ALBERT

Description: We assessed the influence of the marine diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium on the bio-optical properties of western tropical South Pacific (WTSP) waters (18–22∘ S, 160∘ E–160∘ W) during the February–March 2015 OUTPACE cruise. We performed measurements of backscattering and absorption coefficients, irradiance, and radiance in the euphotic zone with a Satlantic MicroPro free-fall profiler and took Underwater Vision Profiler 5 (UPV5) pictures for counting the largest Trichodesmium spp. colonies. Pigment concentrations were determined by fluorimetry and high-performance liquid chromatography and picoplankton abundance by flow cytometry. Trichome concentration was estimated from pigment algorithms and validated by surface visual counts. The abundance of large colonies counted by the UVP5 (maximum 7093 colonies m−3) was well correlated to the trichome concentrations (maximum 2093 trichomes L−1) with an aggregation factor of 600. In the Melanesian archipelago, a maximum of 4715 trichomes L−1 was enumerated in pump samples (3.2 m) at 20∘ S, 167 30∘ E. High Trichodesmium abundance was always associated with absorption peaks of mycosporine-like amino acids (330, 360 nm) and high particulate backscattering, but not with high Chl a fluorescence or blue particulate absorption (440 nm). Along the west-to-east transect, Trichodesmium together with Prochlorococcus represented the major part of total chlorophyll concentration; the contribution of other groups were relatively small or negligible. The Trichodesmium contribution to total chlorophyll concentration was the highest in the Melanesian archipelago around New Caledonia and Vanuatu (60 %), progressively decreased to the vicinity of the islands of Fiji (30 %), and reached a minimum in the South Pacific Gyre where Prochlorococcus dominated chlorophyll concentration. The contribution of Trichodesmium to zeaxanthin was respectively 50, 40 and 20 % for these regions. During the OUTPACE cruise, the relationship between normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) in the ultraviolet and visible and chlorophyll concentration was similar to that found during the BIOSOPE cruise in the eastern tropical Pacific. Principal component analysis (PCA) of OUTPACE data showed that nLw at 305, 325, 340, 380, 412 and 440 nm was strongly correlated to chlorophyll and zeaxanthin, while nLw at 490 and 565 nm exhibited lower correlations. These results, as well as differences in the PCA of BIOSOPE data, indicated that nLw variability in the greenish blue and yellowish green during OUTPACE was influenced by other variables associated with Trichodesmium presence, such as backscattering coefficient, phycoerythrin fluorescence and/or zeaxanthin absorption, suggesting that Trichodesmium detection should involve examination of nLw in this spectral domain.

Description: Trichodesmium is the major nitrogen-fixing species in the western tropical South Pacific (WTSP) region, a hot spot of diazotrophy. Due to the paucity of in situ observations, remote-sensing methods for detecting Trichodesmium presence on a large scale have been investigated to assess the regional-to-global impact of this organism on primary production and carbon cycling. A number of algorithms have been developed to identify Trichodesmium surface blooms from space, but determining with confidence their accuracy has been difficult, chiefly because of the scarcity of sea-truth information at the time of satellite overpass. Here, we use a series of new cruises as well as airborne surveys over the WTSP to evaluate their ability to detect Trichodesmium surface blooms in the satellite imagery. The evaluation, performed on MODIS data at 250 m and 1 km resolution acquired over the region, shows limitations due to spatial resolution, clouds, and atmospheric correction. A new satellite-based algorithm is designed to alleviate some of these limitations, by exploiting optimally spectral features in the atmospherically corrected reflectance at 531, 645, 678, 748, and 869 nm. This algorithm outperforms former ones near clouds, limiting false positive detection and allowing regional-scale automation. Compared with observations, 80 % of the detected mats are within a 2 km range, demonstrating the good statistical skill of the new algorithm. Application to MODIS imagery acquired during the February-March 2015 OUTPACE campaign reveals the presence of surface blooms northwest and east of New Caledonia and near 20∘ S–172∘ W in qualitative agreement with measured nitrogen fixation rates. Improving Trichodesmium detection requires measuring ocean color at higher spectral and spatial (

Description: A compiled set of in situ data is important to evaluate the quality of ocean-colour satellite-data records. Here we describe the data compiled for the validation of the ocean-colour products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI). The data were acquired from several sources (MOBY, BOUSSOLE, AERONET-OC, SeaBASS, NOMAD, MERMAID, AMT, ICES, HOT, GeP&CO), span between 1997 and 2012, and have a global distribution. Observations of the following variables were compiled: spectral remote-sensing reflectances, concentrations of chlorophyll a, spectral inherent optical properties and spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients. The data were from multi-project archives acquired via the open internet services or from individual projects, acquired directly from data providers. Methodologies were implemented for homogenisation, quality control and merging of all data. No changes were made to the original data, other than averaging of observations that were close in time and space, elimination of some points after quality control and conversion to a standard format. The final result is a merged table designed for validation of satellite-derived ocean-colour products and available in text format. Metadata of each in situ measurement (original source, cruise or experiment, principal investigator) were preserved throughout the work and made available in the final table. Using all the data in a validation exercise increases the number of matchups and enhances the representativeness of different marine regimes. By making available the metadata, it is also possible to analyse each set of data separately. The compiled data are available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.854832 (Valente et al., 2015).

