Nitrogen (N) fixation by specialized microorganisms (diazotrophs) influences global plankton productivity because it provides the ocean with most of its bio-available N. However, its global rate and large-scale spatial distribution is still regarded with considerable uncertainty. Here we use a global ocean nitrogen isotope model, in comparison with δ15NO3 observations,...
We present a new nitrogen isotope model incorporated into the three-dimensional ocean component of a global Earth system climate model designed for millennial timescale simulations. The model includes prognostic tracers for the two stable nitrogen isotopes, 14N and 15N, in the nitrate (NO3−), phytoplankton, zooplankton, and detritus variables of the...
Physical-biological interactions in the Southern Ocean were investigated using remote sensing data from several different satellite sensors. Satellite sea surface temperature data were used to study the dynamics of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF). Satellite ocean color data were used to estimate surface chlorophyll concentrations and their relation to various...
Nitrogen isotopes are an important tool for evaluating past biogeochemical cycling from the paleoceanographic record. However, bulk sedimentary nitrogen isotope ratios, which can be determined routinely and at minimal cost, may be altered during burial and early sedimentary diagenesis, particularly outside of continental margin settings. The causes and detailed mechanisms...
The euphotic zone below the deep chlorophyll maximum layer (DCML) at Station ALOHA (a long-term oligotrophic habitat assessment; 22º45′N, 158º00′W) transects the nearly permanently stratified upper thermocline. Hence, seasonal changes in solar radiation control the balance between photosynthesis and respiration in this lightlimited region. Combining profiles of radiance reflectance, algal...
Analysis of satellite ocean color, sea surface temperature, and sea ice cover data reveals consistent patterns between biological production, iron availability, and physical forcings in the Southern Ocean. The consistency of these patterns, in conjunction with information on physical conditions during the last glacial maximum (LGM), enables estimates of export...
Ecologists must increasingly balance the need for accurate predictions about how ecosystems will be affected by climate change, against the fact that making such predictions at the ecosystem-level may be infeasible. Although information about responses of individual species to a changing environment is increasing, scaling such information to the community...
We present a new nitrogen isotope model incorporated into the three-dimensional ocean component of a global Earth System Climate Model designed for millennial timescale simulations. The model includes prognostic tracers for the stable nitrogen isotopes, ¹⁴N and ¹⁵N, in the nitrate (NO₃ˉ), phytoplankton, zooplankton, and detritus variables of the marine...
The primary impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on marine biogeochemical cycles predicted so far include ocean acidification, global warming induced shifts in biogeographical provinces, and a possible negative feedback on atmospheric CO2 levels by CO2-fertilized biological production. Here we report a new potentially significant impact on the oxygen-minimum zones of...