Toward a Predictive Understanding of Primary Productivity in a Temperate, Partially Stratified Estuary

Reevaluating the Generality of an Empirical Model for Light-Limited Primary Production in the San Francisco Estuary

“…Although there is general agreement in y values for several light-limited, nutrient-replete system (Brush et al 2002), investigators working in other estuaries have also reported significant spatial and temporal variation in y (e.g., Pennock and Sharp 1986;Kromkamp et al 1995;Falkowski and Raven 2002;Harding et al 2002). For example, Harding et al (2002) found that the light-utilization model was a poor predictor of primary production from samples taken throughout the Chesapeake Bay during 1982-2000, whereas Kromkamp et al (1995) reported variation in y of more than threefold across locations in the Scheldt Estuary during a single sampling date.…”

“…For example, Harding et al (2002) found that the light-utilization model was a poor predictor of primary production from samples taken throughout the Chesapeake Bay during 1982-2000, whereas Kromkamp et al (1995) reported variation in y of more than threefold across locations in the Scheldt Estuary during a single sampling date. The spatial and temporal variability of y observed here for the SFE suggests that other factors besides those captured by the composite parameter may play a previously underappreciated role in determining ΣP in the SFE.…”

“…For the past several decades, one approach used for estimating estuarine pelagic primary production has relied on empirical models of light-limited primary production based on variables that are more easily measured than either oxygen production (Gaarder and Gran 1927) or 14 C-labeled tracer bicarbonate uptake (Steemann Nielsen 1952). The "light-utilization" productivity model (Harding et al 2002), developed during the 1980s for the light-limited San Francisco Estuary (SFE), provides estimates of depth-integrated primary production from measurements of chlorophyll, daily photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and water column light attenuation (Cole and Cloern 1984). The original SFE model calibration was subsequently shown to be generally applicable to several light-limited estuaries (Cole and Cloern 1987) and invariant with time in the SFE (Alpine and Cloern 1992;Jassby et al 2002).…”

Bio-optical modelling of primary production in the SW Finnish coastal zone, Baltic Sea: fast repetition rate fluorometry in Case 2 waters

“…The above-mentioned parameters have been used, along with irradiance, as the basis of numerous bio-optical models to derive estimates of PP (e.g. Smith et al 1989, Harding et al 2002. As a summary of recent progress, Behrenfeld & Falkowski (1997) presented a classification system for determining daily PP depending on the level of integration over depth/time/spectral scales.…”

Simulating Particulate Organic Advection along Bottom Slopes to Improve Simulation of Estuarine Hypoxia and Anoxia

“…This supports the idea that the inability in the simulation of anoxia in the channel may be due in part to the lack of transport of volatile suspended sediments from the shallows to the channel, and that implementing movement of particulate organics along slopes can improve the simulation. In models of this type without an explicit simulation of resuspension and transport of particulate organics this approach may be important in order to represent the role of primary production and its fate [11]. Fig.…”