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Seasonal and inter‐annual variability of particulate organic matter in the global ocean
Author(s) -
Loisel Hubert,
Nicolas JeanMarc,
Deschamps PierreYves,
Frouin Robert
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 - 10.1029/2002gl015948
Subject(s) - particulates , environmental science , ocean color , seasonality , particulate organic carbon , latitude , atmospheric sciences , chlorophyll a , satellite , particulate organic matter , total organic carbon , climatology , oceanography , phytoplankton , environmental chemistry , geology , nutrient , chemistry , ecology , biology , physics , biochemistry , geodesy , astronomy
The geographic distribution and seasonal to inter‐annual variability of the particulate backscattering coefficient, b bp , is described and compared with that of chlorophyll concentration, Chl . Both variables are obtained from satellite‐derived ocean color and inverse modeling. In general, b bp exhibits larger seasonal variations than Chl, and the b bp values are more evenly distributed in space, especially at low and middle latitudes. A phase shift between the annual cycles of b bp and Chl is evidenced, and is attributed to the presence of an important pool of non‐pigmented particles. Converting b bp to particulate organic carbon, POC , the annual mean surface POC pool between 60°S and 60°N is about 19 Tg C per meter.