The proportions and variations of the light absorption coefficients of major ocean color components in the East China Sea

The East China Sea (ECS), one of the largest continental seas, has dynamic hydrology and complex optical characteristics that make ocean color remote-sensing retrieval difficult. The distributions and proportions of the light absorption coefficients of major ocean color components based on two large-scale investigations in the ECS are presented, showing these features in typical summer and winter seasons. The absorption coefficient aCDOM, aNAP and aphy of colored dissolved organic matter, non-algal particle, and pigment of phytoplankton show a decreasing trend from the coast to the outer shelf. According to the aCDOM distribution at 440 nm, the Changjiang River plume shows an abnormal southeastward transport. An extremely high aNAP value patch at 440 nm is present in the middle coast. The chlorophyll-a-specific phytoplankton pigment absorption (aphy*) is much higher in winter than in summer, which may cause serious underestimated results when applying the averaged aphy* into remote-sensing algorithms for chlorophyll concentration retrieval. The importance of phytoplankton size was evident in outer shelf waters. The absorption of aCDOM(440) is a dominant component accounting for over half of the total seawater absorption in summer. The aNAP(440) accounts for 64% of the absorption of the ECS coastal area in winter.

[1]  C. Yentsch.  MEASUREMENT OF VISIBLE LIGHT ABSORPTION BY PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE OCEAN1 , 1962 .

[2]  Mark A. Moline,et al.  Inversion of spectral absorption in the optically complex coastal waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight , 2004 .

[3]  J. Adolf,et al.  Bio-optical model for Chesapeake Bay and the Middle Atlantic Bight , 2004 .

[4]  D. Siegel,et al.  Quantification of non-algal light attenuation in the Sargasso Sea: Implications for biogeochemistry and remote sensing , 1996 .

[5]  T. Tanimoto,et al.  Seasonal variation in the transport of suspended matter in the East China Sea , 1996 .

[6]  A. Morel.  Optical modeling of the upper ocean in relation to its biogenous matter content (case I waters) , 1988 .

[7]  Jinhui Wang,et al.  Occurrence and potential risks of harmful algal blooms in the East China Sea. , 2009, The Science of the total environment.

[8]  Lisa R. Moore,et al.  Determination of spectral absorption coefficients of particles, dissolved material and phytoplankton for discrete water samples , 2000 .

[9]  LI Tong-ji,et al.  Spectral Mode Research about Absorption Coefficient of The De-pigment Particles And Yellow Substance in Yellow Sea And East China Sea , 2004 .

[10]  Wei Shi,et al.  MODIS‐derived ocean color products along the China east coastal region , 2007 .

[11]  Chuanmin Hu,et al.  Characteristics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in the nearshore waters of the western Taiwan Strait , 2010 .

[12]  A. Bricaud,et al.  Spectral absorption coefficients of living phytoplankton and nonalgal biogenous matter: A comparison between the Peru upwelling areaand the Sargasso Sea , 1990 .

[13]  Dale A. Kiefer,et al.  In-vivo absorption properties of algal pigments , 1990, Defense, Security, and Sensing.

[14]  Zhao-hua Sun,et al.  The variations in optical properties of CDOM throughout an algal bloom event , 2009 .

[15]  J. Cleveland.  Regional models for phytoplankton absorption as a function of chlorophyll a concentration , 1995 .

[16]  L. Prieur,et al.  Absorption by dissolved organic matter of the sea (yellow substance) in the UV and visible domains1 , 1981 .

[17]  R. W. Austin,et al.  Ocean Optics Protocols for Satellite Ocean Color Sensor Validation , 2013 .

[18]  K. Carder,et al.  Marine humic and fulvic acids: Their effects on remote sensing of ocean chlorophyll , 1989 .

[19]  N. Welschmeyer.  Fluorometric analysis of chlorophyll a in the presence of chlorophyll b and pheopigments , 1994 .

[20]  A. Bricaud,et al.  Theoretical results concerning light absorption in a discrete medium, and application to specific absorption of phytoplankton , 1981 .

[21]  C. Carlson,et al.  Production of chromophoric dissolved organic matter by Sargasso Sea microbes , 2004 .

[22]  G. Gong.  Absorption coefficients of colored dissolved organic matter in the surface waters of the East China Sea , 2004 .

[23]  S. Sathyendranath,et al.  Effect of pigment composition on absorption properties of phytoplankton , 1991 .

[24]  D. Bowers,et al.  Absorption spectra of inorganic particles in the Irish Sea and their relevance to remote sensing of chlorophyll , 1996 .

[25]  Qiankun,et al.  The black water around the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary in the spring of 2003 , 2009 .

[26]  L. Prieur,et al.  An optical classification of coastal and oceanic waters based on the specific spectral absorption curves of phytoplankton pigments, dissolved organic matter, and other particulate materials1 , 1981 .

[27]  D. Keith,et al.  Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Coloured Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island: Implications for Phytoplankton in Coastal Waters , 2002 .

[28]  T. Tang,et al.  The flow pattern north of Taiwan and the migration of the Kuroshio , 2000 .

[29]  M. Twardowski,et al.  Separating in situ and terrigenous sources of absorption by dissolved materials in coastal waters , 2001 .

[30]  Weidong Guo,et al.  The conservative and non-conservative behavior of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in Chinese estuarine waters , 2007 .

[31]  Su Jilan,et al.  The formation and evolution of the East China Sea winter dense water , 1991 .

[32]  Riccardo Lanari,et al.  Mining‐related ground deformation in Crescent Valley, Nevada: Implications for sparse GPS networks , 2007 .

