Victor Martinez-Vicente

Does Presence of a Mid-Ocean Ridge Enhance Biomass and Biodiversity?

In contrast to generally sparse biological communities in open-ocean settings, seamounts and ridges are perceived as areas of elevated productivity and biodiversity capable of supporting commercial fisheries. We investigated the origin of this apparent biological enhancement over a segment of the North Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) using sonar, corers, trawls, traps, and a remotely operated vehicle to survey habitat, biomass, and biodiversity. Satellite remote sensing provided information on flow patterns, thermal fronts, and primary production, while sediment traps measured export flux during 2007–2010. The MAR, 3,704,404 km2 in area, accounts for 44.7% lower bathyal habitat (800–3500 m depth) in the North Atlantic and is dominated by fine soft sediment substrate (95% of area) on a series of flat terraces with intervening slopes either side of the ridge axis contributing to habitat heterogeneity. The MAR fauna comprises mainly species known from continental margins with no evidence of greater biodiversity. Primary production and export flux over the MAR were not enhanced compared with a nearby reference station over the Porcupine Abyssal Plain. Biomasses of benthic macrofauna and megafauna were similar to global averages at the same depths totalling an estimated 258.9 kt C over the entire lower bathyal north MAR. A hypothetical flat plain at 3500 m depth in place of the MAR would contain 85.6 kt C, implying an increase of 173.3 kt C attributable to the presence of the Ridge. This is approximately equal to 167 kt C of estimated pelagic biomass displaced by the volume of the MAR. There is no enhancement of biological productivity over the MAR; oceanic bathypelagic species are replaced by benthic fauna otherwise unable to survive in the mid ocean. We propose that globally sea floor elevation has no effect on deep sea biomass; pelagic plus benthic biomass is constant within a given surface productivity regime.

Comparison of bio-physical marine products from SeaWiFS, MODIS and a bio-optical model with in situ measurements from Northern European waters

In this paper, we compare bio-physical marine products from SeaWiFS, MODIS and a novel bio-optical absorption model with in situ measurements of chlorophyll-a (Chla) concentrations, total suspended material (TSM) concentrations, normalized water-leaving radiances (nLw) and absorption coefficients of coloured dissolved organic matter (aCDOM), total particulate (atotal) and phytoplankton (aphy) for 26 satellite match-ups in three Northern European seas. Cruises were undertaken in 2002 and 2003 in phytoplankton dominated open ocean waters of the Celtic Sea and optically complex waters of the Western English Channel (WEC) and North Sea. For all environments, Chla concentrations varied from 0.4 to 7.8 mg m-3, TSM from 0.2 to 6.0 mg l-1 and aCDOM at 440 nm from 0.02 to 0.30 m-1. SeaWiFS OC4v4, with the Remote Sensing Data Analysis Service (RSDAS) atmospheric correction for turbid waters, showed the most accurate retrieval of in situ Chla (RMS = 0.24; n = 26), followed by MODIS chlor_a_3 (RMS = 0.40; n = 26). This suggested that improving the atmospheric correction over optically complex waters results in more accurate Chla concentrations compared to those obtained using more complicated Chla algorithms. We found that the SeaWiFS OC4v4 and the MODIS chlor_a_2 switching band ratio algorithms, which mainly use longer wavebands than 443 nm, were less affected by CDOM. They were both more accurate than chlor_MODIS in the higher CDOM waters of the North Sea. Compared to MODIS the absorption model was better at retrieving atotal (RMS = 0.39; n = 78) and aCDOM (RMS = 0.79; n = 12) in all study areas and TSM in the WEC (RMS = 0.04; n = 10) but it underestimated Chla concentrations (RMS = 0.45; n = 26). The results are discussed in terms of atmospheric correction, sensor characteristics and the functioning and performance of Chla algorithms.

Spatial variability of absorption coefficients over a biogeochemical gradient in a large and optically complex shallow lake

In order to improve robustness of remote sensing algorithms for lakes, it is vital to understand the variability of inherent optical properties (IOPs) and their mass-specific representations (SIOPs). In this study, absorption coefficients for particulate and dissolved constituents were measured at 38 stations distributed over a biogeochemical gradient in Lake Balaton, Hungary. There was a large range of phytoplankton absorption (aph(λ)) over blue and red wavelengths (aph(440) = 0.11–4.39 m−1, aph(675) = 0.048–2.52 m−1), while there was less variability in chlorophyll-specific phytoplankton absorption (a*ph(λ)) in the lake (a*ph(440) = 0.022 ± 0.0046 m2 mg−1, a*ph(675) = 0.010 ± 0.0020 m2 mg−1) and adjoining wetland system, Kis-Balaton (a*ph(440) = 0.017 ± 0.0015 m2 mg−1, a*ph(675) = 0.0088 ± 0.0017 m2 mg−1). However, in the UV, a*ph(350) significantly increased with increasing distance from the main inflow (Zala River). This was likely due to variable production of photoprotective pigments (e.g., MAAs) in response to the decreasing gradient of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). The slope of CDOM absorption (SCDOM) also increased from west to east due to larger terrestrial CDOM input in the western basins. Absorption by nonalgal particles (aNAP(λ)) was highly influenced by inorganic particulates, as a result of the largely mineral sediments in Balaton. The relative contributions to the absorption budget varied more widely than oceans with a greater contribution from NAP (up to 30%), and wind speed affected the proportion attributed to NAP, phytoplankton, or CDOM. Ultimately, these data provide knowledge of the heterogeneity of (S)IOPs in Lake Balaton, suggesting the full range of variability must be considered for future improvement of analytical algorithms for constituent retrieval in inland waters.

