Importance of dissolved organic nitrogen in the north Atlantic
Ocean in sustaining primary production: a 3-D modelling approach
Importance of dissolved organic nitrogen in the north Atlantic
Ocean in sustaining primary production: a 3-D modelling approach
An eddy-permitting coupled ecosystemcirculation
model including dissolved organic matter is used
to estimate the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) supply sustaining
primary production in the subtropical north Atlantic
Ocean.
After an analysis of the coupled model performances compared
to the data, a sensitivity study demonstrates the strong
impact of parameter values linked to the hydrolysis of particulate
organic nitrogen and remineralisation of dissolved
organic nitrogen on surface biogeochemical concentrations.
The physical transport of dissolved organic nitrogen contributes
to maintain the level of primary production in
this subtropical gyre. It is dominated by the meridional
component. We estimate a meridional net input of
0.039 molNm?2 yr?1 over the domain (13–35 N and 71–
40 W) in the subtropical gyre. This supply is driven by
the Ekman transport in the southern part and by non-Ekman
transport (meridional current components, eddies, meanders
and fronts) in the northern part of the subtropical gyre. At
12 N, our estimate (18 kmolN s?1) confirms the estimation
(17.9 kmolN s?1) made by Roussenov et al. (2006) using a
simplified biogeochemical model in a large scale model. This
DON meridional input is within the range (from 0.05 up
to 0.24 molNm?2 yr?1) (McGillicuddy and Robinson, 1997;
Oschlies, 2002) of all other possible mechanisms (mesoscale
activity, nitrogen fixation, atmospheric deposition) fuelling
primary production in the subtropical gyre. The present
study confirms that the lateral supply of dissolved organic
nitrogen might be important in closing the N budget over the
north Atlantic Ocean and quantifies the importance of meridional
input of dissolved organic nitrogen.
1437-1455
Charria, G.
60f8c3bc-73da-462e-a12d-79db9bd40f3c
Dadou, I.
7bb564ca-e9a7-4b43-a809-ec25c69d4c75
Llido, J.
2ad27cfd-c93b-4425-8fb9-e51a3a170345
Drevillon, M.
c94a11a0-e7e3-48cd-8d77-6382cc0746dd
Garcon, V.
d271cd9b-6e2a-4e76-922c-a5915f3c910b
2008
Charria, G.
60f8c3bc-73da-462e-a12d-79db9bd40f3c
Dadou, I.
7bb564ca-e9a7-4b43-a809-ec25c69d4c75
Llido, J.
2ad27cfd-c93b-4425-8fb9-e51a3a170345
Drevillon, M.
c94a11a0-e7e3-48cd-8d77-6382cc0746dd
Garcon, V.
d271cd9b-6e2a-4e76-922c-a5915f3c910b
Charria, G., Dadou, I., Llido, J., Drevillon, M. and Garcon, V.
(2008)
Importance of dissolved organic nitrogen in the north Atlantic
Ocean in sustaining primary production: a 3-D modelling approach.
Biogeosciences, 5 (5), .
Abstract
An eddy-permitting coupled ecosystemcirculation
model including dissolved organic matter is used
to estimate the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) supply sustaining
primary production in the subtropical north Atlantic
Ocean.
After an analysis of the coupled model performances compared
to the data, a sensitivity study demonstrates the strong
impact of parameter values linked to the hydrolysis of particulate
organic nitrogen and remineralisation of dissolved
organic nitrogen on surface biogeochemical concentrations.
The physical transport of dissolved organic nitrogen contributes
to maintain the level of primary production in
this subtropical gyre. It is dominated by the meridional
component. We estimate a meridional net input of
0.039 molNm?2 yr?1 over the domain (13–35 N and 71–
40 W) in the subtropical gyre. This supply is driven by
the Ekman transport in the southern part and by non-Ekman
transport (meridional current components, eddies, meanders
and fronts) in the northern part of the subtropical gyre. At
12 N, our estimate (18 kmolN s?1) confirms the estimation
(17.9 kmolN s?1) made by Roussenov et al. (2006) using a
simplified biogeochemical model in a large scale model. This
DON meridional input is within the range (from 0.05 up
to 0.24 molNm?2 yr?1) (McGillicuddy and Robinson, 1997;
Oschlies, 2002) of all other possible mechanisms (mesoscale
activity, nitrogen fixation, atmospheric deposition) fuelling
primary production in the subtropical gyre. The present
study confirms that the lateral supply of dissolved organic
nitrogen might be important in closing the N budget over the
north Atlantic Ocean and quantifies the importance of meridional
input of dissolved organic nitrogen.
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Published date: 2008
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 65046
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/65046
ISSN: 1726-4170
PURE UUID: 6b77db1a-8bee-478c-b828-a3554a47f7e5
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Date deposited: 28 Jan 2009
Last modified: 08 Jan 2022 16:06
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Contributors
Author:
G. Charria
Author:
I. Dadou
Author:
J. Llido
Author:
M. Drevillon
Author:
V. Garcon
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