POSTER Session 1

An evaluation of simple models to relate phytoplankton size classes to absorption and attenuation

Phytoplankton size classes in the ocean span various orders of magnitude, affecting the associated food web and ecosystem. Phytoplankton cell size also has implications for the export potential of the biological carbon pump. Development of methods to estimate phytoplankton size classes from remotely sensed variables has therefore been a long-standing focus in ocean optics. With the recent addition of hyperspectral radiometers on BGC-Argo floats, a new variable is entering the scene, and robust models will be needed to relate hyperspectral attenuation data to phytoplankton size classes. Using data from an eddy voyage in the East Australian Current, we test several models relating size fractionated Chl to quantities derived from phytoplankton absorption spectra. We will test the robustness of the models on data that are increasingly removed from the “ideal measurement”, i.e., moving from filter pad absorption to acs-based absorption and attenuation measured on the same voyage. We will also investigate the robustness of size fractionation derived from pigment composition in this environment. The overall aim is to provide a way forward for simple models that can make use of hyperspectral attenuation data to derive broad phytoplankton size classes.

Christina Schallenberg, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3073-7500

Bozena Wojtasiewicz, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia

Nina Schuback, Swiss Polar Institute, Switzerland

Giselle Firme, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Chantal Mears, University of Tasmania, Australia

Jiongqiu Ren, University of Tasmania, Australia

Pete Strutton, University of Tasmania, Australia

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