Remote sensing of oceanic primary production: Computations using a spectral model

Abstract

A spectral model of underwater irradiance is coupled with a spectral version of the photosynthesis-light relationship to compute oceanic primary production. The results are shown to be significantly different from those obtained using the conventional non-spectral approach. The problem of non-uniform vertical distribution of biomass is investigated next, from the point of view of estimation of water-column primary production using satellite data. The errors in estimated production are shown to be functions of parameters of the biomass distribution; of the photosynthesis parameters; and of the optical properties of the water column. Some examples are given to illustrate the comparison of model results with the observed data.