The control of the production process of phytoplankton by the physical structure of the aquatic environment with special reference to its optical properties

This tutorial was designed for nonbiologists requiring an introduction to the nature and general timescales of phytoplankton responses to physical forcing in aquatic environments. As such, an effort was made to highlight biological markers which might assist in identifying, measuring and/or validating physical processes controlling the variability in the distribution, abundance, composition and activity of phytoplankton communities. Given the recent advances in environmental optics and remote sensing capabilities, a special emphasis was placed on the nature and utility of phytoplankton optical properties in current bio-optical modelling efforts to predict temporal and spatial variability in phytoplankton productivity and growth.