Recent studies have suggested that accurate predictions of particle export flux can be derived from satellite-based estimates of phytoplankton biomass and net primary production (NPP), combined with models of the food web. We evaluate the performance of this approach using the output of a high-resolution, basin-scale coupled physical-biogeochemical model. There is tight correlation between the annual mean export flux simulated by the biogeochemical model and that predicted by the satellite-based algorithm driven by NPP from the model. Although the satellite-based approach performs well on the annual average, there are significant departures during the course of the year, particularly in spring. NPP and export flux can also become decoupled at the mesoscale, when the dynamics of fronts and eddies cause export to be displaced in space and/or time from the productivity event generating the particulate material. These findings have significant implications for the design of field studies aimed at reducing uncertainties in estimates of export flux.

中文翻译：

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估计卫星观测的粒子输出通量：与生产和输出的空间和时间脱钩相关的挑战

最近的研究表明，粒子输出通量的准确预测可以从基于卫星的浮游植物生物量和净初级生产 (NPP) 估计值以及食物网模型得出。我们使用高分辨率、盆地尺度耦合物理-生物地球化学模型的输出来评估这种方法的性能。生物地球化学模型模拟的年平均出口通量与模型由NPP驱动的基于卫星的算法预测的年平均出口通量之间存在紧密的相关性。虽然基于卫星的方法在年平均上表现良好，但在一年中，特别是在春季，会有显着的偏离。NPP 和出口通量也可以在中尺度上解耦，当前沿和涡流的动力学导致出口在空间和/或时间上从产生颗粒材料的生产力事件中发生位移时。这些发现对旨在减少出口流量估算中的不确定性的实地研究的设计具有重要意义。