Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-267
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-267
15 Jul 2024
 | 15 Jul 2024
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

A compilation of surface inherent optical properties and phytoplankton pigment concentrations from the Atlantic Meridional Transect

Thomas M. Jordan, Giorgio Dall'Olmo, Gavin Tilstone, Robert J. W. Brewin, Francesco Nencioli, Ruth Airs, Crystal S. Thomas, and Louise Schlüter

Abstract. In situ measurements of particulate inherent optical properties (IOPs) – absorption (ap(λ)), scattering (bp(λ)), and beam attenuation (cp(λ)) – are crucial for development of optical algorithms that retrieve biogeochemical quantities such as Chlorophyll a, particulate organic carbon (POC) and total suspended matter (TSM). Here we present a compilation of particulate absorption-attenuation spectrophotometric data measured underway on nine Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) cruises between 50° north to 50° south from 2009–2019. The compilation includes co-incident high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) phytoplankton pigment concentrations, which are used to calibrate transects of Total Chlorophyll a (Tot_Chl_a) concentrations derived from the ap(λ) line-height method. The IOP data are processed using a consistent methodology, and include propagated uncertainties for each IOP variable, uncertainty quantification for the Tot_Chl_a concentrations based on HPLC match-ups, application of consistent set of quality-control filters, and standardisation of output data fields and formats. The total IOP dataset consists of ~310,000 measurements at a 1 minute binning (~270,000 hyper-spectral) and > 700 co-incident HPLC pigment surface samples (~600 of which are coincident with hyper-spectral IOPs). We present geographic variation in the IOPs, HPLC phytoplankton pigments, and the ap-derived Tot_Chl_a concentrations, which are shown to have uncertainties between 8–20 %. Additionally, to stimulate further investigation of accessory pigment extraction from ap(λ), we quantify pigment correlation matrices and identify spectral characteristics of end-member ap(λ) spectra where accessory pigment groupings are present in higher concentrations relative to Tot_Chl_a. All data are made publicly available in SeaBASS and NetCDF formats via the following links: https://seabass.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/PML/AMT, and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12527954.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Thomas M. Jordan, Giorgio Dall'Olmo, Gavin Tilstone, Robert J. W. Brewin, Francesco Nencioli, Ruth Airs, Crystal S. Thomas, and Louise Schlüter

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2024-267', Emmanuel Boss, 24 Jul 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2024-267', Piotr Kowalczuk, 25 Oct 2024
Thomas M. Jordan, Giorgio Dall'Olmo, Gavin Tilstone, Robert J. W. Brewin, Francesco Nencioli, Ruth Airs, Crystal S. Thomas, and Louise Schlüter

Data sets

SeaBASS archive for: `Surface inherent optical properties and phytoplankton pigment concentrations from the Atlantic Meridional Transect (2009 - 2019)' Thomas M. Jordan, Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Gavin Tilstone, Robert J. W. Brewin, Francesco Nencioli, Ruth Airs, Crystal S. Thomas, and Louise Schlüter https://seabass.gsfc.nasa.gov/archive/PML/AMT

Surface inherent optical properties and phytoplankton pigment concentrations from the Atlantic Meridional Transect (2009 - 2019): NetCDF format Thomas M. Jordan, Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Gavin Tilstone, Robert J. W. Brewin, Francesco Nencioli, Ruth Airs, Crystal S. Thomas, and Louise Schlüter https://zenodo.org/records/12527954

Model code and software

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT19_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT22_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT23_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT24_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT25_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT26_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT27_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT28_underway

AMT IOP processing code Giorgio Dall’Olmo, Thomas M. Jordan, and Francesco Nencioli https://github.com/tjor/AMT29_underway

Interactive computing environment

Data access script and plot functions for ESSD paper Thomas M. Jordan https://github.com/tjor/AMT_ACSpaperplots

Thomas M. Jordan, Giorgio Dall'Olmo, Gavin Tilstone, Robert J. W. Brewin, Francesco Nencioli, Ruth Airs, Crystal S. Thomas, and Louise Schlüter

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Short summary
We present a compilation of water optical properties and phytoplankton pigments from the surface of the Atlantic Ocean collected during nine cruises between 2009–2019. We derive continuous Chlorophyll a concentrations (a biomass proxy) from water absorption. We then illustrate geographical variations and relationships for water optical properties, Chlorophyll a, and the other pigments. The dataset will be useful to researchers in ocean optics, remote-sensing, ecology, and biogeochemistry.
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