Modelling the biogeochemistry of the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian coast: model description and validation
A three-dimensional coupled hydrodynamic biogeochemical model has been implemented in the Bay of Biscay and the western Iberian Coast. The hydrodynamic model used was the General Estuarine Transport Model combined with the General Ocean Turbulence Model. The biogeochemical component was a simplified version of the European Regional Seas Marine Ecosystem Model here developed in order to make the model less computationally expensive. The new model was 45% faster than the full version without losing capability in reproducing nutrients and chlorophyll dynamics. The coupled model was run for 8 years and the main biogeochemical variables were compared with remote sensed estimates, literature data and a COPERNICUS reanalysis. The validation exercise highlighted strengths and weakness. On the one hand, the model was able to reproduce the main features of the system such as the timing of the spring bloom and the upwelling along coastal areas, on the other, model simulations overestimated chlorophyll in the northern part of the basin in spring, and underestimated it along the Iberian coast during the upwelling season. While these aspects are improvable and deserve further investigation, the presented simulation is already usable as benchmark to assess the effects of changing pressures and the effectiveness of measures on nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton biomass. The presented model provides a useful tool for the assessment of descriptor D5 (eutrophication) of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
FERREIRA CORDEIRO Nuno;
POLIMENE Luca;
STIPS Adolf;
MACIAS MOY Diego;
2022-09-22
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC130407
978-92-76-56885-8 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 31217 EN,
OP KJ-NA-31-217-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC130407,
10.2760/953750 (online),
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