A NEMO-based model of <i>Sargassum</i> distribution in the tropical Atlantic: description of the model and sensitivity analysis (NEMO-Sarg1.0)
<p>The tropical Atlantic has been facing a massive proliferation of <i>Sargassum</i> since 2011, with severe environmental and socioeconomic impacts. The development of large-scale modeling of <i>Sargassum</i> transport and physiology is essential to clarify the link be...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Geoscientific Model Development |
| Online Access: | https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/14/4069/2021/gmd-14-4069-2021.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>The tropical Atlantic has been facing a massive
proliferation of <i>Sargassum</i> since 2011, with severe environmental and
socioeconomic impacts. The development of large-scale modeling of <i>Sargassum</i>
transport and physiology is essential to clarify the link between <i>Sargassum</i>
distribution and environmental conditions, and to lay the groundwork for a
seasonal forecast at the scale of the tropical Atlantic basin. We developed
a modeling framework based on the Nucleus for European Modelling of
the Ocean (NEMO) ocean model, which integrates
transport by currents and waves, and physiology of <i>Sargassum</i> with varying
internal nutrients quota, and considers stranding at the coast. The model is
initialized from basin-scale satellite observations, and performance was
assessed over the year 2017. Model parameters are calibrated through the
analysis of a large ensemble of simulations, and the sensitivity to forcing
fields like riverine nutrient inputs, atmospheric deposition, and waves is
discussed. Overall, results demonstrate the ability of the model to
reproduce and forecast the seasonal cycle and large-scale distribution of
<i>Sargassum</i> biomass.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1991-959X 1991-9603 |