Assessing marine primary production from space. Satellite remote sensing has already improved understanding of phytoplankton standing stocks

Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986 · BioScience; (United States)

OSTI ID:6607299

Perry, M J

Satellite remote sensing of ocean color is the only tool that can provide information on marine primary production on a global scale. It is also one of the few tools that allows oceanographers to synoptically assess phytoplankton distribution in regions of high spatial variability. Early calibration studies of the coastal zone color scanner (CZCS) demonstrated the potential for using satellite measurements of ocean color to determine the abundance and distribution of phytoplankton in the ocean. CZCS measurements have already improved our understanding of the distribution of phytoplankton standing stocks and their temporal changes, and they also provide more realistic bases for interpolating from shipboard measurements to regional assessments. In addition to improving biomass estimates, CZCS imagery is now being coupled with other remotely sensed information, such as solar radiation data from GOES geostationary weather satellites, to provide primary production estimates from established empirical and functional photosynthetic relations. Dramatically improved regional, global, and interannual estimates of primary production can be expected from these approaches over the next decade.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Washington, Seattle (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6607299
• Journal Information: BioScience; (United States), Vol. 36:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
PHYTOPLANKTON
PRODUCTIVITY
REMOTE SENSING
BIOMASS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
OCEANOGRAPHY
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
SATELLITES
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DISTRIBUTION
ENERGY SOURCES
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
PLANKTON
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SYNTHESIS
520100* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (-1989)