in oligotrophic waters is partially sustained by the input of new nitrogen (N) into the system by N2 fixation. Here, we assess the impact of warming on the N2 fixation rates of three key marine macrophytes: Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, and Caulerpa prolifera. We experimentally measured N2 fixation rates in vegetated and bare sediments at temperatures encompassing current summer mean (25 and 27 ∘C), projected summer mean (29 and 31 ∘C), and projected summer maximum (33 ∘C) seawater surface temperatures (SSTs) by the end of the century under a scenario of moderate greenhouse gas emissions. We found that N2 fixation rates in vegetated sediments were 2.8-fold higher than in bare sediments at current summer mean SST, with no differences among macrophytes. Currently, the contribution of N2 fixation to macrophyte productivity could account for up to 7 %, 13.8 %, and 1.8 % of N requirements for P. oceanica, C. nodosa, and C. prolifera, respectively. We show the temperature dependence of sediment N2 fixation rates. However, the thermal response differed for vegetated sediments, in which rates showed an optimum at 31 ∘C followed by a sharp decrease at 33 ∘C, and bare sediments, in which rates increased along the range of the experimental temperatures. The activation energy and Q10 were lower in vegetated than bare sediments, indicating the lower thermal sensitivity of vegetated sediments. The projected warming is expected to increase the contribution of N2 fixation to Mediterranean macrophyte productivity. Therefore, the thermal dependence of N2 fixation might have important consequences for primary production in coastal ecosystems in the context of warming.

scholarly journals Large deep-sea zooplankton biomass mirrors primary production in the global ocean

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hernández-León ◽  
R. Koppelmann ◽  
E. Fraile-Nuez ◽  
A. Bode ◽  
C. Mompeán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Zooplankton Biomass ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Global Coupling ◽  
Do So

AbstractThe biological pump transports organic carbon produced by photosynthesis to the meso- and bathypelagic zones, the latter removing carbon from exchanging with the atmosphere over centennial time scales. Organisms living in both zones are supported by a passive flux of particles, and carbon transported to the deep-sea through vertical zooplankton migrations. Here we report globally-coherent positive relationships between zooplankton biomass in the epi-, meso-, and bathypelagic layers and average net primary production (NPP). We do so based on a global assessment of available deep-sea zooplankton biomass data and large-scale estimates of average NPP. The relationships obtained imply that increased NPP leads to enhanced transference of organic carbon to the deep ocean. Estimated remineralization from respiration rates by deep-sea zooplankton requires a minimum supply of 0.44 Pg C y−1 transported into the bathypelagic ocean, comparable to the passive carbon sequestration. We suggest that the global coupling between NPP and bathypelagic zooplankton biomass must be also supported by an active transport mechanism associated to vertical zooplankton migration.

scholarly journals Database of diazotrophs in global ocean: abundances, biomass and nitrogen fixation rates

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.-W. Luo ◽  
S. C. Doney ◽  
L. A. Anderson ◽  
M. Benavides ◽  
A. Bode ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Biomass Conversion ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Biological Fixation ◽  
Fixation Rate ◽  
Conversion Factors ◽  
Biogeochemical Models ◽  
Cell Counts

Abstract. Marine N2 fixing microorganisms, termed diazotrophs, are a key functional group in marine pelagic ecosystems. The biological fixation of dinitrogen (N2) to bioavailable nitrogen provides an important new source of nitrogen for pelagic marine ecosystems and influences primary productivity and organic matter export to the deep ocean. As one of a series of efforts to collect biomass and rates specific to different phytoplankton functional groups, we have constructed a database on diazotrophic organisms in the global pelagic upper ocean by compiling about 12 000 direct field measurements of cyanobacterial diazotroph abundances (based on microscopic cell counts or qPCR assays targeting the nifH genes) and N2 fixation rates. Biomass conversion factors are estimated based on cell sizes to convert abundance data to diazotrophic biomass. The database is limited spatially, lacking large regions of the ocean especially in the Indian Ocean. The data are approximately log-normal distributed, and large variances exist in most sub-databases with non-zero values differing 5 to 8 orders of magnitude. Lower mean N2 fixation rate was found in the North Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific Ocean. Reporting the geometric mean and the range of one geometric standard error below and above the geometric mean, the pelagic N2 fixation rate in the global ocean is estimated to be 62 (53–73) Tg N yr−1 and the pelagic diazotrophic biomass in the global ocean is estimated to be 4.7 (2.3–9.6) Tg C from cell counts and to 89 (40–200) Tg C from nifH-based abundances. Uncertainties related to biomass conversion factors can change the estimate of geometric mean pelagic diazotrophic biomass in the global ocean by about ±70%. This evolving database can be used to study spatial and temporal distributions and variations of marine N2 fixation, to validate geochemical estimates and to parameterize and validate biogeochemical models. The database is stored in PANGAEA (http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.774851).

