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A Synthesis of Light Absorption Properties of the Arctic Ocean: Application to Semi-analytical Estimates of Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentrations from SpaceThe light absorption coefficients of particulate and dissolved materials are the main factors determining the light propagation of the visible part of the spectrum and are, thus, important for developing ocean color algorithms. While these absorption properties have recently been documented by a few studies for the Arctic Ocean [e.g., Matsuoka et al., 2007, 2011; Ben Mustapha et al., 2012], the datasets used in the literature were sparse and individually insufficient to draw a general view of the basin-wide spatial and temporal variations in absorption. To achieve such a task, we built a large absorption database at the pan-Arctic scale by pooling the majority of published datasets and merging new datasets. Our results showed that the total non-water absorption coefficients measured in the Eastern Arctic Ocean (EAO; Siberian side) are significantly higher 74 than in the Western Arctic Ocean (WAO; North American side). This higher absorption is explained 75 by higher concentration of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in watersheds on the Siberian 76 side, which contains a large amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compared to waters off 77 North America. In contrast, the relationship between the phytoplankton absorption (a()) and chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration in the EAO was not significantly different from that in the WAO. Because our semi-analytical CDOM absorption algorithm is based on chl a-specific a() values [Matsuoka et al., 2013], this result indirectly suggests that CDOM absorption can be appropriately erived not only for the WAO but also for the EAO using ocean color data. Derived CDOM absorption values were reasonable compared to in situ measurements. By combining this algorithm with empirical DOC versus CDOM relationships, a semi-analytical algorithm for estimating DOC concentrations for coastal waters at the Pan-Arctic scale is presented and applied to satellite ocean color data.
Document ID
20140012680
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Matsuoka, A.
(Laval Univ. Sainte-Foye, Quebec, Canada)
Babin, M.
(Laval Univ. Sainte-Foye, Quebec, Canada)
Doxaran, D.
(Paris VI Univ. Villefranche-sur-Mer, France)
Hooker, S. B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Mitchell, B. G.
(California Univ., San Diego La Jolla, CA, United States)
Belanger, S.
(Quebec Univ. Rimouski, Quebec, Canada)
Bricaud, A.
(Paris VI Univ. Villefranche-sur-Mer, France)
Date Acquired
September 26, 2014
Publication Date
June 16, 2014
Publication Information
Publication: Biogeosciences
Volume: 11
Issue: 12
Subject Category
Oceanography
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN11435
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX10AF42G
CONTRACT_GRANT: 223375
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX10AG05G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF OPP-0125049
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX11AF64G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-10528
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Pan-Arctic
light absorption
Ocean Color
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