Description: Trichodesmium is the main nitrogen-fixing species in the South Pacific region, a hotspot for diazotrophy. Due to the paucity of in situ observations, methods for detecting Trichodesmium presence on a large scale have been investigated to assess the regional-to-global impact of these species on primary production and carbon cycling. A number of satellite-derived algorithms have been developed to identify Trichodesmium surface blooms, but determining with confidence their accuracy has been difficult, chiefly because of the scarcity of sea-truth information at time of satellite overpass. Here, we use a series of new cruises as well as airborne observational surveys in the South Pacific to quantify statistically the ability of these algorithms to discern correctly Trichodesmium surface blooms in the satellite imagery. The evaluation, performed on MODIS data at 250 m and 1 km resolution acquired over the South West Pacific, shows limitations due to spatial resolution, clouds, and atmospheric correction. A new satellite-based algorithm is designed to alleviate some of these limitations, by exploiting optimally spectral features in the atmospherically corrected reflectance at 531, 645, 678, 748, and 869 nm. This algorithm outperforms former ones near clouds, limiting false positive detection, and allowing regional scale automation. Compared with observations, 80 % of the detected mats are within a 2 km range, demonstrating the good statistical skill of the new algorithm. Application to MODIS imagery acquired during the February–March 2015 OUTPACE campaign reveals the presence of surface blooms Northwest and East of New Caledonia and near 20° S–172° W in qualitative agreement with measured nitrogen fixation rates. The new algorithm, however, fails to detect sub-surface booms evidenced in trichome counts. Improving Trichodesmium detection requires measuring ocean color at higher spectral and spatial (

Description: We assessed the influence of the marine diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium on the bio-optical properties of South West tropical Pacific waters (18–22° S, 160° E–160° W) during the February–March 2015 OUTPACE cruise. We performed measurements of backscattering and absorption coefficients, irradiance, and radiance, in the euphotic zone, and took Underwater Vision Profiler 5 (UPV5) pictures for counting the largest Trichodesmium spp. colonies. Pigment concentrations were determined by fluorimetry and by high performance liquid chromatography and picoplankton abundance by flow cytometry. Trichome concentration was estimated from pigment algorithms and validated by surface visual counts. In result, the large colonies were well correlated to the trichome concentration estimates (though with a large factor of 600 to 900, due to aggregation processes). Large Trichodesmium abundance was always associated with particulate absorption at a peak of mycosporine-like amino acid absorption, and high particulate backscattering, but not with high fluorescence, high chlorophyll-a concentration, or blue particulate absorption in the water column. Along the West to East transect, Trichodesmium together with Prochlorococcus represented the major part of total chlorophyll and the other groups were negligible. Trichodesmium contribution to chlorophyll was the highest in the Melanesian Archipelago around New Caledonia and Vanuatu, progressively decreased to the vicinity of the Fiji Islands, and reached a minimum in the South Pacific gyre where the contribution of Prochlorococcus was maximum. At the frontal LDB, Trichodesmium and Prochlorococcus has almost same contributions. The relationship between normalized water-leaving radiance, in the ultraviolet and visible domains, nLw, and chlorophyll was generally similar to that found in the Eastern tropical at BIOSOPE. Principal component analysis (PCA) of OUTPACE data showed that nLw were strongly correlated to chlorophyll except in the green and yellow domains. These results, as well as differences in the PCA of BIOSOPE data, suggested that nLw variability in the green and yellow during OUTPACE was influenced by other variables, associated with Trichodesmium presence as the backscattering coefficient, phycoerythrin fluorescence, and/or zeaxanthin absorption. Trichodesmium detection should then involve examination of nLw at the green and yellow wavelengths.

Description: A global compilation of in situ data is useful to evaluate the quality of ocean-colour satellite data records. Here we describe the data compiled for the validation of the ocean-colour products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI). The data were acquired from several sources (including, inter alia, MOBY, BOUSSOLE, AERONET-OC, SeaBASS, NOMAD, MERMAID, AMT, ICES, HOT, GeP&CO) and span the period from 1997 to 2018. Observations of the following variables were compiled: spectral remote-sensing reflectances, concentrations of chlorophyll-a, spectral inherent optical properties, spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients and total suspended matter. The data were from multi-project archives acquired via open internet services or from individual projects, acquired directly from data providers. Methodologies were implemented for homogenisation, quality control and merging of all data. No changes were made to the original data, other than averaging of observations that were close in time and space, elimination of some points after quality control and conversion to a standard format. The final result is a merged table designed for validation of satellite-derived ocean-colour products and available in text format. Metadata of each in situ measurement (original source, cruise or experiment, principal investigator) were propagated throughout the work and made available in the final table. By making the metadata available, provenance is better documented, and it is also possible to analyse each set of data separately. This paper also describes the changes that were made to the compilation in relation to the previous version (Valente et al., 2016). The compiled data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898188.

Description: A global compilation of in situ data is useful to evaluate the quality of ocean-colour satellite data records. Here we describe the data compiled for the validation of the ocean-colour products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI). The data were acquired from several sources (including, inter alia, MOBY, BOUSSOLE, AERONET-OC, SeaBASS, NOMAD, MERMAID, AMT, ICES, HOT and GeP&CO) and span the period from 1997 to 2018. Observations of the following variables were compiled: spectral remote-sensing reflectances, concentrations of chlorophyll a, spectral inherent optical properties, spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients and total suspended matter. The data were from multi-project archives acquired via open internet services or from individual projects, acquired directly from data providers. Methodologies were implemented for homogenization, quality control and merging of all data. No changes were made to the original data, other than averaging of observations that were close in time and space, elimination of some points after quality control and conversion to a standard format. The final result is a merged table designed for validation of satellite-derived ocean-colour products and available in text format. Metadata of each in situ measurement (original source, cruise or experiment, principal investigator) was propagated throughout the work and made available in the final table. By making the metadata available, provenance is better documented, and it is also possible to analyse each set of data separately. This paper also describes the changes that were made to the compilation in relation to the previous version (Valente et al., 2016). The compiled data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898188 (Valente et al., 2019).