Simulating dimethylsulphide seasonality with the Dynamic Green Ocean Model PlankTOM5

Abstract

We study the dynamics of dimethylsulphide (DMS) and dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) using the global ocean biogeochemistry model PlankTOM5, which includes three phytoplankton and two zooplankton functional types (PFTs). We present a fully prognostic DMS module describing intracellular particulate DMSP (DMSPp) production, concentrations of dissolved DMSP (DMSPd), and DMS production and consumption. The model produces DMS fields that compare reasonably well with the observed annual mean DMS fields, zonal mean DMS concentrations, and its seasonal cycle. Modeled ecosystem composition and modeled total chlorophyll influenced mean DMS concentrations and DMS seasonality at mid‐ and high latitudes, but did not control the seasonal cycle in the tropics. The introduction of a direct, irradiation‐dependent DMS production term (exudation) in the model improved the match between modeled and observed DMS seasonality, but deteriorated simulated zonal mean concentrations. In PlankTOM5, exudation was found to be most important for DMS seasonality in the tropics, and a variable DMSP cell quota as a function of light and nutrient stress was more important than a PFT‐specific minimal DMSPp cell quota. The results suggest that DMS seasonality in the low latitudes is mostly driven by light. The agreement between model and data for DMS, DMSPp, and DMSPd is reasonable at the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Station, where the summer paradox is observed.