Bio-Optical Variability in the Alboran Sea as Assessed by Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner

摘要

An international oceanographic experiment, Donde Va, was conducted in 1982 in the Alboran Sea in which a specialized portion was dedicated to examining the spatial and temporal variability of bio-optical properties around the Alboran Sea Gyre. The circulation of the Alboran Sea, as characterized by Atlantic Inflow (through the Strait of Gibraltar), The Alboran Gyre, and coastal water masses, was analyzed through use of Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) imagery, NOAA-7 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery, and aircraft and ship data. Diffuse attenuation coefficients calculated from CZCS data are in agreement with the ship data. A strong correlation between the surface temperature and ocean color fronts was observed in the two satellite imagery sets. A 6-day sequence of CZCS imagery shows that significant changes in the diffuse attenuation coefficient and phytoplankton pigment concentration occurred in the frontal regions. These changes are attributed to the bio-optical horizontal and vertical variations that occurred within the first attenuation length. (Author)