Premium
Net Community Production in the Southern Ocean: Insights From Comparing Atmospheric Potential Oxygen to Satellite Ocean Color Algorithms and Ocean Models
Author(s) -
Nevison Cynthia,
Munro David,
Lovenduski Nicole,
Cassar Nicolas,
Keeling Ralph,
Krummel Paul,
Tjiputra Jerry
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1029/2018gl079575
Subject(s) - satellite , environmental science , ocean color , carbon cycle , primary production , climatology , oceanography , biomass (ecology) , outgassing , atmospheric sciences , geology , ecosystem , chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry , engineering , biology , aerospace engineering
The contribution of oceanic net community production (NCP) to the observed seasonal cycle in atmospheric potential oxygen (APO) is estimated at Cape Grim, Tasmania. The resulting APO NCP signal is compared to satellite and ocean model‐based estimates of POC export and NCP across the Southern Ocean. The satellite products underestimate the amplitude of the observed APO NCP seasonal cycle by more than a factor of 2. Ocean models suggest two reasons for this underestimate: (1) Current satellite products substantially underestimate the magnitude of NCP in early spring. (2) Seasonal O 2 outgassing is supported in large part by storage of carbon in DOC and living biomass. More DOC observations are needed to help evaluate this latter model prediction. Satellite products could be improved by developing seasonally dependent relationships between remote sensing chlorophyll data and in situ NCP, recognizing that the former is a measure of mass, the latter of flux.