POSTER SESSION 3
15:30–17:30, Wednesday, September 16
Poster Session | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Schedule at a Glance
ABSTRACT 1374 | POSTER 235
TRANSFORMING FISHERIES SURVEYS INTO OPTICS-INFORMED ECOSYSTEM OBSERVATORIES
Quantifying lower trophic level dynamics remains a critical gap in fisheries oceanography, limiting our ability to link environmental variability to ecosystem and stock-level responses. In particular, phytoplankton community structure and related optical properties are not routinely resolved within U.S. NOAA Fisheries surveys, despite their central role in regulating trophic transfer and ecosystem productivity. This study presents a pilot effort to integrate hyperspectral radiometry and Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) observations into operational survey platforms to enable co-located, high-resolution characterization of ocean optical and planktonic properties alongside a rich fisheries dataset. Autonomous above-water hyperspectral radiometers (DALEC; In Situ Marine Optics) were deployed on NOAA vessels and operated continuously with minimal user intervention across multiple campaigns, including a 3.5-month U.S. West Coast survey. Radiometric data were processed using the HyperCP framework to derive remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) and downstream inherent optical properties and biogeochemical proxies. Matchups with PACE Level-2 products indicate low bias but moderate scatter, with increasing divergence in the blue spectral region. Concurrent IFCB measurements provided continuous particle imagery and size distributions across nano- to microplankton scales. Preliminary analyses suggest systematic variability in particle size distribution slopes as a function of chlorophyll-a, reflecting shifts within the resolved size spectrum. These results demonstrate the feasibility of sustained, survey-integrated optical-biological observations and establish a framework for assimilating hyperspectral ocean color information into fisheries-relevant analyses, supporting the development of ecosystem-based management approaches informed by satellite and in situ data streams.
Ryan Vandermeulen, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5886-8142
Cara Wilson, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected]
Stephanie Moore, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected]
Rowan Cirivello, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, [email protected]
Heng Gu, Riva Solutions, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, [email protected]
Mohamed Abdelmegid, Riva Solutions, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, [email protected]
Kimberly Hyde, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected]
Colleen Mouw, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, [email protected]
Audrey Ciochetto, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, [email protected]
Ryan Rykaczewski, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected]
Dale Robinson, University of California Santa Cruz, NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center, [email protected]
Poster Session | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Schedule at a Glance
