Impacts Of Co2 Perturbation On The Ecology And Biogeochemistry Of Plankton Communities During A Simulated Upwelling Event A Mesocosm Experiment In Oligotrophic Subtropical Waters

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Marine ecosystems are changing at an unprecedented rate. In addition to the direct effects of e.g. warming surface temperatures, the environmental changes also cause shifts in plankton communities. Plankton makes up the base of the marine food web and plays a pivotal role in global biogeochemical cycles. Any shifts in the plankton community composition could have drastic consequences for marine ecosystem functioning. This Research Topic focuses on causes, effects and consequences of such shifts in the plankton community structure.

In this report, we describe the model functionality and analyze its application to the seasonal and interannual variations of phytoplankton, nutrients, pCO2 and CO2 concentrations in the Eastern Subarctic Pacific at Ocean Weather Station P. We use a verified one-dimensional ecosystem model, coupled with newly incorporated carbon flux and carbon chemistry components, to simulate 22 years. This relatively long period of simulation verifies and extends the findings of previous studies using an explicit approach for the biological component and realistic coupling with the carbon flux dynamics. The slow currents and the horizontally homogeneous ocean in the Subarctic Pacific make OWS P one of the best available candidates for modeling the chemistry of the upper ocean in one dimension. The chlorophyll and ocean currents composite for 1998 shown in Figure 1 illustrates this permise. The chlorophyll concentration map was derived from SeaWiFS data and the currents are from an OGCM simulation.

This book integrates a variety of issues such as regional settings of productivity and nutrient cycling; plankton of coastal and shelf systems; plankton, climate change and human-induced changes; harmful algae and their impacts; and gelatinous zooplankton. This book explores the intriguing marine plankton communities of the SWA region of South America encompassing low to high latitude environments, framed by a complex hydrographic background and global climate change. This vast and iconic region has been largely under-recognized and under-studied. However, in recent years a strong interest has emerged along with the acknowledgment of its high biological productivity. The book concludes by discussing conservation in the region, highlighting regional biodiversity hotspots where the challenges of climate change, habitat loss, and other threats to biodiversity may be particularly acute. Plankton Ecology of the Southwestern Atlantic is a timely synthesis of the field, setting a new baseline for future research. It will be important reading for both researchers and graduate students, and will also be of interest and use to a professional audience of oceanographers, conservation biologists, stake holders and educated science enthusiasts

Biological processes in the oceans play a crucial role in regulating the fluxes of many important elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, phosphorus, and silicon. As we come to the end of the 20th century, oceanographers have increasingly focussed on how these elements are cycled within the ocean, the interdependencies of these cycles, and the effect of the cycle on the composition of the earth's atmosphere and climate. Many techniques and tools have been developed or adapted over the past decade to help in this effort. These include satellite sensors of upper ocean phytoplankton distributions, flow cytometry, molecular biological probes, sophisticated moored and shipboard instrumentation, and vastly increased numerical modeling capabilities. This volume is the result of the 37th Brookhaven Symposium in Biology, in which a wide spectrum of oceanographers, chemists, biologists, and modelers discussed the progress in understanding the role of primary producers in biogeochemical cycles. The symposium is dedicated to Dr. Richard W. Eppley, an intellectual giant in biological oceanography, who inspired a generation of scientists to delve into problems of understanding biogeochemical cycles in the sea. We gratefully acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Special thanks to Claire Lamberti for her help in producing this volume.