Oral Session 11

The use of Lagrangian drifters to evaluate satellite estimates of particulate backscatter and unveil bio-physical dynamics in the ocean

Particulate matter concentration is an essential ocean variable to characterize biogeochemical processes at different spatio-temporal scales and to improve ocean productivity estimates which can be used to constrain coupled physical-biogeochemical numerical models. Since direct observations are particularly difficult to obtain, a reliable proxy is given by the optical backscattering coefficient of marine particles (bbp). Most in-situ multi-spectral bbp measurements are ship-borne or from moored systems, thus with a limited spatio-temporal coverage. The use of Lagrangian (i.e., water following) Surface Velocity Programme (SVP) drifting buoys with backscatter sensors, the Bio-Optical (BO)-SVP drifter, allows collecting continuous data in challenging marine environments. The combination of a Lagrangian approach and high frequency sampling enables BO-SVP drifters to capture the satellite sub- and pixel scale variability. Satellite validation activities can be supported by measuring across numerous pixels in a single day, offering added value to the ongoing satellite mission (i.e., Sentinel-3, PACE). Moreover, bio-physical dynamics, which play a crucial role in the ocean ecosystem functioning, can be studied from a new viewpoint across a continuum of spatial (sub-mesoscale/basin) and temporal scales (hours/week). Here, we describe the integration of a commercially available, multispectral optical backscatter sensor into an SVP drifter to collect near-surface bbp measurements. bbp measurements obtained by the BO-SVP drifter were reliable over a wide range of environmental conditions, showing a good agreement with independent datasets (relative bias < 10%; relative standard deviation < 36%), encouraging the development and release of a network of such systems into the world’s oceans.

Marco Bellacicco, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Jaime Pitarch Portero, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Emanuele Organelli, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Maria Laura Zoffoli, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Javier Concha, European Space Agency (ESA), France, and Serco Italia SpA, Italy

Federico Falcini, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Mengyu Li, State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

Salvatore Marullo, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Marie-Helene Rio, European Space Agency (ESA), France

Rosalia Santoleri, National Research Council Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR ISMAR), Italy

Luca Centurioni, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, Lagrangian Drifter Laboratory (LDL), USA

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