Vertical Structure in Phytoplankton Growth and Productivity Inferred From Biogeochemical-Argo Floats and the Carbon-Based Productivity Model ...

• Main Authors: Arteaga, Lionel A., Behrenfeld, Michael J., Boss, Emmanuel, Westberry, Toby K.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: AGU 2022
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.13016/m2wuzw-xppi; https://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/25735

Estimates of marine net primary production (NPP) commonly rely on limited in situ 14C incubations or satellite-based algorithms mainly constrained to the surface ocean. Here we combine data from biogeochemical Argo floats with a carbon-based productivity model (CbPM) to compute vertically resolved estimates of NPP. Inferred NPP profiles derived by informing the CbPM with float-based, depth-resolved, bio-optical data are able to qualitatively reproduce the vertical structure in NPP inferred from in situ 14C incubations at various ocean regions. At station ALOHA, float-based estimates agree within uncertainty with productivity observations at depth, but underestimate surface NPP. We test the ability of the CbPM to infer the depth-resolved structure in NPP from bio-optical properties in the mixed layer, in similar fashion as how remote sensing algorithms of ocean productivity operate. In Southern Ocean waters, the depth-reconstructing implementation of the CbPM overestimates phytoplankton division rates and ...