Tracing the transport of colored dissolved organic matter in water masses of the Southern Beaufort Sea: relationship with hydrographic characteristics

Abstract. Light absorption by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) [aCDOM(λ)] plays an important role in the heat budget of the Arctic Ocean, contributing to the recent decline in sea ice, as well as in biogeochemical processes. We investigated aCDOM(λ) in the Southern Beaufort Sea where a significant amount of CDOM is delivered by the Mackenzie River. In the surface layer, aCDOM(440) showed a strong and negative correlation with salinity, indicating strong river influence and conservative transport in the river plume. Below the mixed layer, a weak but positive correlation between aCDOM(440) and salinity was observed above the upper halocline, resulting from the effect of removal of CDOM due to brine rejection and lateral intrusion of Pacific summer waters into these layers. In contrast, the relationship was negative in the upper and the lower haloclines, suggesting these waters originated from Arctic coastal waters. DOC concentrations in the surface layer were strongly correlated with aCDOM(440) (r2 = 0.97), suggesting that this value can be estimated in this area, using aCDOM(440) that is retrieved using satellite ocean color data. Implications for estimation of DOC concentrations in surface waters using ocean color remote sensing are discussed.

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Tracing the transport of colored dissolved organic matter in water masses of the Southern Beaufort Sea: relationship with hydrographic characteristics

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-8-11003-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 11003-11040

Author(s):

A. Matsuoka ◽

A. Bricaud ◽

R. Benner ◽

J. Para ◽

R. Sempéré ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Surface Layer ◽

Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Heat Budget ◽

Ocean Color ◽

Beaufort Sea ◽

The Arctic ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Colored Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Color Data

Abstract. Light absorption by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) (aCDOM(λ)) plays an important role in the heat budget of the Arctic Ocean, contributing to the recent decline in sea ice, as well as in biogeochemical processes. We investigated aCDOM(λ) in the Southern Beaufort Sea where a significant amount of CDOM is delivered by the Mackenzie River. In the surface layer, aCDOM(440) showed a strong and negative correlation with salinity, indicating strong river influence and conservative transport in the river plume. Below the mixed layer, a weak but positive correlation between aCDOM(440) and salinity was observed above the upper halocline, resulting from the effect of removal of CDOM due to brine rejection and lateral intrusion of Pacific summer waters into these layers. In contrast, the relationship was negative in the upper and the lower haloclines, suggesting these waters originated from Arctic coastal waters. DOC concentrations in the surface layer were strongly correlated with aCDOM(440) (r2= 0.97), suggesting that this value can be estimated in this area, using aCDOM(440) that is retrieved using satellite ocean color data. Implications for estimation of DOC concentrations in surface waters using ocean color remote sensing are discussed.

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Pan-Arctic optical characteristics of colored dissolved organic matter: Tracing dissolved organic carbon in changing Arctic waters using satellite ocean color data

Remote Sensing of Environment ◽

10.1016/j.rse.2017.08.009 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 200 ◽

pp. 89-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Atsushi Matsuoka ◽

Emmanuel Boss ◽

Marcel Babin ◽

Lee Karp-Boss ◽

Mark Hafez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽

Ocean Color ◽

Optical Characteristics ◽

Colored Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Color Data ◽

Satellite Ocean Color

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Estimating absorption coefficients of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) using a semi-analytical algorithm for southern Beaufort Sea waters: application to deriving concentrations of dissolved organic carbon from space

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-10-917-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 917-927 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

A. Matsuoka ◽

S. B. Hooker ◽

A. Bricaud ◽

B. Gentili ◽

M. Babin

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽

Coastal Waters ◽

Ocean Color ◽

Beaufort Sea ◽

Absorption Coefficients ◽

Analytical Algorithm ◽

Color Data

Abstract. A series of papers have suggested that freshwater discharge, including a large amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM), has increased since the middle of the 20th century. In this study, a semi-analytical algorithm for estimating light absorption coefficients of the colored fraction of DOM (CDOM) was developed for southern Beaufort Sea waters using remote sensing reflectance at six wavelengths in the visible spectral domain corresponding to MODIS ocean color sensor. This algorithm allows the separation of colored detrital matter (CDM) into CDOM and non-algal particles (NAP) through the determination of NAP absorption using an empirical relationship between NAP absorption and particle backscattering coefficients. Evaluation using independent datasets, which were not used for developing the algorithm, showed that CDOM absorption can be estimated accurately to within an uncertainty of 35% and 50% for oceanic and coastal waters, respectively. A previous paper (Matsuoka et al., 2012) showed that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were tightly correlated with CDOM absorption in our study area (r2 = 0.97). By combining the CDOM absorption algorithm together with the DOC versus CDOM relationship, it is now possible to estimate DOC concentrations in the near-surface layer of the southern Beaufort Sea using satellite ocean color data. DOC concentrations in the surface waters were estimated using MODIS ocean color data, and the estimates showed reasonable values compared to in situ measurements. We propose a routine and near real-time method for deriving DOC concentrations from space, which may open the way to an estimate of DOC budgets for Arctic coastal waters.

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Estimating absorption coefficients of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) using a semi-analytical algorithm for Southern Beaufort Sea (Canadian Arctic) waters: application to deriving concentrations of dissolved organic carbon from space

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-9-13743-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 13743-13771 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. Matsuoka ◽

S. B. Hooker ◽

A. Bricaud ◽

B. Gentili ◽

M. Babin

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽

Ocean Color ◽

Beaufort Sea ◽

Absorption Coefficients ◽

Analytical Algorithm ◽

Color Data

Abstract. A series of papers have suggested that freshwater discharge, including a large amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM), has increased since the middle of the 20th century. In this study, a semi-analytical algorithm for estimating light absorption coefficients of the colored fraction of DOM (CDOM) was developed for Southern Beaufort Sea waters using remote sensing reflectance at six wavelengths in the visible spectral domain corresponding to MODIS ocean color sensor. This algorithm allows to separate colored detrital matter (CDM) into CDOM and non-algal particles (NAP) by determining NAP absorption using an empirical relationship between NAP absorption and particle backscattering coefficients. Evaluation using independent datasets, that were not used for developing the algorithm, showed that CDOM absorption can be estimated accurately to within an uncertainty of 35% and 50% for oceanic and turbid waters, respectively. In situ measurements showed that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were tightly correlated with CDOM absorption (r2 = 0.97). By combining the CDOM absorption algorithm together with the DOC versus CDOM relationship, it is now possible to estimate DOC concentrations in the near-surface layer of the Southern Beaufort Sea using satellite ocean color data. DOC concentrations in the surface waters were estimated using MODIS ocean color data, and the estimates showed reasonable values compared to in situ measurements. We propose a routine and near real-time method for deriving DOC concentrations from space, which may open the way to an estimate of DOC budgets for Arctic coastal waters.

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