scholarly journals Major improvement of altimetry sea level estimations using pressure derived corrections based on ERA-interim atmospheric reanalysis

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Carrere ◽  
Y. Faugère ◽  
M. Ablain
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Correction ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Residual Variance ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. New Dynamic Atmospheric Correction (DAC) and Dry Tropospheric (DT) correction derived from the ERA-Interim meteorological reanalysis have been computed on the 1992-2013 altimeter period. Using these new corrections improves significantly sea-level estimations for short temporal signals (< 2 months); the impact is stronger if considering old altimeter missions (ERS-1, ERS-2, TP), for which DAC_ERA allows reducing the residual variance at crossovers by more than 10 cm2 in the Southern Ocean and in some shallow water regions. The impact of DT_ERA is also significant in the southern high latitudes for these missions. Using the ERA-interim forcing has the greatest positive impact on the first decade of altimetry, then this impact diminishes until giving similar results as the operational forcing from year 2002. Concerning more recent missions (Jason-1, Jason-2, and Envisat), results are very similar between ERA-Interim and ECMWF based corrections: on average on global ocean, the operational DAC becomes slightly better than DAC_ERA only from year 2006, likely due to the switch to a higher resolution of operational forcing. At regional scale, both DACs are similar in deep ocean but DAC_ERA raises the residual crossovers variance in some shallow water regions. On the second decade of altimetry, unexpectedly DT_ERA still gives better results compared to the operational DT. Concerning climate signals, both DAC_ERA and DT_ERA have a low impact on global MSL trend, but they can have a strong impact on long-term regional trends estimation, until several mm/yr locally.

scholarly journals The Southern Hemisphere Westerlies in a Warming World: Propping Open the Door to the Deep Ocean

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 6382-6390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joellen L. Russell ◽  
Keith W. Dixon ◽  
Anand Gnanadesikan ◽  
Ronald J. Stouffer ◽  
J. R. Toggweiler
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Westerly Winds ◽  
Anthropogenic Carbon ◽  
Warming World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide

Abstract A coupled climate model with poleward-intensified westerly winds simulates significantly higher storage of heat and anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the Southern Ocean in the future when compared with the storage in a model with initially weaker, equatorward-biased westerlies. This difference results from the larger outcrop area of the dense waters around Antarctica and more vigorous divergence, which remains robust even as rising atmospheric greenhouse gas levels induce warming that reduces the density of surface waters in the Southern Ocean. These results imply that the impact of warming on the stratification of the global ocean may be reduced by the poleward intensification of the westerlies, allowing the ocean to remove additional heat and anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

scholarly journals Dynamics of N<sub>2</sub> fixation and fate of diazotroph-derived nitrogen in a low nutrient low chlorophyll ecosystem: results from the VAHINE mesocosm experiment (New Caledonia)

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 19579-19626 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bonnet ◽  
H. Berthelot ◽  
K. Turk-Kubo ◽  
S. Fawcett ◽  
E. Rahav ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Bacterial Production ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Seawater Temperature ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Standing Stocks

