Slower nutrient stream suppresses Subarctic Atlantic Ocean biological productivity in global warming

Details

• Journal Title:
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Personal Author:
  Whitt, Daniel B. ; Jansen, Malte F.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  CPO (Climate Program Office) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
• Description:
  Earth system models (ESMs) project that global warming suppresses biological productivity in the Subarctic Atlantic Ocean
  
  as increasing ocean surface buoyancy suppresses two physical
  
  drivers of nutrient supply: vertical mixing and meridional circulation. However, the quantitative sensitivity of productivity to
  
  surface buoyancy is uncertain and the relative importance of the
  
  physical drivers is unknown. Here, we present a simple predictive theory of how mixing, circulation, and productivity respond
  
  to increasing surface buoyancy in 21st-century global warming
  
  scenarios. With parameters constrained by observations, the theory suggests that the reduced northward nutrient transport,
  
  owing to a slower ocean circulation, explains the majority of the
  
  reduced productivity in a warmer climate. The theory also informs
  
  present-day biases in a set of ESM simulations as well as the
  
  physical underpinnings of their 21st-century projections. Hence,
  
  this theoretical understanding can facilitate the development of
  
  improved 21st-century projections of marine biogeochemistry and
  
  ecosystems.
  
  
• Keywords:
  Biogeochemistry Global Warming Ocean Circulation
• Source:
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(27), 15504-15510
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2000851117
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA18OAR4310408
• Rights Information:
  Other
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:994ffea9eee4832f15c95a86a195bcfbd6517a191bacc7bc60c11c7c1aceef34
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/32966/noaa_32966_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB ]