Abstract
It has long been recognised that there are strong interactions and feedbacks between climate, upper ocean biogeochemistry and marine food webs, and also that food web structure and phytoplankton community distribution are important determinants of variability in carbon production and export from the euphotic zone. Numerical models provide a vital tool to explore these interactions, given their capability to investigate multiple connected components of the system and the sensitivity to multiple drivers, including potential future conditions. A major driver for ecosystem model development is the demand for quantitative tools to support ecosystem-based management initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to review approaches to the modelling of marine ecosystems with a focus on the North Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent shelf seas, and to highlight the challenges they face and suggest ways forward. We consider the state of the art in simulating oceans and shelf sea physics, planktonic and higher trophic level ecosystems, and look towards building an integrative approach with these existing tools. We note how the different approaches have evolved historically and that many of the previous obstacles to harmonisation may no longer be present. We illustrate this with examples from the on-going and planned modelling effort in the Integrative Modelling Work Package of the EURO-BASIN programme.
Highlights
The North Atlantic Ocean and its contiguous shelf seas provide a diverse range of goods and services to mankind
We explore the fundamental challenges of an integrative approach to modelling the marine ecosystem in the North Atlantic and its adjacent shelf seas, with a focus on these overarching issues
Novel physical model development in EURO-BASIN focuses largely on the development of a 1/12° Northern North Atlantic Model (NNAM) building on the ORCA083 NEMO configuration. This model will be used coupled to the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) and able to explore the effects of crossing this threshold on biogeochemical processes and biogeography of the North Atlantic at Basin scales and with realistic forcing
Summary
The North Atlantic Ocean and its contiguous shelf seas provide a diverse range of goods (e.g. food, renewable energy, transport) and services (e.g. carbon and nutrient cycling and biodiversity) to mankind. Novel physical model development in EURO-BASIN focuses largely on the development of a 1/12° Northern North Atlantic Model (NNAM) building on the ORCA083 NEMO configuration This model will be used coupled to the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) and able to explore the effects of crossing this threshold on biogeochemical processes and biogeography of the North Atlantic at Basin scales and with realistic forcing. In EURO-BASIN we exploit the generalised vertical coordinate system in NEMO to explore the use of hybrid terrain following- geopotential coordinates to gain the advantages of both in a basin scale model spanning the deep ocean to the coast Tidal dynamics both from gravitational forcing and open boundary conditions will be implemented, following the NW European shelf application of NEMO (O’Dea et al, 2012), along with the Generic Length Scale turbulence model (GLS; Umlauf and Burchard, 2003) with the parameters suggested by Holt and Umlauf (2008). MEDUSA (Model of Ecosystem Dynamics, nutrient Utilisation and Sequestration; Yool et al, 2011) is a modestly complex ecosystem model, it includes two phytoplankton, two zooplankton and
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
