Articles | Volume 21, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4361-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4361-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Oct 2024
Research article |
| 10 Oct 2024
| 10 Oct 2024
Global impact of benthic denitrification on marine N2 fixation and primary production simulated by a variable-stoichiometry Earth system model
RD2/BM, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Christopher J. Somes
RD2/BM, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Angela Landolfi
National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR), CNR, Rome, Italy
Chia-Te Chien
RD2/BM, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Markus Pahlow
RD2/BM, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Andreas Oschlies
RD2/BM, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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Samantha Siedlecki, Stanley Nmor, Gennadi Lessin, Kelly Kearney, Subhadeep Rakshit, Colleen Petrik, Jessica Luo, Cristina Schultz, Dalton Sasaki, Kayla Gillen, Anh Pham, Christopher Somes, Damian Brady, Jeremy Testa, Christophe Rabouille, Isa Elegbede, and Olivier Sulpis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1846, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1846, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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Benthic biogeochemical models are essential for simulating seafloor carbon cycling and climate feedbacks, yet vary widely in structure and assumptions. This paper introduces SedBGC_MIP, a community initiative to compare existing models, refine key processes, and assess uncertainty. We highlight discrepancies through case studies and introduce needs including observational benchmarks. Ultimately, we seek to improve climate and resource projections.
Haichao Guo, Wolfgang Koeve, Andreas Oschlies, Yan-Chun He, Tronje Peer Kemena, Lennart Gerke, and Iris Kriest
Ocean Sci., 21, 1167–1182, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1167-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-1167-2025, 2025
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We evaluated the effectiveness of the inverse Gaussian transit time distribution (IG-TTD) with respect to estimating the mean state and temporal changes of seawater age, defined as the duration since water last had contact with the atmosphere, within the tropical thermocline. Results suggest that the IG-TTD underestimates seawater age. Moreover, the IG-TTD constrained by a single tracer gives spurious trends in water age. Incorporating an additional tracer improves IG-TTD's accuracy for estimating temporal change of seawater age.
Babette A.A. Hoogakker, Catherine Davis, Yi Wang, Stephanie Kusch, Katrina Nilsson-Kerr, Dalton S. Hardisty, Allison Jacobel, Dharma Reyes Macaya, Nicolaas Glock, Sha Ni, Julio Sepúlveda, Abby Ren, Alexandra Auderset, Anya V. Hess, Katrin J. Meissner, Jorge Cardich, Robert Anderson, Christine Barras, Chandranath Basak, Harold J. Bradbury, Inda Brinkmann, Alexis Castillo, Madelyn Cook, Kassandra Costa, Constance Choquel, Paula Diz, Jonas Donnenfield, Felix J. Elling, Zeynep Erdem, Helena L. Filipsson, Sebastián Garrido, Julia Gottschalk, Anjaly Govindankutty Menon, Jeroen Groeneveld, Christian Hallmann, Ingrid Hendy, Rick Hennekam, Wanyi Lu, Jean Lynch-Stieglitz, Lélia Matos, Alfredo Martínez-García, Giulia Molina, Práxedes Muñoz, Simone Moretti, Jennifer Morford, Sophie Nuber, Svetlana Radionovskaya, Morgan Reed Raven, Christopher J. Somes, Anja S. Studer, Kazuyo Tachikawa, Raúl Tapia, Martin Tetard, Tyler Vollmer, Xingchen Wang, Shuzhuang Wu, Yan Zhang, Xin-Yuan Zheng, and Yuxin Zhou
Biogeosciences, 22, 863–957, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-863-2025, 2025
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Paleo-oxygen proxies can extend current records, constrain pre-anthropogenic baselines, provide datasets necessary to test climate models under different boundary conditions, and ultimately understand how ocean oxygenation responds on longer timescales. Here we summarize current proxies used for the reconstruction of Cenozoic seawater oxygen levels. This includes an overview of the proxy's history, how it works, resources required, limitations, and future recommendations.
Miriam Tivig, David P. Keller, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 21, 4469–4493, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4469-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4469-2024, 2024
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Marine biological production is highly dependent on the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus. Rivers are the main source of phosphorus to the oceans but poorly represented in global model oceans. We include dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus from river export in a global model ocean and find that the addition of riverine phosphorus affects marine biology on millennial timescales more than riverine nitrogen alone. Globally, riverine phosphorus input increases primary production rates.
Timothée Bourgeois, Olivier Torres, Friederike Fröb, Aurich Jeltsch-Thömmes, Giang T. Tran, Jörg Schwinger, Thomas L. Frölicher, Jean Negrel, David Keller, Andreas Oschlies, Laurent Bopp, and Fortunat Joos
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2768, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2768, 2024
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Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions significantly impact ocean ecosystems through climate change and acidification, leading to either progressive or abrupt changes. This study maps the crossing of physical and ecological limits for various ocean impact metrics under three emission scenarios. Using Earth system models, we identify when these limits are exceeded, highlighting the urgent need for ambitious climate action to safeguard the world's oceans and ecosystems.
