Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS24 Optics

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001, Time: 4:45:00 PM

Location: Sandia/Santa Ana

Keith, D, J, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlantic Ecology Div, Narragansett, R.I., USA, keith.darryl@epa.gov

Yoder, J, A, Graduate School of Oceanography, Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett, R.I., USA, jyoder@gso.uri.edu

Freeman, S, A, Graduate School of Oceanography, Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett, R.I., USA, freeman@gso.uri.edu

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF CDOM IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COASTAL WATERS

The concentration of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is a primary factor affecting the absorption of incident sunlight in coastal and estuarine waters. CDOM is extracted from water-soluble humic substances and transported by runoff into lakes and coastal waters. CDOM is also created by the in situ decomposition of phytoplankton or seaweed in biologically productive waters. CDOM absorption data have been collected from a variety of waters. However, there are a limited number of measurements along the US east coast and a general lack of data from New England waters. This study characterized the temporal and spatial variability of CDOM absorption over an annual cycle in Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound (Rhode Island) and related CDOM variability to remotely sensed reflectance. Results suggest that Narragansett Bay is a CDOM-dominated estuary and the magnitude of CDOM concentration is related to the salinity gradient in the local waters and the seasonal freshwater input from surrounding watersheds. The data indicate that the average CDOM absorption coefficient at 412 nm was 0.44 (/m) and the average spectral slope was 0.021 (nm).

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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