Optimal parameters for the ocean's nutrient, carbon, and oxygen cycles compensate for circulation biases but replumb the biological pump

Pasquier, Benoît; Holzer, Mark; Chamberlain, Matthew A.; Matear, Richard J.; Bindoff, Nathaniel L.; Primeau, François W.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2985-2023

Articles | Volume 20, issue 14

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2985-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2985-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 14

Research article

|

26 Jul 2023

Research article |

| 26 Jul 2023

Optimal parameters for the ocean's nutrient, carbon, and oxygen cycles compensate for circulation biases but replumb the biological pump

Benoît Pasquier, Mark Holzer, Matthew A. Chamberlain, Richard J. Matear, Nathaniel L. Bindoff, and François W. Primeau

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2985-2023-supplement

Model code and software

Code and data for Optimal parameters for the ocean's nutrient, carbon, and oxygen cycles compensate for circulation biases but replumb the biological pump Benoit Pasquier https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8067684

Download

Article (8662 KB)
Full-text XML

Short summary

Modeling the ocean's carbon and oxygen cycles accurately is challenging. Parameter optimization improves the fit to observed tracers but can introduce artifacts in the biological pump. Organic-matter production and subsurface remineralization rates adjust to compensate for circulation biases, changing the pathways and timescales with which nutrients return to the surface. Circulation biases can thus strongly alter the system’s response to ecological change, even when parameters are optimized.