Hanqin Tian, Naiqing Pan, Rona L. Thompson, Josep G. Canadell, Parvadha Suntharalingam, Pierre Regnier, Eric A. Davidson, Michael Prather, Philippe Ciais, Marilena Muntean, Shufen Pan, Wilfried Winiwarter, Sönke Zaehle, Feng Zhou, Robert B. Jackson, Hermann W. Bange, Sarah Berthet, Zihao Bian, Daniele Bianchi, Alexander F. Bouwman, Erik T. Buitenhuis, Geoffrey Dutton, Minpeng Hu, Akihiko Ito, Atul K. Jain, Aurich Jeltsch-Thömmes, Fortunat Joos, Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, Paul B. Krummel, Xin Lan, Angela Landolfi, Ronny Lauerwald, Ya Li, Chaoqun Lu, Taylor Maavara, Manfredi Manizza, Dylan B. Millet, Jens Mühle, Prabir K. Patra, Glen P. Peters, Xiaoyu Qin, Peter Raymond, Laure Resplandy, Judith A. Rosentreter, Hao Shi, Qing Sun, Daniele Tonina, Francesco N. Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, Nicolas Vuichard, Junjie Wang, Kelley C. Wells, Luke M. Western, Chris Wilson, Jia Yang, Yuanzhi Yao, Yongfa You, and Qing Zhu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2543–2604, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2543-2024, 2024
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Atmospheric concentrations of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas 273 times more potent than carbon dioxide, have increased by 25 % since the preindustrial period, with the highest observed growth rate in 2020 and 2021. This rapid growth rate has primarily been due to a 40 % increase in anthropogenic emissions since 1980. Observed atmospheric N2O concentrations in recent years have exceeded the worst-case climate scenario, underscoring the importance of reducing anthropogenic N2O emissions.
Tianfei Xue, Jens Terhaar, A. E. Friederike Prowe, Thomas L. Frölicher, Andreas Oschlies, and Ivy Frenger
Biogeosciences, 21, 2473–2491, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2473-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2473-2024, 2024
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Phytoplankton play a crucial role in marine ecosystems. However, climate change's impact on phytoplankton biomass remains uncertain, particularly in the Southern Ocean. In this region, phytoplankton biomass within the water column is likely to remain stable in response to climate change, as supported by models. This stability arises from a shallower mixed layer, favoring phytoplankton growth but also increasing zooplankton grazing due to phytoplankton concentration near the surface.
Katja Fennel, Matthew C. Long, Christopher Algar, Brendan Carter, David Keller, Arnaud Laurent, Jann Paul Mattern, Ruth Musgrave, Andreas Oschlies, Josiane Ostiguy, Jaime B. Palter, and Daniel B. Whitt
State Planet, 2-oae2023, 9, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-9-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-9-2023, 2023
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This paper describes biogeochemical models and modelling techniques for applications related to ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) research. Many of the most pressing OAE-related research questions cannot be addressed by observation alone but will require a combination of skilful models and observations. We present illustrative examples with references to further information; describe limitations, caveats, and future research needs; and provide practical recommendations.
Andreas Oschlies, Lennart T. Bach, Rosalind E. M. Rickaby, Terre Satterfield, Romany Webb, and Jean-Pierre Gattuso
State Planet, 2-oae2023, 1, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-2-oae2023-1-2023, 2023
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Reaching promised climate targets will require the deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Marine CDR options receive more and more interest. Based on idealized theoretical studies, ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) appears as a promising marine CDR method. We provide an overview on the current situation of developing OAE as a marine CDR method and describe the history that has led to the creation of the OAE research best practice guide.
Maria-Theresia Pelz, Markus Schartau, Christopher J. Somes, Vanessa Lampe, and Thomas Slawig
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 6609–6634, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-6609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-6609-2023, 2023
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Kernel density estimators (KDE) approximate the probability density of a data set without the assumption of an underlying distribution. We used the solution of the diffusion equation, and a new approximation of the optimal smoothing parameter build on two pilot estimation steps, to construct such a KDE best suited for typical characteristics of geoscientific data. The resulting KDE is insensitive to noise and well resolves multimodal data structures as well as boundary-close data.
