Applying the Marine Modelling Framework to estimate primary production in EU marine waters

Abstract

At the base of the marine food webs, primary producers use the energy from the sun to incorporate nutrients and carbon into their body mass. This process constitutes not only the entrance of matter and energy into the marine ecosystems, but helps also to regulate the climate by absorbing atmospheric CO2. However, obtaining accurate estimates of this crucial ecosystem services is difficult, as field measures are cumbersome and uncertain to make. Remote sensing estimates are typically available for open-sea regions but are not reliable for coastal areas and marginal seas. The numerical models, provided by the Marine Modeling Framework, could help to quantify this key process for the European marine basins. In this report, a compilation of different primary production estimates (field-based, remote sensing and models) for four EU regional seas (Baltic Sea, North-west shelf, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea) are obtained and compared in order to assess the relative deviation of each estimate for each basin and how much modeling estimates could be trusted.