Abstract. N2 fixation rates were measured daily in large (~ 50 m3) mesocosms deployed in the tropical South West Pacific coastal ocean (New Caledonia) to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of diazotrophy and the fate of diazotroph-derived nitrogen (DDN) in a low nutrient, low chlorophyll ecosystem. The mesocosms were intentionally fertilized with ~ 0.8 μM dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) to stimulate diazotrophy. Bulk N2 fixation rates were replicable between the three mesocosms, averaged 18.5 ± 1.1 nmol N L−1 d−1 over the 23 days, and increased by a factor of two during the second half of the experiment (days 15 to 23) to reach 27.3 ± 1.0 nmol N L−1 d−1. These rates are higher than the upper range reported for the global ocean, indicating that the waters surrounding New Caledonia are particularly favourable for N2 fixation. During the 23 days of the experiment, N2 fixation rates were positively correlated with seawater temperature, primary production, bacterial production, standing stocks of particulate organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase activity, and negatively correlated with DIP concentrations, DIP turnover time, nitrate, and dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. The fate of DDN was investigated during the bloom of the unicellular diazotroph, UCYN-C, that occurred during the second half of the experiment. Quantification of diazotrophs in the sediment traps indicates that ~ 10 % of UCYN-C from the water column were exported daily to the traps, representing as much as 22.4 ± 5.5 % of the total POC exported at the height of the UCYN-C bloom. This export was mainly due to the aggregation of small (5.7 ± 0.8 μm) UCYN-C cells into large (100–500 μm) aggregates. During the same time period, a DDN transfer experiment based on high-resolution nanometer scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) coupled with 15N2 isotopic labelling revealed that 16 ± 6 % of the DDN was released to the dissolved pool and 21 ± 4 % was transferred to non-diazotrophic plankton, mainly picoplankton (18 ± 4 %) followed by diatoms (3 ± 2 %) within 24 h of incubation. This is consistent with the observed dramatic increase in picoplankton and diatom abundances, primary production, bacterial production and standing stocks of particulate organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus during the second half of the experiment in the mesocosms. These results offer insights into the fate of DDN during a bloom of UCYN-C in low nutrient, low chlorophyll ecosystems.

scholarly journals An explicit estimate of the atmospheric nutrient impact on global oceanic productivity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Myriokefalitakis ◽  
Matthias Gröger ◽  
Jenny Hieronymus ◽  
Ralf Döscher
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Deposition Fluxes ◽  
Nutrient Deposition ◽  
Atmospheric Processing ◽  
Atmospheric Forcings ◽  
Marine Productivity ◽  
Atmospheric Inputs ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. State-of-the-art global nutrient deposition fields are here coupled to the biogeochemistry model PISCES to investigate the effect on ocean biogeochemistry in the context of atmospheric forcings for preindustrial, present, and future periods. Present-day atmospheric deposition fluxes of inorganic N, Fe, and P over the global ocean are accounted equal to ~40 Tg-N yr−1, ~0.28 Tg-Fe yr−1 and ~0.10 Tg-P yr−1. The resulting globally integrated primary production of roughly 47 Pg-C yr−1 is well within the range of satellite-based estimates and other modeling predictions. Preindustrial atmospheric nutrient deposition fluxes are lower compared to present-day (~51 %, ~36 %, and ~40 % for N, Fe, and P, respectively), resulting here in a lower marine primary production by ~3 % globally. Future changes in air pollutants under the RCP8.5 scenario result in a modest decrease of the bioaccessible nutrients input into the global ocean compared to present-day (~13 %, ~14 % and ~20 % for N, Fe and P, respectively), without significantly affecting the projected primary production in the model. The global mean nitrogen-fixation rates changed only marginally from preindustrial to future conditions (111 ± 0.6 Tg-N yr−1). With regard to the atmospheric inputs to the ocean, sensitivity model simulations indicate that the contribution of nutrients' organic fraction results in an increase in primary production by about 2.4 %. This estimate is almost equal to the effect of emissions and atmospheric processing on the oceanic biogeochemistry since preindustrial times in the model when only the inorganic fraction of the nutrients is considered. Although the impact of the atmospheric organic nutrients may imply a relatively weak response of marine productivity on a global scale, stronger regional effects up to ~20 % are calculated in the oligotrophic subtropical gyres. Overall, this work provides a first explicit assessment of the contribution of the organic forms of atmospheric nutrients, highlighting the importance of their representation in biogeochemistry models and thus the oceanic productivity estimates.

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