Christoph Heinze, Thorsten Blenckner, Peter Brown, Friederike Fröb, Anne Morée, Adrian L. New, Cara Nissen, Stefanie Rynders, Isabel Seguro, Yevgeny Aksenov, Yuri Artioli, Timothée Bourgeois, Friedrich Burger, Jonathan Buzan, B. B. Cael, Veli Çağlar Yumruktepe, Melissa Chierici, Christopher Danek, Ulf Dieckmann, Agneta Fransson, Thomas Frölicher, Giovanni Galli, Marion Gehlen, Aridane G. González, Melchor Gonzalez-Davila, Nicolas Gruber, Örjan Gustafsson, Judith Hauck, Mikko Heino, Stephanie Henson, Jenny Hieronymus, I. Emma Huertas, Fatma Jebri, Aurich Jeltsch-Thömmes, Fortunat Joos, Jaideep Joshi, Stephen Kelly, Nandini Menon, Precious Mongwe, Laurent Oziel, Sólveig Ólafsdottir, Julien Palmieri, Fiz F. Pérez, Rajamohanan Pillai Ranith, Juliano Ramanantsoa, Tilla Roy, Dagmara Rusiecka, J. Magdalena Santana Casiano, Yeray Santana-Falcón, Jörg Schwinger, Roland Séférian, Miriam Seifert, Anna Shchiptsova, Bablu Sinha, Christopher Somes, Reiner Steinfeldt, Dandan Tao, Jerry Tjiputra, Adam Ulfsbo, Christoph Völker, Tsuyoshi Wakamatsu, and Ying Ye
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-182, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-182, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
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For assessing the consequences of human-induced climate change for the marine realm, it is necessary to not only look at gradual changes but also at abrupt changes of environmental conditions. We summarise abrupt changes in ocean warming, acidification, and oxygen concentration as the key environmental factors for ecosystems. Taking these abrupt changes into account requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced to a larger extent than previously thought to limit respective damage.
Iris Kriest, Julia Getzlaff, Angela Landolfi, Volkmar Sauerland, Markus Schartau, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 20, 2645–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2645-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2645-2023, 2023
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Global biogeochemical ocean models are often subjectively assessed and tuned against observations. We applied different strategies to calibrate a global model against observations. Although the calibrated models show similar tracer distributions at the surface, they differ in global biogeochemical fluxes, especially in global particle flux. Simulated global volume of oxygen minimum zones varies strongly with calibration strategy and over time, rendering its temporal extrapolation difficult.
Jiajun Wu, David P. Keller, and Andreas Oschlies
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 185–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-185-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-185-2023, 2023
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In this study we investigate an ocean-based carbon dioxide removal method: macroalgae open-ocean mariculture and sinking (MOS), which aims to cultivate seaweed in the open-ocean surface and to sink matured biomass quickly to the deep seafloor. Our results suggest that MOS has considerable potential as an ocean-based CDR method. However, MOS has inherent side effects on marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry, which will require careful evaluation beyond this first idealized modeling study.
Onur Kerimoglu, Markus Pahlow, Prima Anugerahanti, and Sherwood Lan Smith
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 95–108, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-95-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-95-2023, 2023
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In classical models that track the changes in the elemental composition of phytoplankton, additional state variables are required for each element resolved. In this study, we show how the behavior of such an explicit model can be approximated using an
instantaneous acclimationapproach, in which the elemental composition of the phytoplankton is assumed to adjust to an optimal value instantaneously. Through rigorous tests, we evaluate the consistency of this scheme.
Chia-Te Chien, Jonathan V. Durgadoo, Dana Ehlert, Ivy Frenger, David P. Keller, Wolfgang Koeve, Iris Kriest, Angela Landolfi, Lavinia Patara, Sebastian Wahl, and Andreas Oschlies
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5987–6024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5987-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5987-2022, 2022
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We present the implementation and evaluation of a marine biogeochemical model, Model of Oceanic Pelagic Stoichiometry (MOPS) in the Flexible Ocean and Climate Infrastructure (FOCI) climate model. FOCI-MOPS enables the simulation of marine biological processes, the marine carbon, nitrogen and oxygen cycles, and air–sea gas exchange of CO2 and O2. As shown by our evaluation, FOCI-MOPS shows an overall adequate performance that makes it an appropriate tool for Earth climate system simulations.
Tianfei Xue, Ivy Frenger, A. E. Friederike Prowe, Yonss Saranga José, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 19, 455–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-455-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-455-2022, 2022
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The Peruvian system supports 10 % of the world's fishing yield. In the Peruvian system, wind and earth’s rotation bring cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface and allow phytoplankton to grow. But observations show that it grows worse at high upwelling. Using a model, we find that high upwelling happens when air mixes the water the most. Then phytoplankton is diluted and grows slowly due to low light and cool upwelled water. This study helps to estimate how it might change in a warming climate.
Karin Kvale, David P. Keller, Wolfgang Koeve, Katrin J. Meissner, Christopher J. Somes, Wanxuan Yao, and Andreas Oschlies
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 7255–7285, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-7255-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-7255-2021, 2021
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We present a new model of biological marine silicate cycling for the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model (UVic ESCM). This new model adds diatoms, which are a key aspect of the biological carbon pump, to an existing ecosystem model. Our modifications change how the model responds to warming, with net primary production declining more strongly than in previous versions. Diatoms in particular are simulated to decline with climate warming due to their high nutrient requirements.
