Spring Phytoplankton Bloom from a Lagrangian Framework

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Other Title
  • ラグランジアン的にみた植物プランクトンブルーム
  • ラグランジアンテキ ニ ミタ ショクブツ プランクトンブルーム

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Abstract

Spring phytoplankton bloom is a major contributor to global ocean productivity. The depth of the surface mixed layer and the strength of turbulence are considered important parameters that determine the bloom onset. The NPZD model has been used to examine the underlying processes behind spring blooms but these studies have mainly progressed from an Eulerian Framework. A Lagrangian framework may be useful for understanding the biogeochemical cycle in the ocean because it naturally follows the movement of materials through the turbulent ocean environment. Here, a new NPZD model was introduced to examine spring blooms from a Lagrangian framework, where the movement and transfers in the nitrogen cycle are solved by tracking nitrogen parcels. The basic one-dimensional mechanism behind spring phytoplankton blooms was investigated using this model and we found that the onset of spring blooms depends on the cumulative euphotic age. Cumulative euphotic age is the total time that inorganic nutrients are exposed to light before the photosynthetic conversion to phytoplankton biomass. The mixed-layer depth and strength of turbulence affect bloom onset by altering the way cumulative euphotic age is accumulated, and their relative importance can be evaluated by examining the cumulative euphotic age spectrum.

Journal

  • Bulletin on Coastal Oceanography

    Bulletin on Coastal Oceanography 57 (1), 73-75, 2019

    Coastal Oceanography Research Committee, the Oceanographic Society of Japan

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