Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC02 Optical Studies in Aquatic Ecosystems

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Reynolds, R, A, Washington State Dept. of Ecology, Olympia, USA, reynolds@ocean.washington.edu

Stramski, D, , Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, USA, stramski@mpl.ucsd.edu

Mitchell, B, G, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, USA, gmitchell@ucsd.edu

A SEMIANALYTICAL REFLECTANCE MODEL DERIVED FROM FIELD MEASUREMENTS OF ABSORPTION AND BACKSCATTERING COEFFICIENTS WITHIN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN

A semianalytical model was developed for the prediction of spectral remote-sensing reflectance as a function of chlorophyll a concentration (Chl) for two regions within the Southern Ocean; the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Polar Front Zone (APFZ). The model is based upon Chl-dependent parameterizations, derived from field measurements, of the spectral absorption and backscattering coefficients of seawater. The relationship between absorption and Chl was observed to be similar in both regions, but for comparable Chl the particulate backscattering was on average four times greater in the APFZ. The model is used to examine the separate influences of absorption and backscattering on blue to green ratios of reflectance, and modeled relationships are compared with published empirical algorithms for estimating Chl. We conclude that backscattering is the primary cause of the observed differentiation in the reflectance versus Chl relationships between the APFZ and the Ross Sea.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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