Maria-Theresia Verwega, Christopher J. Somes, Markus Schartau, Robyn Elizabeth Tuerena, Anne Lorrain, Andreas Oschlies, and Thomas Slawig
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4861–4880, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4861-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4861-2021, 2021
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This work describes a ready-to-use collection of particulate organic carbon stable isotope ratio data sets. It covers the 1960s–2010s and all main oceans, providing meta-information and gridded data. The best coverage exists in Atlantic, Indian and Southern Ocean surface waters during the 1990s. It indicates no major difference between methods and shows decreasing values towards high latitudes, with the lowest in the Southern Ocean, and a long-term decline in all regions but the Southern Ocean.
Miriam Tivig, David P. Keller, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 18, 5327–5350, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5327-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5327-2021, 2021
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Nitrogen is one of the most important elements for life in the ocean. A major source is the riverine discharge of dissolved nitrogen. While global models often omit rivers as a nutrient source, we included nitrogen from rivers in our Earth system model and found that additional nitrogen affected marine biology not only locally but also in regions far off the coast. Depending on regional conditions, primary production was enhanced or even decreased due to internal feedbacks in the nitrogen cycle.
Henrike Schmidt, Julia Getzlaff, Ulrike Löptien, and Andreas Oschlies
Ocean Sci., 17, 1303–1320, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1303-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1303-2021, 2021
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Oxygen-poor regions in the open ocean restrict marine habitats. Global climate simulations show large uncertainties regarding the prediction of these areas. We analyse the representation of the simulated oxygen minimum zones in the Arabian Sea using 10 climate models. We give an overview of the main deficiencies that cause the model–data misfit in oxygen concentrations. This detailed process analysis shall foster future model improvements regarding the oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea.
Jaard Hauschildt, Soeren Thomsen, Vincent Echevin, Andreas Oschlies, Yonss Saranga José, Gerd Krahmann, Laura A. Bristow, and Gaute Lavik
Biogeosciences, 18, 3605–3629, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3605-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3605-2021, 2021
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In this paper we quantify the subduction of upwelled nitrate due to physical processes on the order of several kilometers in the coastal upwelling off Peru and its effect on primary production. We also compare the prepresentation of these processes in a high-resolution simulation (~2.5 km) with a more coarsely resolved simulation (~12 km). To do this, we combine high-resolution shipboard observations of physical and biogeochemical parameters with a complex biogeochemical model configuration.
Mariana Hill Cruz, Iris Kriest, Yonss Saranga José, Rainer Kiko, Helena Hauss, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 18, 2891–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2891-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2891-2021, 2021
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In this study we use a regional biogeochemical model of the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean to implicitly simulate the effect that fluctuations in populations of small pelagic fish, such as anchovy and sardine, may have on the biogeochemistry of the northern Humboldt Current System. To do so, we vary the zooplankton mortality in the model, under the assumption that these fishes eat zooplankton. We also evaluate the model for the first time against mesozooplankton observations.
Markus Pahlow, Chia-Te Chien, Lionel A. Arteaga, and Andreas Oschlies
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4663–4690, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4663-2020, 2020
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The stoichiometry of marine biotic processes is important for the regulation of atmospheric CO2 and hence the global climate. We replace a simplistic, fixed-stoichiometry plankton module in an Earth system model with an optimal-regulation model with variable stoichiometry. Our model compares better to the observed carbon transfer from the surface to depth and surface nutrient distributions. This work could aid our ability to describe and project the role of marine ecosystems in the Earth system.
Chia-Te Chien, Markus Pahlow, Markus Schartau, and Andreas Oschlies
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4691–4712, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4691-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4691-2020, 2020
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We demonstrate sensitivities of tracers to parameters of a new optimality-based plankton–ecosystem model (OPEM) in the UVic-ESCM. We find that changes in phytoplankton subsistence nitrogen quota strongly impact the nitrogen inventory, nitrogen fixation, and elemental stoichiometry of ordinary phytoplankton and diazotrophs. We introduce a new likelihood-based metric for model calibration, and it shows the capability of constraining globally averaged oxygen, nitrate, and DIC concentrations.
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Short summary
N is a crucial nutrient that limits phytoplankton growth in large ocean areas. The amount of oceanic N is governed by the balance of N2 fixation and denitrification. Here we incorporate benthic denitrification into an Earth system model with variable particulate stoichiometry. Our model compares better to the observed surface nutrient distributions, marine N2 fixation, and primary production. Benthic denitrification plays an important role in marine N and C cycling and hence the global climate.
N is a crucial nutrient that limits phytoplankton growth in large ocean areas. The amount of...
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