Towards Simulations of Coastal Arctic Biogeochemistry and Phytoplankton Dynamics by Modeling River Inputs and Landfast Ice
J. Blake Clark, NASA GSFC & UMBC, blake.clark@nasa.gov (Presenter)
Wes Moses, Naval Research Laboratory, wesley.moses@nrl.navy.mil
Daniel Koestner, Naval Research Laboratory, daniel.koestner.optics@gmail.com
Kyle Turner, CCNY, k.turner00@ccny.cuny.edu
Maria A. Tzortziou, CCNY City University of New York/ Columbia University LDEO, mtzortziou@ccny.cuny.edu
Ahmed El-Habashi, Naval Research Laboratory, ahmed.el-habashi@nrl.navy.mil
Steven Ackelson, Naval Research Laboratory, steven.ackleson@nrl.navy.mil
The changing coastal Arctic is a dynamic ecosystem with rivers, deltas, lagoons, and broad continental shelves acting as reactors and transformers of carbon and nutrients. River inputs of freshwater, heat, and dissolved and suspended constituents can influence many aspects of coastal and potentially basin-wide Arctic biogeochemistry. The numerous feedbacks and changing sources and sinks require a holistic approach to estimate coastal Arctic biogeochemical processes now and into the future. A high-resolution interannual modeling system is under development for the coastal Beaufort Sea from the Colville River east to Kaktovik, including river deltas and shallow lagoons. The model is set up from 2018-2022 and includes periods when ice-free observations of ocean physics, biogeochemistry, phytoplankton, and optical properties were collected as part of a NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry project and a Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems project. The modeling system is currently configured to simulate the coastal ocean physics, including a new formulation of landfast ice and high-resolution sea ice dynamics across seasons. The transport of riverine heat and freshwater is a key process that breaks up landfast ice early in the spring, a period when in-water observations are sparse but much needed. The riverine transport, atmospheric forcing, landfast ice, and floating sea ice sets up the coastal ocean physical environment well into the ice-free season. Simulations are now being constructed to include detailed biogeochemical dynamics to understand how riverine export and phytoplankton growth and phenology impact the carbon and nutrient cycles, and how they might change into the future.
Associated Project(s):
Poster Location ID: 3-20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Poster Session 3
Session Date: Thu (May 11) 3:00-5:00 PM
CCE Program: OBB