Extending the SeaWiFS chlorophyll data set back 50 years in the northeast Atlantic
Abstract
Phytoplankton play a key role in biogeochemical cycling and climate processes. Precise quantitative measurements of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), a measure of phytoplankton biomass, have only been available globally since 1997 from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). In the North Atlantic, semi-quantitative measurements of chlorophyll (Phytoplankton Color Index, PCI) for >50 years have been collected by the Continuous Plankton Recorder. Here we demonstrate a significant correlation between PCI and SeaWiFS Chl-a from 1997-2002. Combining both time series allows quantification of the stepwise increase in biomass in the mid-1980s this regime shift corresponded to a 60% increase in Chl-a. This was a result of an 80% increase in Chl-a during winter, alongside a smaller summer increase. This new high-resolution data set on the monthly variation of Chl-a in the North Atlantic since 1948 is now available for the development and validation of climate models, and for interpretation of ecological changes related to climate.
- Publication:
-
Geophysical Research Letters
- Pub Date:
- March 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1029/2005GL022484
- Bibcode:
- 2005GeoRL..32.6603R
- Keywords:
-
- Oceanography: General: Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes (0689;
- 2487;
- 3285;
- 4455;
- 6934);
- Oceanography: General: Climate and interannual variability (1616;
- 1635;
- 3305;
- 3309;
- 4513);
- Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Phytoplankton;
- Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Ecosystems;
- structure;
- dynamics;
- and modeling (0439)