Journal
JOURNAL OF MARINE SYSTEMS
Volume 71, Issue 1-2, Pages 112-130Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2007.07.002
Keywords
SOFeX; southern ocean; HNLC; marine ecosystem model; nutrient limitation; light limitation; mixed layer depth; Phytoplankton community; iron fertilization
Ask authors/readers for more resources
To better understand the role of iron in driving marine ecosystems, the Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) fertilized two surface water patches with iron north and south of the Antarctic Polar Front Zone (APFZ). Using 1 D coupled biological-physical simulations, we examine the biogeochemical dynamics that occurred both inside and outside of the fertilized patches during and shortly after the SOFeX field campaign. We focus, in particular, on three main issues governing the biological response to deliberate iron fertilization: the interaction among phytoplankton, light, macronutrient and iron limitation; dilution and lateral mixing between the fertilized patch and external, unfertilized waters; and the effect of varying mixed layer depth on the light field. At the patch south of the APFZ, sensitivity simulations with no dilution results in the maximum bloom magnitude, whereas dilution with external water extends the development of the north patch bloom by relieving silicon limitation. In model sensitivity studies for both sites, maximum chlorophyll concentration and dissolved inorganic carbon depletion inside the fertilized patches are inversely related to mixed layer depth, similar to the patterns observed across a number of iron fertilization field experiments. Our results suggest that Southern Ocean phytoplankton blooms resulting from natural or deliberate iron fertilization will tend to become iron-light co-limited unless the mixed layer depth is quite shallow. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available