Factors affecting the estimate of primary production from space

Remote sensing of primary production in the euphotic zone has been based mostly on visible‐band water‐leaving radiance measured with the coastal zone color scanner. There are some robust, simple relationships for calculating integral production based on surface measurements, but they also require knowledge of photoadaptive parameters such as maximum photosynthesis which currently cannot be obtained from space. A 17,000‐station data set is used to show that space‐based estimates of maximum photosynthesis could improve predictions of ψ, the water column light utilization index, which is an important term in many primary productivity models. Temperature is also examined as a factor for predicting hydrographic structure and primary production. A simple model is used to relate temperature and maximum photosynthesis; the model incorporates (1) the positive relationship between maximum photosynthesis and temperature and (2) the strongly negative relationship between temperature and nitrate in the ocean (which directly affects maximum growth rates via nitrogen limitation). Since these two factors relate to carbon and nitrogen, “balanced carbon/nitrogen assimilation” was calculated assuming the Redfield ratio. It is expected that the relationship between maximum balanced carbon assimilation versus temperature is concave‐down, with the peak dependent on nitrate uptake kinetics, temperature‐nitrate relationships, and the carbon/chlorophyll ratio. These predictions were compared with sea truth data. The minimum turnover time for nitrate was also calculated using this approach. Lastly, sea surface temperature gradients were used to predict the slope of isotherms (a proxy for the slope of isopycnals in many waters). Sea truth data show that at size scales of several hundred kilometers, surface temperature gradients can provide information on the slope of isotherms in the top 200 m of the water column. This is directly relevant to the supply of nutrients into the surface mixed layer, which is useful for predicting integral biomass and primary production.