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Global particulate matter pool temporal variability over the SeaWiFS period (1997–2007)
Author(s) -
Vantrepotte V.,
Loisel H.,
Mélin F.,
Desailly D.,
DuforêtGaurier L.
Publication year - 2011
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 - 10.1029/2010gl046167
Subject(s) - seawifs , particulates , environmental science , period (music) , climatology , atmospheric sciences , geology , physics , ecology , phytoplankton , nutrient , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry , acoustics
Major patterns of temporal variability associated with marine particulate backscattering coefficient at 490 nm (b bp (490), an indicator of the particulate organic carbon concentration) and particle backscattering spectral dependency γ (a proxy for the relative proportion between small and large particles) are investigated with a 10‐year SeaWiFS series. Generally, the contribution of the seasonal cycle to the series variance has a similar spatial pattern for γ and the chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a ). The spatial distribution of significant monotonic changes for γ and Chl a (reaching up to ±5% yr −1 ) is also comparable with opposite signs of the slope, indicating that inter‐annual changes in Chl a and average particle size are often positively correlated. Conversely, spatial patterns of seasonality and trend found for b bp (490) often differ from those of Chl a and γ . Particularly, large seasonal signals for b bp (490) are seen poleward of 45° while high seasonality for Chl a and γ is found in two mid‐latitude zonal belts (∼20°–40° latitude). Significant changes in b bp (490) over the considered decade are much fewer and usually not significant in areas where strong positive or negative changes in Chl a have been detected. This suggests that the changes in phytoplankton have not been translated in terms of overall particle stock.