Deep chlorophyll maximum and nutricline in the Mediterranean Sea: emerging properties from a multi-platform assimilated biogeochemical model experiment

During summer, maxima of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration (DCM) occur in the subsurface of the Mediterranean Sea and can play a relevant role in carbon sequestration into the ocean interior. A numerical model based on in situ and satellite observations provides insights into the range of DCM conditions across the relatively small Mediterranean Sea and shows a western DCM that is 25 % shallower and with a higher phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration than in the eastern Mediterranean. https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/18/6147/2021/