Project Funding: 2009 - 2011

NRA: 2008 NASA: Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
Observations from the MODIS and SeaWiFS time series (1997-2012) and measurements from the extensive field campaign proposed here will be used to examine how inter-annual and decadal-scale climate variability affects primary productivity and organic carbon distributions along the continental margin of the U.S. East Coast. Estimates of daily primary productivity (PP) will be computed using the Ocean Productivity from Absorption of Light (OPAL) model (Marra et al. 2007). OPAL vertically resolves phytoplankton absorption of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and relates the chlorophyll-specific absorption coefficient to sea-surface temperature (SST), where SST is a proxy for seasonal changes in the phytoplankton community. OPAL will be validated with new field measurements of PP and compared with other primary productivity models. Field measurements of particulate (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and the absorption coefficients of phytoplankton (aph) and colored dissolved organic matter (aCDOM) will allow us to extend the validation range (temporally and spatially) for our coastal algorithms (Mannino et al. 2008; Pan et al. 2008) and reduce the uncertainties in satellite-derived estimates of OPAL PP, POC, DOC, aph and aCDOM. Furthermore, we will apply our extensive field data to derive region-independent ocean color algorithms for PP, POC, DOC aCDOM and aph using a neural network approach. We will rigorously validate and compare band-ratio and multivariate neural network algorithms. The U.S. Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB), George’s Bank (GB) and Gulf of Maine (GoM) stand at the crossroads between major ocean circulation features – the Gulf Stream and Labrador slope-sea and shelf currents – and are influenced by highly variable river discharge, summer upwelling, warm core rings, and intense seasonal stratification. Our work will focus on the impacts of variable river discharge, SST, wind stress and large-scale climate indices on primary production, and POC and DOC distributions. These processes are not unique to the MAB and GoM. Consequently, the results from the proposed activity can be applied to understanding how inter-annual and long-term variability in climate patterns can impact the carbon cycle of continental margins throughout the globe.

Publications:

Pan, X., Mannino, A., Marshall, H. G., Filippino, K. C., Mulholland, M. R. 2011. Remote sensing of phytoplankton community composition along the northeast coast of the United States. Remote Sensing of Environment. 115(12), 3731-3747. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.011

Pan, X., Mannino, A., Russ, M. E., Hooker, S. B., Harding, L. W. 2010. Remote sensing of phytoplankton pigment distribution in the United States northeast coast. Remote Sensing of Environment. 114(11), 2403-2416. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2010.05.015

Druon, J. N., Mannino, A., Signorini, S., McClain, C., Friedrichs, M., Wilkin, J., Fennel, K. 2010. Modeling the dynamics and export of dissolved organic matter in the Northeastern U.S. continental shelf. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 88(4), 488-507. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2010.05.010

2015 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• Satellite-Derived Properties of Dissolved Organic Matter within Estuarine and Continental Shelf Waters Along the Northeastern U.S. Coast   --   (Antonio Mannino, Michael Novak, Peter Hernes, Kimberly Hyde, Sergio Signorini)   [abstract]

2011 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• Seasonal measurements of POC,CDOM, and DOC from the Mid-Atlantic Bight, George's Bank, and the Gulf Of Maine: Modeling Carbon distributions from discrete data and their relationship to flow through measurements of Beam attenuation and CDOM fluorescence   --   (Michael G Novak, Antonio Mannino)   [abstract]
• Satellite-derived distributions of CDOM, DOC and particulate organic matter along the northeastern U.S. continental margin   --   (Antonio Mannino, Stanford B. Hooker, Kimberly Hyde, Michael Novak)   [abstract]
• Seasonal and interannual variability in primary productivity and dinitrogen fixation along the northeastern U.S. continental margin   --   (Margaret Mulholland, Peter Bernhardt, Cory Staryk, Antonio Mannino)   [abstract]
• Development of a long-term phytoplankton time series in the U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem   --   (Kimberly J. Hyde, D. Christopher Melrose, Jonathan A. Hare)   [abstract]

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• NASA Ocean Biology & Biogeochemistry (OBB) Project Profile
• North American Carbon Program (NACP) Project Profile