Space-borne study of seasonal, multi-year, and decadal phytoplankton dynamics in the Bay of Biscay

Seasonal and inter-annual variations in phytoplankton community abundance in the Bay of Biscay are studied. Preliminarily processed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to yield normalized water-leaving radiance and the top-of-the-atmosphere solar radiance, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) data are further supplied to our dedicated retrieval algorithms to infer the sought for parameters. By applying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data, the surface reflection coefficient in the only band in the visible spectrum is derived and employed for analysis. Decadal bridged time series of variations of diatom-dominated phytoplankton and green dinoflagellate Lepidodinium chlorophorum within the shelf zone and the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in the pelagic area of the Bay are documented and analysed in terms of impacts of some biogeochemical and geophysical forcing factors.

US NOAA Fisheries and UK SAHFOS CPR surveys: comparison of methods and data

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey has sampled four routes: Boston–Nova Scotia (1961–present), New York toward Bermuda (1976–present), Narragansett Bay–Mount Hope Bay–Rhode Island Sound (1998–present) and eastward of Chesapeake Bay (1974–1980). NOAA involvement began in 1974 when it assumed responsibility for the existing Boston–Nova Scotia route from what is now the UK's Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS). Training, equipment and computer software were provided by SAHFOS to ensure continuity for this and standard protocols for any new routes. Data for the first 14 years of this route were provided to NOAA by SAHFOS. Comparison of collection methods; sample processing; and sample identification, staging and counting techniques revealed near-consistency between NOAA and SAHFOS. One departure involved phytoplankton counting standards. This has since been addressed and the data corrected. Within- and between-survey taxonomic and life-stage names and their consistency through time were, and continue to be, an issue. For this, a cross-reference table has been generated that contains the SAHFOS taxonomic code, NOAA taxonomic code, NOAA life-stage code, National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) taxonomic code, Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) serial number and authority and consistent use/route. This table is available for review/use by other CPR surveys. Details of the NOAA and SAHFOS comparison and analytical techniques unique to NOAA are presented.