Seasonal and Inter-Annual Changeability of Bio-Optical Characteristics in the Surface Layer of the Barents, White, Black and Caspian Seas from Satellite Data

Abstract

The main features of seasonal and inter-annual variations of bio-optical characteristics in the surface layer of the Barents, White, Black and Caspian Seas, according to a new issue of e-atlas “Bio-optical characteristics of the Russian seas from satellite ocean color data” (http://optics. ocean.ru) are discussed. The bio-optical parameters in the Atlas were computed by means of the regional algorithms, derived from in situ measured data in given regions; they provided much better results than the NASA standard algorithms (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov). The article includes Introduction, Results and Discussion, Conclusion and References. The Introduction gives a brief information about the new issue as compared with the previous ones. Atlas’2013 presents the biooptical characteristics, calculated from data of satellite scanners SeaWiFS and MODIS-Aqua from 1998 to 2012; the color maps of their mean monthly distributions, diagrams and tables demonstrating their seasonal and inter-annual variability are given. As examples, the coccolithophore blooms in the Barents and Black Seas and the seasonal changes of chlorophyll concentration (Chl) and the particle backscattering (bbp) in the Dvina Bay and the central part of the White Sea under the influence of Dvina river runoff are considered. It is noted that the highest bbp values, as compared with the other regions, were observed in the shallow Northern Caspian owing to the intense river runoff from Volga and the stirring of bottom sediment by wind mixing. Interestingly, that the mean values of Chl and bbp in 2012 were higher than their average climatic values over 1998−2011 in eight from ten regions under consideration.