Factors controlling the competition between Phaeocystis and diatoms in the Southern Ocean and implications for carbon export fluxes ...

• Main Authors: Nissen, Cara, Vogt, Meike
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2021
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000495300; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/495300

The high-latitude Southern Ocean phytoplankton community is shaped by the competition between Phaeocystis and silicifying diatoms, with the relative abundance of these two groups controlling primary and export production, the production of dimethylsulfide, the ratio of silicic acid and nitrate available in the water column, and the structure of the food web. Here, we investigate this competition using a regional physical–biogeochemical–ecological model (ROMS-BEC) configured at eddy-permitting resolution for the Southern Ocean south of 35∘ S. We improved ROMS-BEC by adding an explicit parameterization of Phaeocystis colonies so that the model, together with the previous addition of an explicit coccolithophore type, now includes all biogeochemically relevant Southern Ocean phytoplankton types. We find that Phaeocystis contribute 46±21 % (1σ in space) and 40±20 % to annual net primary production (NPP) and particulate organic carbon (POC) export south of 60∘ S, respectively, making them an important contributor ... : Biogeosciences, 18 (1) ...