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The effect of varying phytoplankton concentration on submarine light transmission in the Gulf of California 1
Author(s) -
Kiefer Dale A.,
Austin Roswell W.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1974.19.1.0055
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , attenuation , seawater , correlation coefficient , attenuation coefficient , environmental science , particle (ecology) , fluorescence , volume (thermodynamics) , oceanography , chemistry , optics , geology , physics , thermodynamics , nutrient , mathematics , statistics , organic chemistry
Beam transmission and phytoplankton fluorescence were measured simultaneously in the Gulf of California. In each profile the depth distribution of the volume attenuation coefficient, α, corrected for the attenuation by particle‐free water, paralleled the distribution of phytoplankton fluorescence. For most open water profiles the correlation coefficient, r, between α and fluorescence was greater than 0.96. The covariation of the two parameters was quantitatively similar for profiles separated by large distances, so that a single linear regression adequately described the correlation for all open water profiles. When considered in terms of particle scattering theory, the correlation indicated that nonphytoplankton material in seawater consisted of two components: one which remained constant with depth and locale and one whose optical cross section covaried with that of phytoplankton.