A preliminary model of iron fertilisation by baleen whales and Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean: Sensitivity of primary productivity estimates to parameter uncertainty

The high degree of uncertainty around the magnitude of these increases in primary productivity is mainly due to our limited quantitative understanding of key biogeochemical processes. To reduce uncertainty regarding the effect of whales on Southern Ocean primary productivity, future research will need to refine our understanding of five influential model parameters: iron content in krill; krill consumption rates by whales; persistence of whale faecal iron in the photic zone; bioavailability of this retained iron; and the carbon-to-iron ratio of phytoplankton.