Abstract
Marine carbon cycle processes are important for taking up atmospheric
CO2 thereby reducing
climate change. Biological production is an important pathway of carbon
from the surface to the deep
ocean where it is stored for thousands of years. Climate change can
interact with marine ecosystems
via changes in the ocean stratification and ocean circulation. In this
study we use the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) results
to assess the effect of a
changing climate on biological production and plankton composition in
the high latitude North Atlantic
Ocean. We find a shift in plankton type dominance from diatoms to small
phytoplankton which reduces
net primary and export productivity. Using a conceptual carbon-cycle
model forced with the CESM2 results,
we give a rough estimate of a positive plankton composition-atmospheric
CO2 feedback of approximately
60 GtCO2/K warming in the North Atlantic which affects the 1.5K and 2.0K
warming safe carbon budgets.