Vertical variations in the bio-optical properties of seawater in the northern South China Sea during summer 2008

Vertical variability in the bio-optical properties of seawater in the northern South China Sea(NSCS)including inherent optical properties(IOPs)and chlorophyll a concentration(Chl)were studied on the basis of in situ data collected in summer 2008 using an absorption/attenuation spectrophotometer.An empirical model was developed to estimate Chl profiles based on the absorption line height at long wavelengths,with a relative root mean square error of 37.03%.Bio-optical properties exhibited large horizontal and vertical spatial variability.As influenced by coastal upwelling and the Zhujiang River(Pearl River)discharge,both IOPs and Chl exhibited high values in the surface waters of the inner shelf,which tended to decrease with distance offshore.Subsurface maximum layers of IOPs and Chl were observed in the middle and outer shelf regions,along with significantly higher values of attenuation coefficients beneath this layer that rapidly increased towards the bottom.In the open ocean,both IOPs and Chl exhibited consistent variability,with the subsurface maximum layer typically located at34–84 m.Phytoplankton were found to be one of the major components in determining the vertical variability of bio-optical properties,with their vertical dynamics influenced by both physical forcing and light attenuation effects.The depth of the subsurface maximum layer was found to be closely related to the fluctuation of the oceanic thermocline and the depth of the euphotic zone,which also affected the total integrated biomass of the upper ocean.Typically high values of attenuation coefficients observed in the bottom waters of the continental shelf reflected the transport of particulate matter over the bottom boundary layer.Our results reveal large spatial differences in bio-optical profiles in response to complex marine ecodynamics in the NSCS.From the perspective of marine research,high-resolution optical measurements are clearly advantageous over conventional bottle sampling.

Ecological Zonation of Phytoplankton and Biomass Based on Bio-Optical Parameters off Baja California during Three Summer Seasons

An ecological zonation of phytoplankton was determined from its normalized spectral absorption shape (aphn) during the summers of 2001-02-03 off the west coast of Baja California. In the first two seasons, the highest abundances of the main taxonomic groups of phytoplankton were detected towards the coastal stations, but for 2003, diatoms showed higher abundances towards the oceanic region. The ecological provinces (Pv) were the footprint of the zonation in the structure of the phytoplankton community;likewise, it was observed that the spectral shape was independent of the chlorophyll-a (mg·m-3). The effect of coastal upwelling south of Vizcaíno Bay favored the increase of phytoplankton cells. However, the composition of the community decreased in cells abundance and diversity due to the influence of the phenomenon called El Nino “débil” reported to the south of the California Current for the years 2002-03.

Estimation of suspended sediment concentration based on bio-optical mechanism and HJ-1 image in Chaohu Lake

Synchronization experiment was conducted in June,2009 to get Inherent Optical Properties(IOP) of water component in Chaohu Lake.Water bio-optical mechanism was studied combined with multispectral data of Environmental Satellite 1(CCD),and then inversion models of total suspended matter(TSM),inorganic suspended matter(ISM) and organic suspended matter(OSM) concentration were built.The data indicated that:the absorption ratio of suspended particulate matter and CDOM to total were almost no change from band 1 to band 2 with about 85% and 9%,respectively.The ratio of pure water to total increased from 0.4% to 5.6%.Water reflectance in these two bands were influenced by absorption of three kinds of components:algae particles absorption surpassed non-algal particles in band 3,and so played an important role in total absorption with about 35.7%;the proportion of pure water absorption and particles matter backscattering both were 99% in band 4,so these two components decided the main inherent optical properties in band 4.The models of TSM and ISM concentration inversion based on band combination(band 3 + band 4)/(band 1 + band 2) were built,while OSM concentration was estimated by band 4/(band 1 + band 2) index.Inversed by image data,RE of TSM concentration between modeled and measured was 33.4%,and RMSE was 18.68 mg/L.RE of ISM and OSM concentration were 39.9% and 35.2% respectively.The inversion was more accurate when satellite-ground data were just in the same day.At this situation,RE of ISM concentration dropped to 25.4%,and that of TSM and OSM reduced to 26.5% and 26.8% as well.

Variability of phytoplankton absorption in the northern South China Sea:influence of the size structure and pigment composition of algal populations

Data from three cruises conducted in the Zhujiang River （ZR）, coastal waters of Guangdong （CWGD） and the northern South China Sea （NSCS） during 2003 and 2004 were examined for assessing the relative importance of pigment composition and packaging effect in modifying the specific absorption coefficients of phytoplankton. The three survey regions differ widely in their phytoplankton community with large cells dominating the ZR and CWGD waters and small cells dominating the NSCS region. Variations in the size structure and the accessory pigments have much effect on the chlorophyll a-specific absorption coefficient of phytoplankton. The size index accounted for about 42% and 33% of the variation of the specific absorption coefficient at 440 and 675 nm, respectively. Using the multiple regression analysis approach, pigment concentrations for each sample were calculated. The accessory pigments other than chlorophyll a contribute to absorption mainly in the blue - to - green region of the spectrum and their absorptions account for about 44%, 43% and 53% on the average of the total phytoplankton absorption at 440 nm for the ZR, CWGD and NSCS regions. Among the accessory pigments, the photosynthetic carotenoids （noted PSC） play a dominant role in the ZR and CWGD waters, while in the NSCS the nonphotosynthetic carotenoids （noted PPG） as well as PSC have important contributions. Because the variations of both the size structure and accessory pigments in algal populations contributed to the variability of the specific absorption coefficient in the study regions, these factors may be considered explicitly in future bio - optical algorithms to derive chlorophyll a concentration more accurately.

