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Abstract. We describe the third version of Minnesota Earth System Model for Oceanbiogeochemistry (MESMO 3), an Earth system model of intermediate complexity,with a dynamical ocean, dynamic–thermodynamic sea ice, and an energy–moisture-balanced atmosphere. A major feature of version 3 is the flexibleC:N:P ratio for the three phytoplankton functional types represented in themodel. The flexible stoichiometry is based on the power law formulation withenvironmental dependence on phosphate, nitrate, temperature, and light.Other new features include nitrogen fixation, water column denitrification,oxygen and temperature-dependent organic matter remineralization, andCaCO3 production based on the concept of the residual nitrate potentialgrowth. In addition, we describe the semi-labile and refractory dissolved organicpools of C, N, P, and Fe that can be enabled in MESMO 3 as an optionalfeature. The refractory dissolved organic matter can be degraded byphotodegradation at the surface and hydrothermal vent degradation at thebottom. These improvements provide a basis for using MESMO 3 in furtherinvestigations of the global marine carbon cycle to changes in theenvironmental conditions of the past, present, and future.