Estimating ocean primary production from satellite chlorophyll. Introduction to regional differences and statistics for the Southern California Bight

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The prospect of estimating primary production (II, mg C m −2 d −1 ) from chlorophyll pigment concentrations (C k , mg m −3 near the ocean surface is appealing, now that chlorophyll concentrations can be extracted from satellite images. Earlier work has shown a proportionality between II and C k (II αF·C k ) but with large variance in the proportionality factor F. A cursory overview of global data suggests part of this variability is regional. For example, F for subtropical open ocean regions exceeds that of temperate coastal regions. In the richest waters, F approaches a minimum limit value, of ∼100(mg C m −2 d −1 )(mg C k m −3 ) −1 . Some of the variability in the relation over time and space in the Southern California Bight is related to environmental variables. In the simplest systems, F is proportional to insolation. The variability in F may be of ecological interest beyond its utility in relating water column production to near-surface chlorophyll as an additional descriptive characteristic of pelagic ecosystems.