The 2007 North Atlantic spring bloom in operational analysis from the TOPAZ system

Abstract

Abstract. A reanalysis of the North Atlantic spring bloom in 2007 was produced using the real-time analyses from the TOPAZ (Towards an Operational Prediction system for the North Atlantic European coastal Zones) North Atlantic and Arctic forecasting system. The TOPAZ system uses a hybrid coordinate general circulation ocean model and assimilates physical observations: sea surface anomalies, sea surface temperatures, and sea-ice concentrations using the Ensemble Kalman Filter. This ocean model was coupled to an ecosystem model, NORWECOM (Norwegian Ecological Model System), and the TOPAZ-NORWECOM coupled model was run throughout the spring and summer of 2007. The ecosystem model was run online, restarting from analyzed physical fields (result after data assimilation) every 7 days. Biological variables were not assimilated in the model. The forecast was compared to remotely sensed chlorophyll and in-situ data. The impact of physical data assimilation on the ecosystem model was determined by comparing the results to those from a model without assimilation of physical data. The regions of focus are the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The results show that the model reproduces a realistic annual cycle, but the chlorophyll concentrations tend to be too low during winter and spring and too high during summer. Surface nutrients on the other hand are generally too low throughout the year. Assimilation of physical variables does not affect the results from the ecosystem model significantly. The differences between the weekly mean values of chlorophyll are normally within 5–10% during the summer months, and the maximum difference of ~20% occurs in the Arctic, also during summer. Special attention was paid to the nutrient input from the North Atlantic to the Nordic Seas and the impact of ice-assimilation on the ecosystem. The ice-assimilation increased the phytoplankton concentration: because there was less ice in the assimilation run, this increased both the mixing of nutrients during winter and the area where production could occur during summer.