Biological production response to coastal

upwelling intensification: insights from a

comparative modeling study
Zouhair Lachkar, zouhair.lachkar@env.ethz.ch, Institute of Biogeochemistry
and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Niki Gruber, nicolas.gruber@env.ethz.ch, Institute of Biogeochemistry and
Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Zouhair Lachkar

Zouhair Lachkar won the prize for the best oral presentation by a young scientist in Workshop 2 at the
recent IMBER IMBIZO II. The prize was the book "Marine Ecosystems and Global Change" edited by
M. Barange et al., Oxford Univ. Press.
Equatorward winds along the eastern
boundaries of the Atlantic and Pacific induce
the upwelling of nutrient-rich water into the
euphotic
zone,
thereby
stimulating
phytoplankton growth and leading to highly
productive marine ecosystems (Pauly and
Christensen, 1995). While supporting very
rich ecosystems, the Eastern Boundary
Upwelling Systems (EBUS) are also
vulnerable
to
various
anthropogenic
perturbations. Directly driven by the
atmospheric circulation, these ecosystems
are particularly sensitive to global climate
change and its potential impact on
alongshore
winds.
Atmospheric
and
sedimentary observations point toward a
recent strengthening of the coastal upwelling
favorable winds (Shannon et al., 1992;
Schwing
and
Mendelssohn,
1997;
Mendelssohn, 2002; McGregor et al., 2007).
This upwelling intensification has been
related to a global warming-induced increase
in the land-sea thermal gradient (Bakun
1990), and is therefore projected to further
Figure 1: Snapshots of simulated surface chlorophyll-a in
increase in the future (Snyder et al, 2003,
the Canary CS (left panel) and the California CS (right
Diffenbaugh et al 2004). Yet, the effects of
panel) in early April.
enhanced upwelling on marine ecosystems
are still largely uncertain. In particular, the
question of how biological productivity in
these systems might respond to such wind
perturbation is still unresolved. While recent
observations generally show the expected
positive trends in primary production in most
EBUS (Kahru et al., 2009, Demarq 2009),
individual
ecosystems
exhibit
very
contrasting sensitivities to comparable
upwelling-favorable changes. Why do these
sensitivities differ?
To answer this question, we undertook a

comparative modeling study contrasting two

of the four major EBUS, namely the
California Current System (California CS)
and the Canary Current System (Canary
CS). Our goal is to explore the dominant
mechanisms controlling the response of
these ecosystems to changes in upwellingfavorable winds. The comparison of these
two systems provides an adequate
framework
for
generalizing
individual
observations and for developing a better
understanding of the underlying dynamics of
EBUS ecosystems in general. We made a
series of eddy-resolving simulations of the Figure 2: (a) left panel: 0-100km nearshore averaged Net
California CS and the Canary CS using the Primary Production (NPP) as simulated with different
Regional Oceanic Modeling System ROMS wind forcings in the California CS (orange) and the
coupled to a nitrogen-based Nutrient- Canary CS (purple). (b) right panel: 0-100km nearshore
Phytoplankton-Detritus-Zooplankton (NPDZ) inventory of nitrate in the euphotic zone as simulated
biogeochemical model (Figure 1). In order to under different wind forcings in the California CS
explore the effects of upwelling-favorable (orange) and the Canary CS (purple).
wind intensification on coastal productivity,
we compare our standard simulations for
both EBUS with those forced with increased
wind stress.
The increased wind simulations show
contrasting productivity responses between
the California CS and Canary CS (Figure 2).
Despite a substantial increase in the nutrient
supply associated with the upwelling
intensification, the productivity shows only a
limited enhancement in the California CS
relative to the Canary CS. The reason for
these differences are, in part, related to the
faster phytoplankton growth in the Canary
CS due to warmer temperatures, which
results in a more efficient use of nutrients in
this system. An additional factor is the rate of
water renewal, i.e. the inverse of the
residence time, in the nearshore area. Using
a Lagrangian diagnostic tool (Blanke and
Raynaud (1997) to evaluate water mass
residence times, generally we indeed found
that the newly upwelled water masses stay
substantially longer in the nearshore area in
the case of the Canary CS, before getting
subducted farther offshore (Figure 3). This
enhances the buildup of biomass in the Figure 3: Water mass residence times (in days) in the 0coastal zone of the Canary CS and leads to 100km nearshore region in the Canary CS (left) and
a more efficient recycling of nutrients California CS (right).
compared to the California CS. Conversely,
the substantially shorter residence times in
the nearshore region of California CS is
associated with a much stronger offshore
export of organic matter, resulting in a less
efficient buildup of biomass and a weaker
recycling of nutrients in the upwelling zone.
Longer water residence time in the Canary CS relative to the California CS has no single explanation.

The shelf topography and the level of eddy activity probably both contribute. The wider continental
shelf in the Canary CS results in an offshore displacement of the upwelling cell, producing an area over
the innershelf where the circulation has almost no cross-shore transport (Marchesiello and Estrade,
2009). This prevents coastal water from being advected offshore, increasing the water residence time
in the innershelf region. The higher level of eddy activity in the California CS may also play an
important role in reducing the water residence times in the coastal region of this system because of a
higher eddy-induced subduction and offshore transport (Gruber et al, submitted).
Overall, our results show that factors affecting characteristic timescales of biological growth such as
temperature and those related to the dynamics of the lateral circulation in coastal upwelling systems
such as the topography of the continental shelf and the level of eddy activity will likely exert a strong
control on the magnitude of the biological response to upwelling intensification. This study also shows
that the biological response to global warming induced upwelling intensification might substantially vary
from one EBUS to another, with major implications for the biogeochemical cycles and sheries in these
rich marine ecosystems.

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