Hobart

Seminar Abstract

Tuesday 7 December, 11.30am (Tas time)
CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart

André Belo do Couto
PhD Student
Macquarie University
Sydney

Interannual patterns of global net primary production from ten years of satellite data

In the ocean, the creation of highly energetic organic compounds, which involves fixing solar energy to inorganic elements, is known as primary productivity (PP). This activity is mainly carried out by microscopic drifting phytoplankton composing the very first trophic level of most of the ecosystems’ food chain and therefore is crucial to all forms of oceanic life. Net PP (NPP) rates are mainly regulated by phytoplankton distribution, which is essentially determined by sunlight and nutrient availability. These two limiting variables are fundamentally related to climate variability, mainly through atmosphere and ocean dynamics. Although intra-annual patterns of climate variability explain approximately 65% of the spatial and temporal variance in NPP, significant interannual variability is also observed. Here we uncover three independent modes of NPP interannual variability that explain ±73 to ±126 Tg C in a decade. El Niño–Southern Oscillation dynamics have been suggested as the main driver of oceanic NPP interannual variability. We not only confirm this but also isolate this pattern and quantify it. Furthermore, in this paper we also isolate a decadal mode that explains ±131 to ±256 Tg C day-1 during the same time period. Finally, we reveal the Indian Ocean to be an important region for global NPP variability.

Seminar recording

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Location:
CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
Andrew Meijers, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5335
Natalie Kelly, (Biology/Modelling seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research 0438 452 483
Jillian Enraght-Moony, (seminar administrator) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5320
Communications Manager, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 7888
Tracey Cochrane, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2937

Last updated 17/12/10