Mediterranean Ecosystem
Analysis and Forecast

The Ecological Modelling Group (ECHO) of the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) has just opened three postdoc positions for marine ecosystem modellers. The formal call is available at the website https://www.inogs.it/en/node/1799. The deadline for application is 21/01/2022. A brief description of the three positions with a summary of the relevant information is in attachment. For general scientific enquiries regarding the positions, please contact: Stefano Querin (squerin@inogs.it, position n. 1), Simone Libralato (slibralato@inogs.it, position n.

The Mediterranean biogeochemical reanalysis of the Copernicus Marine Service has been recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science and provides information on changes and variability in the Mediterranean Sea over the past decades. The reanalysis integrates several novel elements: ERA5 atmospheric forcing, coupling with the new 1/24° physical reanalysis, updated versions of the BFM model and biogeochemical variational assimilation scheme, and several updated observational datasets for assimilation and validation purposes.

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.