Controls on southern ocean phytoplantkton production - a systems approach ...

• Main Author: Balari, EAM
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Kerguelen; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23233988; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Controls_on_southern_ocean_phytoplantkton_production_-_a_systems_approach/23233988

Plankton ecosystems play a significant part in the global cycle of carbon by contributing ‚ÄövÑvÆ40% of total annual primary productivity. Changes are expected in response to warming, increased ocean stratification, altered supply of iron as a limiting micronutrient, and ecosystem structures. To diagnose these effects, numerical models of plankton ecology have become a key approach. This thesis examines the Nutrient Phytoplankton Zooplankton Detritus (NPZD) ecosystem model of Oschlies & Garcon [1999], and especially the modifications required to simulate phytoplankton biomass in naturally iron-fertilized Southern Ocean waters. This provides perspectives on the sensitivity of Southern Ocean ecosystems to global change. The NPZD model was used to simulate the phytoplankton bloom that forms in natural iron-fertilized waters of the Kerguelen plateau and adjacent High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) waters. Sensitivity to mixed layer depth and temperature was found to be negligible in comparison to ...