Ocean biogeochemistry plays a crucial role in sustaining the marine ecosystem and global carbon cycle. To investigate the oceanic biogeochemical responses to iron parameters in the tropical Pacific, we conducted sensitivity experiments using the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean–Tracers of Ocean Phytoplankton with Allometric Zooplankton (NEMO-TOPAZ) model. Compared to observations, the NEMO-TOPAZ model overestimated the concentrations of chlorophyll and dissolved iron (DFe). The sensitivity tests showed that with increasing (+50%) iron scavenging rates, chlorophyll concentrations in the tropical Pacific were reduced by approximately 16%. The bias in DFe also decreased by approximately 7%; however, the sea surface temperature was not affected. As such, these results can facilitate the development of the model tuning strategy to improve ocean biogeochemical performance using the NEMOTOPAZ model.

Biogeochemical processes play an important role in ocean environments and can affect the entire Earth’s climate system. Using an ocean-biogeochemistry model (NEMO-TOPAZ), we investigated the effects of changes in albedo and wind stress caused by phytoplankton in the equatorial Pacific. The simulated ocean temperature showed a slight decrease when the solar reflectance of the regions where phytoplankton were present increased. Phytoplankton also decreased the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplitude by decreasing the influence of trade winds due to their biological enhancement of upper-ocean turbulent viscosity. Consequently, the cold sea surface temperature bias in the equatorial Pacific and overestimation of the ENSO amplitude were slightly reduced in our model simulations. Further sensitivity tests suggested the necessity of improving the phytoplankton-related equation and optimal coefficients. Our results highlight the effects of altered albedo and wind stress due to phytoplankton on the climate system.