Light absorption by phytoplankton in the southern Baltic and Pomeranian lakes: mathematical expressions for remote sensing applications

Abstract

The absorption properties of phytoplankton in surface waters of the Baltic Sea and coastal lakes are examined in the context of their relationships with the concentration of the main photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll a. The analysis covers 425 sets of spectra of light absorption coefficients aph(λ) and chlorophyll a concentrations Chla measured in 2006–2009 in various waters of the Baltic Sea (open and coastal waters, the Gulf of Gdańsk and the Pomeranian Bay, river mouths and the Szczecin Lagoon), as well as in three lakes in Pomerania, Poland (Obłęskie, Łebsko and Chotkowskie). In these waters the specific (i.e. normalized with respect to Chla) light absorption coefficient of phytoplankton aph*(λ) varies over wide ranges, which differ according to wavelength. For example, aph*(440) takes values from 0.014 to 0.124 mg−1 m2, but aph*(675) from 0.008 to 0.067 mg−1 m2, whereby Chla ranges from 0.8 to 120 mg m−3. From this analysis a mathematical description has been produced of the specific light absorption coefficient of phytoplankton aph*(λ), based on which the dynamics of its variability in these waters and the absorption spectra in the 400–700 nm interval can be reconstructed with a low level of uncertainty (arithmetic statistical error: 4.09–10.21%, systematic error: 29.63–51.37%). The relationships derived here are applicable in local remote sensing algorithms used for monitoring the Baltic Sea and coastal lakes and can substantially improve the accuracy of the remotely determined optical and biogeochemical characteristics of these waters