Open AccessInfluence of phytoplankton on the global radiation budget
Author(s) -
Frouin R.,
Iacobellis S. F.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2001jd000562
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , radiative forcing , environmental science , albedo (alchemy) , atmospheric sciences , forcing (mathematics) , radiative transfer , cloud forcing , climatology , climate change , oceanography , geology , physics , ecology , nutrient , performance art , biology , art history , art , quantum mechanics
Oceanic phytoplankton may exert a warming influence on the planet by decreasing surface albedo. Compared with the case of pure seawater, the globally and annually averaged outgoing radiative flux is decreased by a probable value of 0.25 Wm −2 . This value corresponds to about 20% of the combined radiative forcing by greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols since preindustrial times, including indirect effects. The relative importance of phytoplankton is greater on regional and seasonal scales, with forcing values reaching −1.5 Wm −2 in coastal zones and high‐latitude regions during summer. The annual amplitude of radiative forcing by phytoplankton is large in subpolar regions, owing to the conjugate action of cloud amount and biomass level. Spatial and temporal variability of the forcing is affected by phytoplankton type, some reflective species increasing the outgoing radiative flux. The effects of space‐ and time‐varying phytoplankton on surface albedo should be taken into account explicitly in the numerical modeling of climate change.