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Differential eddy diffusion of biogeochemical tracers
Author(s) -
Pasquero C.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2005gl023662
Subject(s) - mesoscale meteorology , eddy diffusion , biogeochemical cycle , turbulence , environmental science , diffusion , turbulent diffusion , atmospheric sciences , plankton , eddy covariance , mechanics , ecosystem , oceanography , geology , physics , ecology , thermodynamics , biology
The marine ecosystem dynamics in the subtropical regions is controlled by the availability of nutrients. Their supply depends on lateral transport from higher latitudes, which is affected by the characteristics of the oceanic mesoscale turbulence. In many cases turbulent transport is parameterized in terms of eddy diffusion. We here test the validity of this approach in a mesoscale turbulence model coupled to a simple ecosystem model. We show that the parameterization can be profitably used, provided that an effective eddy diffusion coefficient that depends on the reaction time scale of the transported tracers is used. If the diffusion coefficient valid for conservative tracers is used to express diffusion of nutrients and plankton, turbulent transport and biological productivity can be significantly overestimated.