Climatology and seasonal variability of satellite-derived chlorophyll a around the Shandong Peninsula

The chlorophyll a(Chl a)is an important indicator of marine ecosystems.The spatiotemporal variation of the Chl a greatly aff ects the mariculture and marine ranching in coastal waters of the Shandong Peninsula.In the current study,the climatology and seasonal variability of surface Chl-a concentration around the Shandong Peninsula are investigated based on 16 years(December 2002-November 2018)of satellite observations.The results indicate that the annual mean Chl-a concentration is greater in the Bohai Sea than in the Yellow Sea and decreases from coastal waters to off shore waters.The highest Chl-a concentrations are found in Laizhou Bay(4.2-8.0 mg/m^(3)),Haizhou Bay(4.2-5.9 mg/m^(3))and the northeast coast of the Shandong Peninsula(4.4-5.0 mg/m^(3)),resulting from the combined eff ects of the intense riverine input and long residence time caused by the concave shape of the coastline.The seasonal Chl-a concentration shows a significant spatial variation.The Chl-a concentrations in these three subregions generally exhibit an annual maximum in August/September,due to the combined eff ects of sea surface temperature,river discharge and sea surface wind.In the southeast coast region,however,the Chl-a concentration is lowest throughout the year and reaches a maximum in February with a minimum in July,forced by the seasonal evolution of the Yellow Sea Cold Water and monsoon winds.The interannual Chl-a concentration trends vary among regions and seasons.There are significant increasing trends over a large area around Haizhou Bay from winter to summer,which are mainly caused by the rising sea surface temperature and eutrophication.In other coastal areas,the Chl-a concentration shows decreasing trends,which are clearest in summer and induced by the weakening land rainfall.This study highlights the differences in the Chl-a dynamics among regions around the Shandong Peninsula and is helpful for further studies of coupled physical-ecological-human interactions at multiple scales.