Volcanic ash supply to the surface ocean—remote sensing of biological responses and their wider biogeochemical significance

Transient micronutrient enrichment of the surface ocean can enhance phytoplankton growth rates and alter microbial community structure with an ensuing spectrum of biogeochemical feedbacks. Strong phytoplankton responses to micronutrients supplied by volcanic ash have been reported recently. Here we: (i) synthesize findings from these recent studies; (ii) report the results of a new remote sensing study of ash fertilization; and (iii) calculate theoretical bounds of ash-fertilized carbon export. Our synthesis highlights that phytoplankton responses to ash do not always simply mimic that of iron amendment; the exact mechanisms for this are likely biogeochemically important but are not yet well understood. Inherent optical properties of ash-loaded seawater suggest rhyolitic ash biases routine satellite chlorophyll-a estimation upwards by more than an order of magnitude for waters with 0.5 mg chlorophyll-a m-3. For this reason post-ash-deposition chlorophyll-a changes in oligotrophic waters detected via standard Case 1 (open ocean) algorithms should be interpreted with caution. Remote sensing analysis of historic events with a bias less than a factor of 2 provided limited stand-alone evidence for ash-fertilization. Confounding factors were poor coverage, incoherent ash dispersal, and ambiguity ascribing biomass changes to ash supply over other potential drivers. Using current estimates of iron release and carbon export efficiencies, uncertainty bounds of ash-fertilized carbon export for 3 events are presented. Patagonian iron supply to the Southern Ocean from volcanic eruptions is less than that of windblown dust on thousand year timescales but can dominate supply at shorter timescales. Reducing uncertainties in remote sensing of phytoplankton response and nutrient release from ash are avenues for enabling assessment of the oceanic response to large-scale transient nutrient enrichment.

Validation and Intercomparison of Ocean Color Algorithms for Estimating Particulate Organic Carbon in the Oceans

Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) plays a vital role in the ocean carbon cycle. Though relatively small compared with other carbon pools, the POC pool is responsible for large fluxes and is linked to many important ocean biogeochemical processes. The satellite ocean-colour signal is influenced by particle composition, size, and concentration and provides a way to observe variability in the POC pool at a range of temporal and spatial scales. To provide accurate estimates of POC concentration from satellite ocean colour data requires algorithms that are well validated, with uncertainties characterised. Here, a number of algorithms to derive POC using different optical variables are applied to merged satellite ocean colour data provided by the Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) and validated against the largest database of

The Coastcolour project regional algorithm round robin exercise

\textit{in situ}

Intercomparison of Ocean Color Algorithms for Picophytoplankton Carbon in the Ocean

POC measurements currently available. The results of this validation exercise indicate satisfactory levels of performance from several algorithms (highest performance was observed from the algorithms of \cite{stramski2008} and \cite{loisel2002}) and uncertainties that are within the requirements of the user community. Estimates of the standing stock of the POC can be made by applying these algorithms, and yield an estimated mixed-layer integrated global stock of POC between 0.77 and 1.3 Pg C of carbon. Performance of the algorithms vary regionally, suggesting that blending of region-specific algorithms may provide the best way forward for generating global POC products.

A broad spatio-temporal view of the Western English Channel observatory

The MERIS instrument delivers a unique dataset of ocean colour measurements of the coastal zone, at 300m resolution and with a unique spectral band set. The motivation for the Coastcolour project is to fully exploit the potential of the MERIS instrument for remote sensing of the coastal zone. The general objective of the project is to develop, demonstrate, validate and intercompare different processing algorithms for MERIS over a global range of coastal water types in order to identify best practices. In this paper the Coastcolour project is presented in general and the Regional Algorithm Round Robin (RARR) exercise is described in detail. The RARR has the objective of determining the best approach to retrieval of chlorophyll a and other marine products (e.g. Inherent Optical Properties) for each of the Coastcolour coastal water test sites. Benchmark datasets of reflectances at MERIS bands will be distributed to algorithm provider participants for testing of both global (Coastcolour and other) algorithms and site-specific local algorithms. Results from all algorithms will be analysed and compared according to a uniform methodology. Participation of algorithm providers from outside the Coastcolour consortium is encouraged.

Variability in specific-absorption properties and their use in a semi-analytical ocean colour algorithm for MERIS in North Sea and Western English Channel Coastal Waters

The differences among phytoplankton carbon (

Inherent optical properties of the Irish Sea and their effect on satellite primary production algorithms.

C_{phy}