Articles | Volume 18, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1307-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1307-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Optical complexity of North Sea, Baltic Sea, and adjacent coastal and inland waters derived from Sentinel-3 OLCI satellite data
Martin Hieronymi
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Optical Oceanography, Institute of Carbon Cycles, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
Daniel Behr
Department of Optical Oceanography, Institute of Carbon Cycles, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
Department of Optical Oceanography, Institute of Carbon Cycles, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Rüdiger Röttgers
Department of Optical Oceanography, Institute of Carbon Cycles, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
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Biogeosciences, 23, 5921–5942, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5921-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5921-2026, 2026
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Salem Ibrahim Salem, Andre Valente, Shubha Sathyendranath, Andrei Chuprin, Théo Renard, Jaime Pitarch, Ruth Airs, Moreno Ana, Maria-Manuel Angelico, David Antoine, Robert Arnone, Florinda Artuso, Paulo O. Oliveira, William Balch, Kathryn Barker, Ray Barlow, Simon Bélanger, Marco Bellacicco, Jean-François Berthon, Şükrü Beşiktepe, Francesco Bignami, Yngve Borsheim, Astrid Bracher, Federica Braga, Vittorio Brando, Robert J. W. Brewin, Vanda Brotas, Elisabetta Canuti, Francisco P. Chavez, Andrés Cianca, Hervé Claustre, Lesley Clementson, Simone Colella, Raul Costa, Cristina Nunes, Richard Crout, Emmanuel Devred, Annalisa Di Cicco, Federico Falcini, Ivan Farace, Afonso Ferreira, Scott Freeman, Robert Frouin, Carlos García-Soto, Isabella Giardina, Stuart W. Gibb, Arthur Gleason, Ralf Goericke, Richard Gould, Michael Grant, Nathalie Guillocheau, Hiroto Higa, Stanford B. Hooker, Chuamin Hu, Joji Ishizaka, Thomas Jackson, Mati Kahru, Milton Kampel, Bokyung Kim, Holger Klein, Piotr Kowalczuk, Susanne Kratzer, Raphael Kudela, Antonia Lai, Rosario Lavezza, Jesus Ledesma, Huiwon Lee, Steven Lohrenz, Hubert Loisel, Vivian Lutz, Antonio Mannino, Francesca Margiotta, Victor Martinez-Vicente, Salvatore Marullo, Luca Massi, Patricia Matrai, Atsushi Matsuoka, David McKee, Chiara Melillo, Carlos B. Mendes, Brian G. Mitchell, Tiffany Moisan, Enrique Montes, Frank Muller-Karger, Aimee Neeley, Michael Novak, Leonie O'Dowd, Michael Ondrusek, Emanuele Organelli, Heeyoon Park, Trevor Platt, Francesca Polonelli, Alex Poulton, Mariella Ragni, Michel Repecaud, Maurizio Ribera d’Alcalà, Tamara Rodriguez-Ramos, Rüdiger Röttgers, Manuel Ruiz-Villarreal, Michela Sammartino, Rosalia Santoleri, Gian Marco Scarpa, Thomas Schroeder, Valeria Segura, Timothy Smyth, Denise Smythe-Wright, Heidi M. Sosik, Joanna Stoń-Egiert, Malcolm Taberner, Jing Tan, Rob Thomas, Crystal Thomas, Gavin Tilstone, Andreia Tracana, Michael Twardowski, Vincenzo Vellucci, Gianluca Volpe, Kenneth Voss, Jeremy Werdell, Marcel Wernand, Bozena Wojtasiewicz, Simon Wright, Sunmi Yang, Giuseppe Zibordi, Maria Laura Zoffoli, and Steve Groom
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Preprint under review for ESSD
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Riaz Bibi, Mariana Ribas-Ribas, Leonie Jaeger, Carola Lehners, Lisa Gassen, Edgar Fernando Cortés-Espinoza, Jochen Wollschläger, Claudia Thölen, Hannelore Waska, Jasper Zöbelein, Thorsten Brinkhoff, Isha Athale, Rüdiger Röttgers, Michael Novak, Anja Engel, Theresa Barthelmeß, Josefine Karnatz, Thomas Reinthaler, Dmytro Spriahailo, Gernot Friedrichs, Falko Asmussen Schäfer, and Oliver Wurl
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Vlad A. Macovei, Louise C. V. Rewrie, Rüdiger Röttgers, and Yoana G. Voynova
Biogeosciences, 22, 3375–3396, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3375-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3375-2025, 2025
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We found that biogeochemical variability at the land–sea interface (LSI) in two major temperate estuaries is modulated by the 14 d spring–neap tidal cycle, with large effects on dissolved inorganic and organic carbon concentrations and distribution. As this effect increases the strength of the carbon source to the atmosphere by up to 74 % during spring tide, it should be accounted for in regional models, which aim to resolve biogeochemical processing at the LSI.
André Valente, Shubha Sathyendranath, Vanda Brotas, Steve Groom, Michael Grant, Thomas Jackson, Andrei Chuprin, Malcolm Taberner, Ruth Airs, David Antoine, Robert Arnone, William M. Balch, Kathryn Barker, Ray Barlow, Simon Bélanger, Jean-François Berthon, Şükrü Beşiktepe, Yngve Borsheim, Astrid Bracher, Vittorio Brando, Robert J. W. Brewin, Elisabetta Canuti, Francisco P. Chavez, Andrés Cianca, Hervé Claustre, Lesley Clementson, Richard Crout, Afonso Ferreira, Scott Freeman, Robert Frouin, Carlos García-Soto, Stuart W. Gibb, Ralf Goericke, Richard Gould, Nathalie Guillocheau, Stanford B. Hooker, Chuamin Hu, Mati Kahru, Milton Kampel, Holger Klein, Susanne Kratzer, Raphael Kudela, Jesus Ledesma, Steven Lohrenz, Hubert Loisel, Antonio Mannino, Victor Martinez-Vicente, Patricia Matrai, David McKee, Brian G. Mitchell, Tiffany Moisan, Enrique Montes, Frank Muller-Karger, Aimee Neeley, Michael Novak, Leonie O'Dowd, Michael Ondrusek, Trevor Platt, Alex J. Poulton, Michel Repecaud, Rüdiger Röttgers, Thomas Schroeder, Timothy Smyth, Denise Smythe-Wright, Heidi M. Sosik, Crystal Thomas, Rob Thomas, Gavin Tilstone, Andreia Tracana, Michael Twardowski, Vincenzo Vellucci, Kenneth Voss, Jeremy Werdell, Marcel Wernand, Bozena Wojtasiewicz, Simon Wright, and Giuseppe Zibordi
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We provide the first insights on bio-optical processes in Storfjorden (Svalbard). Information on factors controlling light propagation in the water column in this arctic fjord becomes crucial in times of rapid sea ice decline. We find a significant contribution of dissolved matter to light absorption and a subsurface absorption maximum linked to phytoplankton production. Dense bottom waters from sea ice formation carry elevated levels of dissolved and particulate matter.
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Short summary
We present a scientific description of a satellite-based dataset and its novel processing chain. The dataset provides water quality parameters for lakes, rivers, coastal waters, as well as the entire North Sea and Baltic Sea. It further includes a novel estimate of organic carbon across diverse water bodies and the results of an optical water type classification. The dataset and its underlying algorithm provide a valuable foundation for future oceanographic and limnological analyses.
We present a scientific description of a satellite-based dataset and its novel processing chain....
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