[33]  Anchun Li,et al.  Sedimentary features of the Yangtze River-derived along-shelf clinoform deposit in the East China Sea , 2006 .

[34]  S. Tassan.  Local algorithms using SeaWiFS data for the retrieval of phytoplankton, pigments, suspended sediment, and yellow substance in coastal waters. , 1994, Applied optics.

[35]  Richard P. Santer,et al.  Bio-optical Properties of Coastal Waters in the Eastern English Channel , 2007 .

[36]  Zhiqiang Chen,et al.  Distributions of colored dissolved organic matter and dissolved organic carbon in the Pearl River Estuary, China , 2004 .

[37]  E. Fry,et al.  Absorption spectrum (380-700 nm) of pure water. II. Integrating cavity measurements. , 1997, Applied optics.

[38]  C. Stedmon,et al.  Optical properties and signatures of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in Danish coastal waters , 2000 .

[39]  G. Gong,et al.  Spatial and temporal variation of chlorophyll a, primary productivity and chemical hydrography in the southern East China Sea. , 2000 .

[40]  S. Tassan,et al.  A sensitivity analysis of the 'Transmittance-Reflectance' method for measuring light absorption by aquatic particles , 2002 .

[41]  Y. Ahn,et al.  Detecting the red tide algal blooms from satellite ocean color observations in optically complex Northeast-Asia Coastal waters , 2006 .

[42]  S. Taguchi,et al.  Variability of Bio-optical Factors Influencing the Seasonal Attenuation of Ultraviolet Radiation in Temperate Coastal Waters of Japan¶ , 2000, Photochemistry and photobiology.

[43]  Marcel Babin,et al.  Light absorption and fluorescence properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Case 2 waters) , 1997 .

[44]  Dariusz Stramski,et al.  Variations in the light absorption coefficients of phytoplankton, nonalgal particles, and dissolved organic matter in coastal waters around Europe , 2003 .

[45]  D. Siegel,et al.  Seasonal dynamics of colored dissolved material in the Sargasso Sea , 1998 .

[46]  E. Fry,et al.  Absorption spectrum (340-640 nm) of pure water. I. Photothermal measurements. , 1997, Applied optics.

[47]  Jun Zhao,et al.  Partitioning particulate absorption coefficient into contributions of phytoplankton and nonalgal particles: A case study in the northern South China Sea , 2008 .

[48]  Wei Guo,et al.  Unitary Bases and Noncommutative Wavelets , 2003 .

[49]  Rainer Reuter,et al.  Relationship between the maximum quantum yield of carbon fixation and the minimum quantum yield of chlorophyll a in vivo fluorescence in the Gulf of St. Lawrence , 1995 .

[50]  C. Chen,et al.  Chemical and physical fronts in the Bohai, Yellow and East China seas , 2009 .

[51]  W. Gregg.  Reports of the International Ocean-Colour Coordinating Group , 2007 .

[52]  G. Johnsen,et al.  In vivo absorption characteristics in 10 classes of bloom-forming phytoplankton: taxonomic characteristics and responses to photoadaptation by means of discriminant and HPLC analysis , 1994 .

[53]  S. Boxall,et al.  The identification of phytoplankton pigments from absorption spectra , 2001 .

[54]  M. Perry,et al.  Modeling in situ phytoplankton absorption from total absorption spectra in productive inland marine waters , 1989 .

[55]  J. R. Nelson,et al.  Particulate and dissolved spectral absorption on the continental shelf of the southeastern United States , 1995 .

[56]  G. Ferrari,et al.  CDOM Absorption Characteristics with Relation to Fluorescence and Salinity in Coastal Areas of the Southern Baltic Sea , 1998 .

[57]  Gwo-Ching Gong,et al.  Chemical hydrography and chlorophyll a distribution in the East China Sea in summer: implications in nutrient dynamics , 1996 .

[58]  Delu Pan,et al.  The quasi-analytical algorithm of ocean inherent optical properties using two reference wavelengths , 2007, SPIE Remote Sensing.

[59]  Sarah A. Green,et al.  Optical absorption and fluorescence properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in natural waters , 1994 .

[60]  Wang Xiao.  THE STATISTIC INVERSION ALGORITHMS AND SPECTRAL RELATIONS OF TOTAL ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS FOR THE HUANGHAI SEA AND THE EAST CHINA SEA , 2006 .

[61]  A. Subramaniam,et al.  Annual variations in bio-optical properties at the 'Estacion Permanente de Estudios Ambientales (EPEA)' coastal station, Argentina , 2006 .

[62]  C. Carlson,et al.  Hydrography of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in the North Atlantic , 2007 .

[63]  Marcel Babin,et al.  Variations of light absorption by suspended particles with chlorophyll a concentration in oceanic (case 1) waters: Analysis and implications for bio-optical models , 1998 .

[64]  Chuanmin Hu,et al.  Absorption and fluorescence of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in the Pearl River Estuary, South China , 2005 .

[65]  Song Qingjun,et al.  The study on the scattering properties in the Huanghai Sea and East China Sea , 2006 .

[66]  W. Cooper,et al.  Characterization of CDOM in an organic-rich river and surrounding coastal ocean in the South Atlantic Bight , 2003, Aquatic Sciences.

[67]  H. Claustre,et al.  Variability in the chlorophyll‐specific absorption coefficients of natural phytoplankton: Analysis and parameterization , 1995 .

[68]  G. Zhigang.  Seasonal Sedimentary Effect on the Changjiang Estuary Mud Area , 2003 .

[69]  Satoru Taguchi,et al.  Variability in chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient in marine phytoplankton as a function of cell size and irradiance , 2002 .