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Modelling diatom and Phaeocystis blooms and nutrient cycles in the Southern Bight of the North Sea: the MIRO model

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Title Modelling diatom and Phaeocystis blooms and nutrient cycles in the Southern Bight of the North Sea: the MIRO model
Names Lancelot, C. (creator)
Spitz, Y. (creator)
Gypens, N. (creator)
Ruddick, K. (creator)
Becquevort, S. (creator)
Rousseau, V. (creator)
Lacroix, G. (creator)
Billen, G. (creator)
Date Issued 2005 (iso8601)
Abstract The link between anthropogenic nutrient loads and the magnitude and extent of diatom
and Phaeocystis colony blooms in the Southern Bight of the North Sea was explored with the complex
ecosystem model MIRO. The model was adapted for resolving the changing nutrient loads, the complex
biology of the bloom species and the tight coupling between the benthic and pelagic compartments
that characterise this shallow coastal shelf sea ecosystem. State variables included the main
inorganic nutrients (nitrate [NO₃], ammonium [NH₄], phosphate [PO₄] and dissolved silica [DSi]), 3
groups of phytoplankton with different trophic fates (diatoms, nanophytoflagellates and Phaeocystis
colonies), 2 zooplankton groups (copepods and microzooplankton), bacteria, and 5 classes of detrital
organic matter with different biodegradability. The capability of the MIRO model to properly simulate
the observed SW–NE gradient in nutrient enrichment and the seasonal cycle of inorganic and
organic C and nutrients, phytoplankton, bacteria and zooplankton in the eastern English Channel
and Southern Bight of the North Sea is demonstrated by running the model for the period from 1989
to 1999. The MIRO code was implemented in a simplified multi-box representation of the hydrodynamic
regime. These model runs give the first general view of the seasonal dynamics of Phaeocystis
colony blooms and nutrient cycling within the domain. C, N and P budget calculations show that
(1) the coastal ecosystem has a low nutrient retention and elimination capacity, (2) trophic efficiency
of the planktonic system is low, and (3) both are modulated by meteorological forcing.
Genre Article
Topic North Sea
Identifier Lancelot, C., Spitz, Y., Gypens, N., Ruddick, K., Becquevort, S., Rousseau, V., & Lacroix, G. (2005, March 30). Modelling diatom and phaeocystis blooms and nutrient cycles in the Southern Bight of the North Sea: the MIRO model. Marine ecology progress series, 289, 63-78.

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