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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. C5, 3154, doi:10.1029/2001JC001226, 2003

Impact of a deep ozone hole on Southern Ocean primary production

Kevin R. Arrigo

Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA


Dan Lubin

California Space Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA


Gert L. van Dijken

Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA


Osmund Holm-Hansen

Marine Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA


Esther Morrow

California Space Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA


Abstract

Field studies show that photosynthesis by Antarctic phytoplankton is inhibited by the increased ultraviolet radiation (UVR) resulting from springtime stratospheric ozone (O3) depletion. To extend previous observations, a numerical model utilizing satellite-derived distributions of O3, clouds, sea ice, surface temperature, and phytoplankton biomass was developed to study the hemispheric-scale seasonal effects of a deep Antarctic O3 hole on primary production in the Southern Ocean. UVR-induced losses of surface phytoplankton production were substantial under all O3 conditions, mostly due to UVA. However, when integrated to the 0.1% light depth, the loss of primary production resulting from enhanced fluxes of UVB due to O3 depletion was <0.25%. The loss of primary production is minimized by the strong attenuation of UVR within the water column and by sea ice which is at its peak extent at the time of the most severe O3 depletion.

Received 16 November 2001; accepted 25 February 2003; published 22 May 2003.

Index Terms: 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); 1635 Global Change: Oceans (4203); 1640 Global Change: Remote sensing; 4842 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Modeling.

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Citation: Arrigo, K. R., D. Lubin, G. L. van Dijken, O. Holm-Hansen, and E. Morrow (2003), Impact of a deep ozone hole on Southern Ocean primary production, J. Geophys. Res., 108(C5), 3154, doi:10.1029/2001JC001226.