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Impact of Temporal Variation of Chlorophyll‐Specific Absorption on Phytoplankton Phenology Observed From Ocean Color Satellite: A Numerical Experiment
Author(s) -
Lee Zhongping,
Shang Shaoling,
Zhang Shuai,
Wu Jinghui,
Wei Guomei,
Wu Xiuling
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1029/2020jc016382
Subject(s) - ocean color , satellite , phenology , phytoplankton , environmental science , variation (astronomy) , oceanography , chlorophyll a , atmospheric sciences , remote sensing , climatology , geography , geology , biology , ecology , botany , astronomy , physics , nutrient
We designed a numerical experiment to characterize the impact of a dynamic chlorophyll‐specific absorption coefficient ( a ph ∗ ) on the retrieved temporal pattern of chlorophyll concentration ( Chl ) from ocean color ( R rs ). It is found that, even for oceanic waters, without consideration of the temporal variation ofa ph ∗ , Chl derived from a synthesized annual R rs using the “standard” ocean color algorithms will generate false dynamic patterns of Chl or questionable phytoplankton phenology. For instance, for an annual Chl with spring and fall blooms, the inverted Chl from R rs could show a delay of spring bloom by ∼1–3 weeks, along with a perceived earlier appearance of fall bloom or a false bloom during summer. These results highlight the complex relationships between R rs (an optical property) and Chl (a biological property) in aquatic environments, in particular, the importance and necessity to characterize and understand the temporal variations ofa ph ∗ .