Upper Ocean 1-D Seasonal Models
File last modified 16 November 1998
19.4c Putting Biological Productivity in the Model
Well, here's a model run, with no productivity in the mixed layer, but the "deep" productivity profile shown in the last section. The overall amplitude is 5 mol/m2/y (i.e. the total water column productivity), and the standard gas factors.
Note that the model is so strongly driven biologically that it reaches a steady cycle quite rapidly. Model runs indicate that the size of the oxygen anomaly maximum is approximately proportional to the total productivity amplitude.
Now for the horrid truth: here's the real data from the Bermuda station from spring, 1985 to spring, 1989.
A little lumpy, isn't it? Well, who said biology was easy? You can see the annual subsurface oxygen maximum buildup, can't you? 1985 seemed to be a bumper year for oxygen, but the trend seems to be there throughout the three years. The maximum seems to be around 10-12% (it is less the last year, but considerably more the first year). If one were to do a careful statistical analysis which optimizes the match between the data and the model, then you would find an optimal fit for a productivity of around 4-5 mol/m2/y.s
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