Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-182
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-182
Submitted as: model description paper
 | 
28 Oct 2024
Submitted as: model description paper |  | 28 Oct 2024
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal GMD.

BIOPERIANT12: a mesoscale resolving coupled physics-biogeochemical model for the Southern Ocean

Nicolette Chang, Sarah-Anne Nicholson, Marcel du Plessis, Alice D. Lebehot, Thulwaneng Mashifane, Tumelo C. Moalusi, N. Precious Mongwe, and Pedro M. S. Monteiro

Abstract. We present BIOPERIANT12, a regional model configuration of the Southern Ocean (SO) at a mesoscale-resolving 1/12°. This is a stable, ocean–ice–biogeochemical configuration derived from the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) modelling platform. It is specifically designed to investigate questions related to the mean state, seasonal cycle variability and mesoscale processes in the mixed layer and within the upper ocean (<1000 m). In particular, the focus is on understanding processes behind carbon and heat exchange, systematic errors in biogeochemistry and assumptions underlying the parameters chosen to represent these SO processes. The dynamics of the ocean model play a large role in driving ocean biogeochemistry and we show that over the chosen period of analysis 2000–2009 that the simulated dynamics in the upper ocean provide a stable mean state, as compared to observation-based datasets (themselves subject to biases such as sparsity of data, cloud cover, etc.), and through which the characteristics of variability can be described. Using ocean biomes to delineate the major regions of the SO, the model demonstrates a useful representation of ocean biogeochemistry and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2). In addition to a reasonable model mean state performance, through model–data metrics BIOPERIANT12 highlights several pathways for improving Southern Ocean model simulations such as the representation of temporal variability and the overestimation of biological biomass.

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Nicolette Chang, Sarah-Anne Nicholson, Marcel du Plessis, Alice D. Lebehot, Thulwaneng Mashifane, Tumelo C. Moalusi, N. Precious Mongwe, and Pedro M. S. Monteiro

Status: open (until 23 Dec 2024)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • CC1: 'Comment on gmd-2024-182', Takaya Uchida, 29 Oct 2024 reply
    • AC1: 'Reply on CC1', Nicolette Chang, 29 Oct 2024 reply
Nicolette Chang, Sarah-Anne Nicholson, Marcel du Plessis, Alice D. Lebehot, Thulwaneng Mashifane, Tumelo C. Moalusi, N. Precious Mongwe, and Pedro M. S. Monteiro

Model code and software

BIOPERIANT12-CNCLNG01 N. Chang https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8475

BIOPERIANT12-manuscript Nicolette Chang, Sarah-Anne Nicholson, Marcel du Plessis, Alice D. Lebehot, Thulwaneng Mashifane, and Tumelo C. Moalusi https://github.com/nicolettechang/BIOPERIANT12-manuscript

Nicolette Chang, Sarah-Anne Nicholson, Marcel du Plessis, Alice D. Lebehot, Thulwaneng Mashifane, Tumelo C. Moalusi, N. Precious Mongwe, and Pedro M. S. Monteiro

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Short summary
Mesoscale features (10's to 100's of km) in the Southern Ocean (SO) are crucial for global heat and carbon transport, but often unresolved in models due to high computational costs. To address this source of uncertainty, we use a regional, NEMO model of the SO at 8 km resolution with coupled ocean, ice, and biogeochemistry, BIOPERIANT12. This serves as an experimental platform to explore physical-biogeochemical interactions, model parameters/formulations, and configuring future models.