Effects of Dust Storm and Wildfire Events on Phytoplankton Growth and Carbon Sequestration in the Tasman Sea, Southeast Australia

Abstract

Dust storms and wildfires occur frequently in south-eastern Australia. Their effects on the ecology, environment and population exposure have been the focus of many studies recently. Dust storms do not emit ground-sequestered carbon, but wildfires emit significant quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. However, both natural events promote phytoplankton growth in water bodies because carbon, and other trace elements such as iron, deposit on the surface water of oceans. Carbon dioxide is reabsorbed by phytoplankton via photosynthesis. The carbon balance cycle due to dust storms and wildfires is not well known. Recent studies on the carbon emission of the 2019–2020 summer wildfires in eastern Australia indicated that this megafire event emitted approximately 715 million tonnes of CO2 (195 Tg C) into the atmosphere from burned forest areas. This study focusses on the association of dust storms and wildfires in southeastern Australia with phytoplankton growth in the Tasman Sea due to the February 2019 dust storm event and the 2019–2020 Black Summer wildfires. Central Australia and western New South Wales were the sources of the dust storm emission (11 to 16 February 2019), and the Black Summer wildfires occurred along the coast of New South Wales and Victoria (from early November 2019 to early January 2020). The WRF-Chem model is used for dust storm simulation with the AFWA (Air Force Weather Agency of the US) dust emission version of the GOCART model, and the WRF-Chem model is used for wildfire simulation with FINN (Fire Emission Inventory from NCAR) emission data. The results show the similarities and differences in the deposition of particulate matter, phytoplankton growth and carbon reabsorption patterns in the Tasman Sea from these events. A higher rate of deposition of PM2.5 on the ocean surface corresponds to a higher rate of phytoplankton growth. Using the WRF-Chem model, during the 5-day dust storm event in February 2019, approximately ~1230 tons of total dust was predicted to have been deposited in the Tasman Sea, while ~132,000 tons of PM10 was deposited in the early stage of the wildfires from 1 to 8 November 2019.