Spectral model of depth-integrated water column photosynthesis and its inhibition by ultraviolet radiation

Depth‐integrated models of primary production (DIMs) are used to estimate water column photosynthesis as a function of chlorophyll concentration, irradiance at the surface, the penetration of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), and parameters of the relationship between photosynthesis and PAR. These models are inherently unable to account for variability in the ratio of photosynthetically utilizable radiation (PUR) to PAR with depth and water type, and they cannot account for the inhibition of photosynthesis by ultraviolet radiation, UVR. These important spectral effects — all sensitive to climate change — are readily described with numerical models that require many computations and are unsuitable for some important applications, including the estimation of aquatic productivity from remote sensing. We present a simple DIM that accounts for the spectral effects of irradiance on photosynthesis, including inhibition by UVR. Water column photosynthesis, normalized to surface chlorophyll and scaled to the maximum rate per unit chlorophyll, is described as a function of four dimensionless derived variables:E*PUR, PUR at the surface scaled to the saturation irradiance for photosynthesis; T*PUR, water transparency, normalized to a depth scale and weighted spectrally for photosynthetic absorption; E*PIR, surface irradiance weighted spectrally for inhibition of photosynthesis; and T*PIR, scaled transparency weighted for photosynthesis‐inhibiting radiation. Simple functions of these variables closely approximate (within 6%) the results of a full‐spectral numerical model of instantaneous and daily integrated water column photosynthesis with and without UVR for a broad range of water types, solar angles, stratospheric ozone concentrations and biological properties of phytoplankton. The spectral DIM is suitable for examining patterns in global ocean productivity and can be used to assess the biological effects of variations in solar radiation (e.g., ozone depletion) and water clarity in climate‐change scenarios for lakes and oceans. Key Points A new model accounts for spectral effects of sunlight on aquatic photosynthesis Simple functions of 4 derived variables can be substituted for complex models The approach can be used to assess biological effects in climate‐change scenarios