Climate regulation of tropical Pacific nutrient limitation

by Thomas Browning

Thursday Dec 5, 2024, 10:00 AM → 11:30 AM Europe/Berlin

8A-002 - Hörsaal Ostufer / Lecture Hall East (GEOMAR - Standort Ostufer / GEOMAR - East Shore)

Thomas Browning, CH-2:

'Climate regulation of tropical Pacific nutrient limitation'

Abstract

The Equatorial Pacific is an important site of ocean net primary production (NPP), with major interannual variability driven by ENSO. Models do not agree on the sign of NPP changes in this region by the end of the century. Because NPP in the region is so large, this contributes strongly to uncertainty in future global NPP changes. The micronutrient iron is the limiting nutrient in this region and the primary control on NPP. However, little is known about variability in Equatorial Pacific phytoplankton iron limitation over ENSO cycles. In this talk I will present a new approach for observing Equatorial Pacific iron limitation over the last two decades using fluorescence signals emitted from phytoplankton and detected by satellite sensors in space.