Southern Ocean vertical iron fluxes; the ocean model effect
Vibe Schourup-Kristensen1, Judith Hauck1, Martin J Losch1, Dieter Wolf-Gladrow2 and Christoph D Voelker3, (1)Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany, (2)Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany, (3)Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany
Abstract:
The Southern Ocean plays a key role in the climate system, but commonly used large-scale ocean general circulation biogeochemical models give different estimates of current and future Southern Ocean net primary and export production. The representation of the Southern Ocean iron sources plays an important role for the modeled biogeochemistry. Studies of the iron supply to the surface mixed layer have traditionally focused on the aeolian and sediment contributions, but recent work has highlighted the importance of the vertical supply from below. We have performed a model study in which the biogeochemical model REcoM2 was coupled to two different ocean models, the Finite Element Sea-ice Ocean Model (FESOM) and the MIT general circulation model (MITgcm) and analyzed the magnitude of the iron sources to the surface mixed layer from below in the two models.
Our results revealed a remarkable difference in terms of mechanism and magnitude of transport. The mean iron supply from below in the Southern Ocean was on average four times higher in MITgcm than in FESOM and the dominant pathway was entrainment in MITgcm, whereas diffusion dominated in FESOM. Differences in the depth and seasonal amplitude of the mixed layer between the models affect on the vertical iron profile, the relative position of the base of the mixed layer and ferricline and thereby also on the iron fluxes. These differences contribute to differences in the phytoplankton composition in the two models, as well as in the timing of the onset of the spring bloom.
The study shows that the choice of ocean model has a significant impact on the iron supply to the Southern Ocean mixed layer and thus on the modeled carbon cycle, with possible implications for model runs predicting the future carbon uptake in the region.
