7
Model ing Atmosphere-Ocean
Interactions and Primary Productivity
Joe Grzymski, Mark A. Moline and Jay T. Cullen
The strength of our food chain, regardless of the number of its links,
must be dependent on that first fundamental link wh ich joins it organically to the inorganic elements of which all living forms are composed,
elements which are unavailable until woven into living tissue on the
mysterious loom of the chlorophyll-bearing plant. And this, in the entire
aquatic world, is par excellence the diatoms.
Mann 1921
In this chapter you will:
• Be exposed to relations between atmosphere-ocean interactions and primary productivity ;
• Be sensitized to the importance of iron in the marine geochemistry and
its central role in the physiology of marine primary producers; and
• Learn how to use stochiometric equations within a STELLA model , and
how to trace chemical elements-much like the cohorts of a population-through different stages.
7.1. Introduction
The heat budget, and hence the climate of the Earth, is sensitive to changes
in the atmospheric greenhouse gas composition. Next to water vapor, carbon dioxide CCO) is the most important atmospheric greenhouse gas affecting the Earth's radiative balance. Greenhouse gases raise the mean temperature of the Earth by absorbing and trapping long-wave radiation from
the planet surface that would otherwise be lost to space.
Global warming is a phrase that has become extremely popular in both
media and environmental circles since it was discovered that, beginning
with the Industrial Revolution of the 19
th century, anthropogenic fossil fuel
use has increased atmospheric CCO) from 280 to 360 ppm and warmed the
Earth by approximately 0.4°c. Changes in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations
affect, and are affected by, interactions between the atmosphere and ocean,
with potentially far-reaching implications for marine and terrestrial life. Understanding the effect of increased CO 2 on climate, biogeochemical cycles,
125
M. Ruth et al. (Eds.), Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation
© Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. 2002
Model ing Atmosphere-Ocean
Interactions and Primary Productivity
Joe Grzymski, Mark A. Moline and Jay T. Cullen
The strength of our food chain, regardless of the number of its links,
must be dependent on that first fundamental link wh ich joins it organically to the inorganic elements of which all living forms are composed,
elements which are unavailable until woven into living tissue on the
mysterious loom of the chlorophyll-bearing plant. And this, in the entire
aquatic world, is par excellence the diatoms.
Mann 1921
In this chapter you will:
• Be exposed to relations between atmosphere-ocean interactions and primary productivity ;
• Be sensitized to the importance of iron in the marine geochemistry and
its central role in the physiology of marine primary producers; and
• Learn how to use stochiometric equations within a STELLA model , and
how to trace chemical elements-much like the cohorts of a population-through different stages.
7.1. Introduction
The heat budget, and hence the climate of the Earth, is sensitive to changes
in the atmospheric greenhouse gas composition. Next to water vapor, carbon dioxide CCO) is the most important atmospheric greenhouse gas affecting the Earth's radiative balance. Greenhouse gases raise the mean temperature of the Earth by absorbing and trapping long-wave radiation from
the planet surface that would otherwise be lost to space.
Global warming is a phrase that has become extremely popular in both
media and environmental circles since it was discovered that, beginning
with the Industrial Revolution of the 19
th century, anthropogenic fossil fuel
use has increased atmospheric CCO) from 280 to 360 ppm and warmed the
Earth by approximately 0.4°c. Changes in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations
affect, and are affected by, interactions between the atmosphere and ocean,
with potentially far-reaching implications for marine and terrestrial life. Understanding the effect of increased CO 2 on climate, biogeochemical cycles,
125
M. Ruth et al. (Eds.), Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation
© Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. 2002