14:15–14:30 | ABSTRACT 1222
AUTONOMOUS SHIP-BASED UNDERWAY OPTICAL AND HYPERSPECTRAL OBSERVATIONS FOR IMPROVED BIOGEOCHEMICAL SENSING OF SURFACE WATERS OF THE NORTH SEA
Quantifying particle dynamics and carbon concentrations in coastal waters remains a major challenge due to the high spatiotemporal variability of optical and biogeochemical properties. Addressing this requires continuous, high-resolution observations across a broad parameter space. We present ANTHYLOPE (Autonomous uNderway near-real-Time HYperspectraL Optical Properties PackagE), a novel ship-based flow-through system for continuous bio-optical observations operating in the North Sea. ANTHYLOPE integrates a comprehensive suite of sensors to simultaneously measure hyperspectral absorption and attenuation (Seabird AC-S), hyperspectral backscattering (Sequoia HyperBB), single wavelength backscattering, CDOM and Chlorophyll-a fluorescence (RBR Tridente), UV fluorometry (Seapoint SUVF), particle size distribution (Sequoia LISST-200X), red light attenuation (LISST-Tau) and cross-polarized near-forward light scattering (LISST-PIC, developed in collaboration with Sequoia Scientific). ANTHYLOPE operates in parallel with the DALEC (IMO) autonomous hyperspectral above-water radiometry system, enabling combined in-water and above-water optical observations. Together with biogeochemical parameters from discrete samples, this provides an unprecedented hyperspectral, multi-parameter characterization of the North Sea. Over 2,000 km of data, collected during multiple campaigns between May 2024 and June 2026, demonstrate the system’s capacity for continuous, near-real-time optical and biogeochemical characterization of surface waters, from turbid coastal areas to coccolithophore bloom conditions in the central North Sea. We describe the end-to-end data processing pipelines, demonstrate internal consistency across sensors, and validate retrieved biogeochemical properties (e.g. Chl-a, SPM, POC, PIC, …) against discrete Niskin bottle samples. This dataset provides a high-resolution, internally consistent basis for resolving particle assemblages and their optical signatures, advancing the quantification of marine carbon in optically complex coastal systems.
Lisa Calus*, Ghent University, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8749-5358
Griet Neukermans, Ghent University, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8258-3590
Qiming Sun, Ghent University, [email protected]
Alexandre Castagna, Ghent University, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6069-1574
Clemence Goyens, Ghent University, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8036-6082