An Optical Model for the Remote-Sensing of Absorption Coefficients of Phytoplankton in Oceanic/Coastal Waters

A new model for the remote sensing of absorption coefficients of phytoplankton aph (λ) in oceanic and coastal waters is developed and tested with SeaWiFS and MODIS-Aqua data. The model is derived from a rela-tionship of the remote sensing reflectance ratio Rrs (670)/Rrs (490) and aph (490) and aph (670) (from large in-situ data sets). When compared with over 470 independent in-situ data sets, the model provides accurate retrievals of the aph (λ) across the visible spectrum, with mean relative error less than 8%, slope close to unity and R2 greater than 0.8. Further comparison of the SeaWiFS-derived aph (λ) with in-situ aph (λ) values gives similar and consistent results. The model when used for analysis of MODIS-Aqua imagery, provides more realistic values of the phytoplankton absorption coefficients capturing spatial structures of the massive algal blooms in surface waters of the Arabian Sea. These results demonstrate that the new algorithm works well for both the coastal and open ocean waters observed and suggest a potential of using remote sensing to provide knowledge on the shape of phytoplankton absorption spectra that are a requirement in many inverse models to estimate phytoplankton pigment concentrations and for input into bio-optical models that predict carbon fixation rates for the global ocean.

Estimation of Growth Area of Aquatic Macrophytes Expanding Spontaneously in Lake Shinji Using ASTER Data

In this study, we estimated the growth area of aquatic macrophytes that have expanded spontaneously in Lake Shinji, located in eastern Shimane Prefecture, Japan, using Terra satellite Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data. Visible and near infrared ASTER data from April, August, and September 2012 were used. The water depth at which ASTER can detect submersed aquatic macrophytes using in situ spectral reflectance of aquatic macrophytes and a bio-optical model was also examined. As a result, when the threshold value of a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was set to 0, only aquatic macrophytes up to a depth of approximately 10 cm could be detected. The growth area of aquatic macrophytes detected by NDVI from ASTER data was in relatively good agreement with the growth area as observed by aerial photography.

Remote sensing of cyanobacterial blooms in inland waters: present knowledge and future challenges

Timely monitoring, detection and quantification of cyanobacterial blooms are especially important for controlling public health risks and understanding aquatic ecosystem dynamics. Due to the advantages of simultaneous data acquisition over large geographical areas and high temporal coverage, remote sensing strongly facilitates cyanobacterial bloom monitoring in inland waters. We provide a comprehensive review regarding cyanobacterial bloom remote sensing in inland waters including cyanobacterial optical characteristics, operational remote sensing algorithms of chlorophyll, phycocyanin and cyanobacterial bloom areas, and satellite imaging applications. We conclude that there have many significant progresses in the remote sensing algorithm of cyanobacterial pigments over the past 30 years. The band ratio algorithms in the red and near-infrared(NIR) spectral regions have great potential for the remote estimation of chlorophyll a in eutrophic and hypereutrophic inland waters, and the floating algae index(FAI) is the most widely used spectral index for detecting dense cyanobacterial blooms. Landsat, MODIS(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and MERIS(MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) are the most widely used products for monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics of cyanobacteria in inland waters due to the appropriate temporal, spatial and spectral resolutions. Future work should primarily focus on the development of universal algorithms, remote retrievals of cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic waters, and the algorithm applicability to mapping phycocyanin at a large spatial-temporal scale. The applications of satellite images will greatly improve our understanding of the driving mechanism of cyanobacterial blooms by combining numerical and ecosystem dynamics models.

Review of near-shore satellite derived bathymetry: Classification and account of five decades of coastal bathymetry research

The number of civilian,commercial and military applications are dependant on accurate knowledge of bathymetry of coastal regions.Conventionally,hydrographic surveying methods are used for bathymetric surveys carried by ship-based acoustic systems,but needs highcost resources.Space technology has provided a cost-effective alternate means for charting near shore and inaccessible waters.The optical satellite data have capabilities to offer alternate solution in near-shore region,which has been researched for past 50 years,using evolving algorithms to estimate Satellite Derived Bathymetry(SDB).However,there is no agreement on use of terms like approach,model,method and techniques,which have been used varyingly and interchangeably as per context of SDB research.This paper suggests a classification scheme for SDB algorithms which is also applicable to other Marine Remote Sensing studies.In this paper,based on literature available on SDB for the past five decades,an insight on SDB classification has been offered grounded in research philosophy.The SDB approaches,models,methods and techniques have been elaborated with chronological development,along with SDB studies based on them,their accuracy and errors in SDB retrieval.We have suggested a matrix of prerequisite satellite data,in-situ data resolution,methods and algorithms of SDB based on level of accuracy needs to be achieved,which will guide future researchers to select one as per their context of research.