Premium
Is desert dust making oligotrophic waters greener?
Author(s) -
Claustre H.,
Morel A.,
Hooker S. B.,
Babin M.,
Antoine D.,
Oubelkheir K.,
Bricaud A.,
Leblanc K.,
Quéguiner B.,
Maritorena S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl014056
Subject(s) - upwelling , phytoplankton , oceanography , mediterranean sea , environmental science , mineral dust , chlorophyll a , ocean color , mediterranean climate , northern hemisphere , atmospheric sciences , geology , nutrient , aerosol , satellite , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , aerospace engineering , engineering , biology
In situ optical measurements provide evidence that oligotrophic waters of the Mediterranean Sea have a greener color than would result from their phytoplankton content alone. This anomaly, detectable in low chlorophyll waters, remains unnoticed in the chlorophyll‐rich waters of the nearby waters of the Moroccan upwelling zone. It is due to enhanced absorption in the blue and enhanced backscattering in the green parts of the visible spectrum likely resulting from the presence of submicron Saharan dust in suspension within the upper layer. This result implies that regional estimations of carbon fixation from ocean color images might be significantly overestimated, not only in the Mediterranean Sea, but also in other oligotrophic areas of the Northern hemisphere, subjected to desert dust deposition.