Hyperspectral measurements of light backscattering by particles in water with a fixed angle setup: proof of concept and instrument calibration.

The light backscatter signal is the fraction of light scattered at angles greater than 90 degrees with respect to the direction of the incident light. Optical remote sensing platforms collect this signal, which, when measured from the ocean, holds crucial information about its constituents. Interpretation of this signal demands a rigorous understanding of scattering by water and by particles in water.

Measurement of light absorption by chromophoric dissolved organic matter using a type-II liquid capillary waveguide: assessment of an achievable accuracy.

Light absorption by chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in the ocean is often measured using liquid waveguide capillary cells coupled to spectral array detectors. This type of optical setup is affected by several sources of uncertainties related to the waveguide and the detector. Uncertainties from the waveguide arise from errors in the effective path length and the effects of water salinity, while errors related to the detector are due to the non-linearity in the response, internal stray light, and wavelength accuracy.

Phytoplankton optical fingerprint libraries for development of phytoplankton ocean color satellite products.

Phytoplankton respond to physical and hydrographic forcing on time and space scales up to and including those relevant to climate change. Quantifying changes in phytoplankton communities over these scales is essential for predicting ocean food resources, occurrences of harmful algal blooms, and carbon and other elemental cycles, among other predictions. However, one of the best tools for quantifying phytoplankton communities across relevant time and space scales, ocean color sensors, is constrained by its own spectral capabilities and availability of adequately vetted and relevant optical models.

The adsorption of dissolved organic carbon onto glass fiber filters and its effect on the measurement of particulate organic carbon: A laboratory and modeling exercise.

Particulate organic carbon (POC) represents a small portion of total carbon in the ocean. However, it plays a large role in the turnover of organic matter through the biological pump and other processes. Early on since the development of the POC measurement technique in the 1960s, it was known that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) adsorbs and is retained both on and in the filter.

Dissolved organic carbon fluxes in the Middle Atlantic Bight: An integrated approach based on satellite data and ocean model products.

Continental margins play an important role in global carbon cycle, accounting for 15-21% of the global marine primary production. Since carbon fluxes across continental margins from land to the open ocean are not well constrained, we undertook a study to develop satellite algorithms to retrieve dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and combined these satellite data with physical circulation model products to quantify the shelf boundary fluxes of DOC for the U.S.