Bio-optical mapping procedure for the North Atlantic Ocean

We have developed a bio-optical profile model which attempts to predict the vertical distribution of chlorophyll and the coefficients for diffuse downwelling irradiance attenuation and beam attenuation from measurements at the sea surface. In this paper we test the ability of this model to `fit' the vertical profiles measured at 117 stations in the North Atlantic. In general predicted values for the vertical distribution of chlorophyll and the beam attenuation coefficient fall within about 35% of measured values. In order to understand the pattern of distribution for the 7 tuning coefficients, we have calculated the principle components for the 7 X 117 matrix of `best-fit' values for the tuning coefficients. Such a calculation indicated that covariance among the 7 tuning coefficients was limited. It also indicated that variation in the scores for the dominant principle components were strongly dependent on the temperature at the sea surface and weakly dependent upon the concentration of chlorophyll at the sea surface. Finally, the relationship between the scores of principle components and the temperature-chlorophyll axes may provide a means of extrapolating the bio-optical profile model in time and space.

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