ALBERT

Description: We present a numerical model of the ocean that couples a three-stream radiative transfer component with a marine biogeochemical-ecosystem in a dynamic three-dimensional physical framework. The radiative transfer component resolves spectral irradiance as it is absorbed and scattered within the water column. We explicitly include the effect of several optically important water constituents (the phytoplankton community, detrital particles, and coloured dissolved organic matter, CDOM). The model is evaluated against in situ observed and satellite derived products. In particular we compare to concurrently measured biogeochemical, ecosystem and optical data along a north–south transect of the Atlantic Ocean. The simulation captures the patterns and magnitudes of these data, and estimates surface upwelling irradiance analogous to that observed by ocean colour satellite instruments. We conduct a series of sensitivity experiments to demonstrate, globally, the relative importance of each of the water constituents, and the crucial feedbacks between the light field and the relative fitness of phytoplankton types, and the biogeochemistry of the ocean. CDOM has proportionally more importance at short wavelengths and in more productive waters, phytoplankton absorption is especially important at the deep chlorophyll a (Chl a) maximum, and absorption by water molecules is relatively most important in the highly oligotrophic gyres. Sensitivity experiments in which absorption by any of the optical constituents was increased led to a decrease in the size of the oligotrophic regions of the subtropical gyres: lateral nutrient supplies were enhanced as a result of decreasing high latitude productivity. Scattering does not as strongly affect the ecosystem and biogeochemistry fields within the water column but is important for setting the surface upwelling irradiance, and hence sea surface reflectance. Having a model capable of capturing bio-optical feedbacks will be important for improving our understanding of the role of light and optical constituents on ocean biogeochemistry, especially in a changing environment. The potential benefits of capturing surface upwelling irradiance will be important for making closer connections to satellite derived products in the future.

Description: We present a numerical model of the ocean that couples a three-stream radiative transfer component with a marine biogeochemical–ecosystem component in a dynamic three-dimensional physical framework. The radiative transfer component resolves the penetration of spectral irradiance as it is absorbed and scattered within the water column. We explicitly include the effect of several optically important water constituents (different phytoplankton functional types; detrital particles; and coloured dissolved organic matter, CDOM). The model is evaluated against in situ-observed and satellite-derived products. In particular we compare to concurrently measured biogeochemical, ecosystem, and optical data along a meridional transect of the Atlantic Ocean. The simulation captures the patterns and magnitudes of these data, and estimates surface upwelling irradiance analogous to that observed by ocean colour satellite instruments. We find that incorporating the different optically important constituents explicitly and including spectral irradiance was crucial to capture the variability in the depth of the subsurface chlorophyll a (Chl a) maximum. We conduct a series of sensitivity experiments to demonstrate, globally, the relative importance of each of the water constituents, as well as the crucial feedbacks between the light field, the relative fitness of phytoplankton types, and the biogeochemistry of the ocean. CDOM has proportionally more importance at attenuating light at short wavelengths and in more productive waters, phytoplankton absorption is relatively more important at the subsurface Chl a maximum, and water molecules have the greatest contribution when concentrations of other constituents are low, such as in the oligotrophic gyres. Scattering had less effect on attenuation, but since it is important for the amount and type of upwelling irradiance, it is crucial for setting sea surface reflectance. Strikingly, sensitivity experiments in which absorption by any of the optical constituents was increased led to a decrease in the size of the oligotrophic regions of the subtropical gyres: lateral nutrient supplies were enhanced as a result of decreasing high-latitude productivity. This new model that captures bio-optical feedbacks will be important for improving our understanding of the role of light and optical constituents on ocean biogeochemistry, especially in a changing environment. Further, resolving surface upwelling irradiance will make it easier to connect to satellite-derived products in the future.

Description: Western boundary currents support high primary production and carbon export. Here, we performed a survey of photosynthetic picoeukaryotes in the North Pacific Ocean in four transects crossing the Kuroshio Front. Prasinophyte algae comprised 85% of 18S rRNA gene sequences for photosynthetic taxa in the 〈5 μm size fraction. The picoplanktonic (〈2 μm) genera Micromonas and Ostreococcus comprised 30% and 51% of the total photosynthetic 18S rDNA sequences from five stations. Phylogenetic analysis showed that two Ostreococcus ecotypes, until now rarely found to co‐occur, were both present in the majority of samples. Ostreococcus ecotype OI reached 6,830 ± 343 gene copies mL−1, while Ostreococcus ecotype OII reached 50,190 ± 971 gene copies mL−1 based on qPCR analysis of the 18S rRNA gene. These values are higher than in studies of other oceanographic regions by a factor of 10 for OII. The data suggest that meso‐ and finer‐scale physical dynamics had a significant impact on the populations at the front, either by mingling ecotypes from different source regions at fine scales (∼10s km) or by stimulating their growth through vertical nutrient injections. We investigate this hypothesis with an idealized diffusion‐reaction model, and find that only a combination of mixing and positive net growth can explain the observed distributions and overlap of the two Ostreococcus ecotypes. Our field observations support larger‐scale numerical ocean simulations that predict enhanced biodiversity at western boundary current fronts, and suggest a strategy for systematically testing that hypothesis.