Effects of plankton dynamics on seasonal carbon fluxes in an ocean general circulation model

TLDR

The study examines how adding a simple plankton model to HAMOCC3 affects oceanic carbon cycling. The model includes phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus, dissolved organic carbon, and nutrients, linked by a single set of global parameters. The model accurately reproduces regional seasonal pCO₂ variations, improves tracer distributions at the Pacific oxygen minimum, and its predicted organic turnover matches Southern Ocean O₂ observations.

Abstract

We discuss the effect of embedding a simple plankton model in the Hamburg model of the oceanic carbon cycle (HAMOCC3) [ Maier‐Reimer , 1993]. The plankton model consists of five components: phytoplankton, zooplankton, detritus, dissolved organic carbon, and nutrients. Interactions between compartments are described by one global set of parameters. Despite its simplicity the plankton model reproduces regional differences in seasonal oceanic p CO 2 and improves the biogeochemical tracer distributions at the depth of the oxygen minimum in the Pacific Ocean. The predicted seasonal turnover of organic material is consistent with recent atmospheric O 2 measurements in the remote areas of the Southern Ocean.