Potential feedback mechanism between phytoplankton and upper ocean circulation with oceanic radiative transfer processes influenced by phytoplankton - Numerical ocean, general circulation models and an analytical solution

Abstract

Because of the diversity of the ecosystem in the earth, modeling of such an ecosystem cannot avoid arguing which ecosystem element should be included or excluded. It is demonstrated that views of thermodynamics ensuring the flow of solar energy between nonliving things and living things in the oceanic ecosystem as an alternative approach in the modeling of the earth system with life. It is shown that marine phytoplankton influence the global pattern of the sea surface temperature, seawater density, and associated flows by heat release by phytoplankton on penetrative radiation not only influences directly the vertical structure of seawater density, but also dynamically interacts with surrounding ocean fluids in the equatorial Pacific. Numerical models experiments suggest an active role of phytoplankton in the equatorial ocean dynamics by modifying density and thus providing conditions favorable to phytoplankton growth, i.e., the potential positive feedback mechanism between the ecosystem and the ocean dynamics. A mechanistic model proposed here is simple enough to identify the cause-and-effect relationship of the phytoplankton's active role in the earth system